Carpool NOT OK?!?

[rawhog]

.

 

[thankyouOB]

IMHO it is never a good idea to challenge a Police Officer unless absolutely necessary. If I was asked to vacate a lane (any lane) by an officer I would do so. It's not the end of the world. If I was then pulled over I would ask for clarification of what I did wrong. A reasonable thing to do tactfully. If it just does not make sense AND I got a ticket then I would make a mental note of the Officers name badge number and research the law in detail. Then leave it up to a judge to decide. Remember, many officers are very stressed out and will write a flimsy ticket just to trip you up and waste an afternoon of your time. If you let them be in control of the situation and comply it is often a non event. And if it all goes bad, well THEY were the one in control and therefore responsible.

very well put and good advice.

 

[Spies]

IMHO it is never a good idea to challenge a Police Officer unless absolutely necessary.

very well put and good advice.

I agree as well.

Way back when I had my first union job one of the first words of wisdom I was told is to "comply now, and grieve later" or just "comply and grieve" when dealing with anyone with authority. It was sage advice and has served me well. Works just as well with officers of the law. Otherwise you may find yourself in "contempt of cop" which is never pretty http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contempt_of_cop

 

[Kataphn]

IMHO it is never a good idea to challenge a Police Officer unless absolutely necessary.

Through downtown LA on Figueroa, there is a right hand lane that is designated buses and right turns only 7 am -9am Monday through Friday. The signs are very clear. I was tooling along one morning on my way to be at work at 6 am and was pulled over for being in this lane. I was very calm and just said "It's not 7 yet". He looked sheepish and said "never mind"!

 

[Caracalover]

The worst reply to the officer would have been, "Then why don't you have three people on your bike?" Likely he was a do gooder, and may have been a reserve, funeral procession, or some type of special unit. Good person with no real authority, but trying to help out an overloaded system. Did you know Sheriff reserve units are paid $1 a year? Cut them a break if they are trying to do some good. I too wish the truck had gotten a ticket.

 

[SanDust]

Seems like a good rule of thumb is: If it's posted for 2 then the white stickers are good. If it's posted for 3 then probably the white stickers are good.

I agree with Tronz and others that the wisest course of action in this situation is just to get out of the lane and sort it out later.

Motorcycles are different. That's a safety issue, though authorizing lane sharing on the one hand, which seems crazy unsafe, and worrying about motorcycle safety if motorcycles are forced into a regular traffic flow on the other seems schizophrenic.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Did anyone consider some people don't know the difference between a hybrid and electric car and simply think the stickers are no longer valid. Most law enforcement have no clue about the sticker difference.

 

[TomT]

I think most of them can tell yellow from white...

Did anyone consider some people don't know the difference between a hybrid and electric car and simply think the stickers are no longer valid. Most law enforcement have no clue about the sticker difference.

 

[davewill]

Most law enforcement have no clue about the sticker difference.

It's their job to know, or they shouldn't be enforcing that law. I do think this officer, NOT being CHP, didn't know and was just winging it. I am confident that every CHP officer (whose job is freeway traffic enforcement) knows that detail.

 

[xtremeflyer]

I'm not necessarily confident of that. I got pulled over by a CHP for Texting while driving.. except I wasn't texting, I was using the GPS on my phone to find directions. (I didn't have the Leaf yet). He told me it was any activity on the phone had to be hands free. I disputed my ticket by sending in an LA Times article that had an interview with CHP when the law went into affect. The question was "Can someone use the GPS on their phone while drivint" the CHP person said "We highly discourage it, but it isn't illegal".

My ticket was dropped and the fine was refunded. So no, I don't necessarily believe that all CHP know all the road rules.

 

[TomT]

You probably are not going to like my response, but you got out of it because of the letter of the law and not the spirit of it. I believe that a ticket was definitely warranted. Driving distracted is still driving distracted...

I'm not necessarily confident of that. I got pulled over by a CHP for Texting while driving.. except I wasn't texting, I was using the GPS on my phone to find directions. (I didn't have the Leaf yet). He told me it was any activity on the phone had to be hands free. I disputed my ticket by sending in an LA Times article that had an interview with CHP when the law went into affect. The question was "Can someone use the GPS on their phone while drivint" the CHP person said "We highly discourage it, but it isn't illegal".

 

[davewill]

...So no, I don't necessarily believe that all CHP know all the road rules.

Never said they knew ALL the road rules, but I'm confident they know about the white stickers.

 

[xtremeflyer]

You probably are not going to like my response, but you got out of it because of the letter of the law and not the spirit of it. I believe that a ticket was definitely warranted. Driving distracted is still driving distracted...

Maybe true, but the officer told me that using my GPS was illegal under the texting law. He was wrong.

Besides, what is the difference between me using the GPS on my phone, vs a TomTom/Garmin vs a Nav system in my car. Especially when the GPS on my phone is the most intuitive of the 3, which means less time interacting with it.

 

[KeiJidosha]

I think most of them can tell yellow from white...

Did anyone consider some people don't know the difference between a hybrid and electric car and simply think the stickers are no longer valid. Most law enforcement have no clue about the sticker difference.

I was pulled over by a Sheriff that thought my sticker was a bad forgery. Had to show him the DMV paperwork. He claims a spate of bumper sticker HOV Decal looking fakes (with some derogatory message). The EV world may be clear to us, but not even on the radar of most.

 

[TEG]

He claims a spate of bumper sticker HOV Decal looking fakes (with some derogatory message).

 

[Spies]

He claims a spate of bumper sticker HOV Decal looking fakes (with some derogatory message).

Perfect example why the carpool access identifier should be part of the license plate and not a sticker. I am surprised there is not something in the vehicle code about having stickers an a vehicle that closely resemble official DMV stickers. Perhaps there is? I suppose some would feel it was a violation of their free speech though.

 

[xtremeflyer]

I would think PluginAmerica or the like would look into how to create a special interest license plate for EV vehicles.. Then once they catch on, CA could make them the defacto carpool/parking sticker.

 

[EVDRIVER]

He claims a spate of bumper sticker HOV Decal looking fakes (with some derogatory message).

Perfect example why the carpool access identifier should be part of the license plate and not a sticker. I am surprised there is not something in the vehicle code about having stickers an a vehicle that closely resemble official DMV stickers. Perhaps there is? I suppose some would feel it was a violation of their free speech though.

No kidding, it would also eliminate the BS stickers all over the cars!

 

[onlyjaymoo]

**Update: Last friday afternoon I was pulled over when attempting to enter the carpool lane (actually asked to stop this time) by LAPD on a motorcycle.

"We were informed that the stickers have expired."

"Not the white ones. Here is the documentation from DMV. The white ones last until 2015."

<a few moments spent reading the paperwork>

"OK then."

 

[EricH]

I'm actually excited that somebody appears to be attempting to enforce carpool lane access. I've lost count of the number of cars I used to watch go by in the HOV lane with less than 2 people (3 on Interstate 10 through Alhambra/El Monte), and just figured that enforcement was so low as to encourage cheating. I've never seen anyone pulled over from the HOV lane.