Received a letter from DMV / Caltrans today, really more a note. Here is what it says: ABOUT YOUR CLEAN AIR VEHICLE STICKERS! (An important word from DMV and Caltrans) - Carpool lane use may be restricted at any time by state and federal law for all Clean Air Vehicles carrying fewer occupants than the posted minimum requirement, if their presence is determined by Caltrans to contribute to increased traffic congestion, increased travel times, decreased sustained travel speeds, or other factors affecting any carpool lane or segment of that lane. - The Clean Air Vehicle sticker program expires January 1, 2008, making all stickers invalid as of that date, unless the law authorizing their use is extended beyond that date. - Clean Air Vehicles that meet the posted minimum occupancy requirements are not subject to the above restrictions. Why the note, a warning or they are getting pressure? Or is this just a standard mailing to sticker holders (I've had my stickers for over a month now)? Ken
That's just plain retarded. They are already "evaluating" things at the 50k mark already. Some of us had "carpool usage" as the primary reason for the Prius. Some of us took delivery in 2005 to ensure getting a sticker and bypassing the tax credit. I don't recall signing some EULA that said they can change the rules at anytime they want. Granted, we'll never see any restrictions imposed before 2008, but it's just dumb to send something like that...
Agreed! I have noticed that my gas milage has gone down about 3-5 MPG since I started driving the carpool lane. Not much stop and go, driving much faster now to keep pace (in some areas 75-80). I'm willing to sacrafice that milage for cutting 15 minutes off my commute each way. I am very much in favor of driving with the flow, I've been bunched up with cars many a times because someone was in the carpool lane driving 60, more than once it was a Prius. That does nothing but piss people off. Just because you can be in the lane doesn't mean you should, make sure you are aware of your surroundings.
I don't believe any of this is new. Isn't this wording in the actual legislation that passed allowing HOV lane use?
I did not read anything new in the notice, except that the letter was machine-mailed for $0.39, and that perhaps about 42,000 of them have been mailed. Use whatever "administrative" cost estimate you like. A noticeable amount of money has been spent here, for no obviously good purpose. DAS
Concerned about getting a sticker before the 50,000 milestone, I actually called the the phone contact ((800) 242-4450) at the CA Air Resources Board (directly linked from the DMV website for info regarding the stickers) and I was told that the 50,000 sticker milestone was no longer important. He said that applications already received far exceed that number and no Cal Trans study has yet been performed (and no study impacting that 50,000 number will be performed.) Instead he said that the DMV has reserved the right to restrict Hybrid's use of the carpool lane in congested areas at a later time as an alternative to the "50,000 sticker study." In other words, because nothing was done in time for the 50K milestone, the DMV is covering themselves by reserving the right to later restrict the lanes. He said that although there are already 75,000 eligable vehicles on the streets of CA, he did not expect the 75,000 number to be reached for at least another 2 months, barring a rush by those with eligible cars who have not yet applied (probably unlikely given the publicity this topic has already received). I was told that my vehicle's (Black #8) arrival date of early Febuary should not be a problem for receiving the stickers, but that at any time, my use of carpool lanes could be restricted (when I asked which areas would be impacted, I was told that it would be "pretty obvious", the most congested areas). He also emphasized more than once the sunset provision of 2008 attached to this legislation (I bet they've had a lot of angry callers who have bought hybrids thinking they had a lifetime of carpooling ahead!).
Everybody with an HOV "clean air vehicle" sticker had those letters sent to them. Even us EV folks who originally had NO restrictions (we have a different sticker that also allows us free passage on the bridges). When you signed up for your hybrid sticker, the Jan 1, 2008 clause was always in there. This is nothing new. For some reason the EV HOV stickers are now lumped into the same category as the hybrid ones, so now we ALL Sunset in 2008 unless it is extended. Simple as that, I'm afraid.
Easy picture: 1. Government will always do whatever it or big business wants it to do 2. Government loves to spend money needlessly 3. Government is pretty stupid overall (work in a Medi-Cal funded program, grrrrrr!)
Here's an article I found with regards to the situation: Yellow light for hybrids By Lisa Mascaro, Staff Writer If you've been thinking about buying a hybrid car so you can drive solo in California's car-pool lanes, this might be just the time to seal the deal. The Department of Motor Vehicles reports the program is wildly popular, and officials are approving about 200 HOV access stickers a day. Once the state issues 50,000 decals - at the current rate, that could come in March - Caltrans will study whether the car-pool lanes have become too congested to allow access to any more solo drivers in hybrids. If Caltrans' 90-day study determines that the car-pool lanes have become too crowded, it could shut down the program to new users as early as summer. Rest of the Article
