Fraudulent HOV Green sticker prius spotted

Ah, the SR-91-I-5 interchange. Those tall light towers give it away.

 

I'm wondering if the CHP would help out on this issue. The watch commander at the area office (Anaheim for the one on the 91 fwy) can have the officers watch the HOV lanes. And if a license plate is provided, they can also refer it to the DMV so that the stickers can be recalled if that is the remedy. I think the CHP officers know what to look for in order to spot a faker if they are made aware it is happening.

 

Travelling southbound on 880 in the bay area, during rush, I saw a fancy red camaro, parked in the #2 lane, twist into the HOV lane and try to get up to speed -- only to be nailed by a woman with a baby-in-a-carseat traveling around 50. Highly elastic, I saw the back half of the camaro get chewed up -- a terrible pity, as it was clear it was a much loved car -- and the panic on the face of the mom, although I suspect that the other passenger was fine. I suppose as a responsible driver the HOV driver shouldn't drive faster than they can safely see and stop -- about half a football field, if mom is paying close attention. It was near the Nummi plant, there is a slight twist to the road, probably couldn't have seen it. But we aren't sufficiently paranoid to expect that people are trying to kill us, so I understand the error.

Sometimes I wonder how the HOV engineers sleep at night; they mean well, but there are a lot of unexpected consequences from human nature.

 

Who would be cited in such an accident?

 

That always makes me uncomfortable when driving in a carpool lane when the adjacent regular lane is stopped and the carpool lane is moving at or above the speed limit. Go fast, and risk some bozo cutting right in front of you, or go slow, and incur the wrath of the leadfoot behind you. This may not be an issue in the clogged HOV lanes in SoCal, but it sure is here in the SF Bay Area. Just for clarification, we are talking about carpool lanes that have free access to the adjacent lanes, not the ones with limited entry/exit points, with double stripes that cannot be legally crossed.

 

For what its worth, in the specific case I bring up, the HOV lane was moving below the speed limit (although not by much.)

As Charles H noted, this is in an environment where the #1 lane is free flowing, the #2 lane is stopped, and a driver changed lanes from #2 to #1 in an unsafe manner. IANAL, but I'm pretty sure that the actor that made the change -- the Camaro -- would be at fault. Note that from the #2 lane, the visibility of traffic is even worse than from the #1 lane. This does not matter, of course, to the pain of suffering of either parties, which is not subject to civil law.

 

Interesting question about who would be cited. If there is free access anywhere along the lane with no restrictions, as Charles mentioned above, I would think blame might be shared. The driver already in the lane wasn't prepared and hadn't slowed for the possible lane changes by cars stopped in the adjacent lane. OTOH, the other driver made an unsafe lane change. If the lanes are separated by double yellow lines, then the blame should be placed on the lane-changing driver, IMO. Of course, I'm not a cop or a court judge. Like Charles, I worry when there is too much difference in speeds between the lanes, and slow down and increase my following distance. But it seems to me that most drivers are OK with that practice as long as I pick up speed when the cars in the regular lanes do so. Most of our freeways here in So Cal have the limited access, but there are some exceptions where drivers can enter/exit at will.

 

There was a California State Bill (SB889) introduced in 2007 by Abel Maldonado to have the DMV establish an official reporting number, but it died without passing. As noted the CHP doesn't view this as a serious offense but will take a call at 1-800-TELL-CHP (835-5247). They will note the violation and record data on the location.

Here's a San Francisco Chronicle report from seven years ago.

 

Here is my contribution to this thread...............
On my way to work, i would always see this car and wondered to myself:

1. That must be one brave owner to park his car out in the open in front of his house with those stickers on.
2. At least try to use the same model year to fool people.
3. Wow! Wish i had the guts to do that to my car.
4. Dang! Who does this owner know that works for the DMV?


After a year and to this day, this car still sports the illegal HOV stickers. I guess this is the next best thing to take advantage of the HOV law.

 

I have a strategy to minimize someone recklessly cutting from the #2 lane in front of me and possibly causing an accident and that is to get in line with a "convoy" of vehicles in the HOV lane. I figure that if someone is looking to cut in, they will more easily see and be "intimidated" by a long string of cars blasting by than by a single solitary car which they or may not see. Of course, in the event someone does the stupid and pulls in front of this convoy, you have to make sure you have enough space between you and the car in front of you to stop in time. I've noticed that people cutting in front of me will do so more often when I'm by myself in the HOV lane.

 

Sections of I-5 in Orange County have a K-rail between mainline and HOV lanes. Same on the I-10 east of downtown L.A. (former "busway," now HOT lane).

Of course the predictable side effect is when someone decides that 45mph is cruising speed in that lane. No where to go.

 

I'm almost certain that if you install a conversion kit and meet the requirements, you're eligible as well for HOV access. Maybe this guy is legit.

 

From:
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg1000.pdf

From:
Alternative Fuel Conversions Certification Requirements

So apparently some types of conversions qualify for HOV decals. Whether or not they're green is not clear...

Either way, if the guy looks shady or dubious, send the image documenting the plate # and sticker # (if you got close enough to make it out on the photo), and let the ARB/DMV deal with whether he's a fraud or not.

 

From what I read, some alternative fuel conversions can get white stickers provided the vehicles meet the strict emissions requirements. Another section refers to a requirement that conversions have a ten year, 150k mile warranty on the zero emission energy storage system. That sounds like it might apply to a Prius to plug-in conversion, but are the companies engaged in that business able to provide that kind of warranty? I wonder......

Edit: I've found warranty info on two conversion companies, both offering only three years. I think it's a safe bet that the questionable cars reported/pictured here are not eligible, and the owners know it.

 

Yes, but looking at the details below that I see nothing about a Plug in Hybrid conversion. Only conversions to LPG and alcohol are listed under the "alternatives." No mention of "hybrid." But please, double-check my research.

And here's a blog of someone unsuccessful in getting an HOV sticker for his electric conversion (though I'm not sure it's a Prius). HOV stickers to be extended for electric cars in California until 2020 but not for conversions yet. | Solar Powered Electric Vehicle

 

I think it's a bit much to read through all those PDFs to see which conversions would qualify since I've little to no interest in doing a conversion at all. If you read through them all, congratulations. It seems though that it's possible to convert to something that isn't a plug-in hybrid, or, if so, not plugging in where one can see, at least on that photo. All we can tell is the subject Prius appears to be a normal hybrid and, based on the license plate #, a 2013 or 2012.

 

No need to be snarky. There was no need to read through all of them, but perhaps I'm just a bit more OCD than you.

Someone suggested that maybe this HOV stickered non-PiP was legit by virtue of an after-market conversion.

It isn't.

 

This is definitely a good thing to know about when considering a conversion. I also assumed that any car that has been converted to a plug-in hybrid or EV would automatically qualify for a sticker. Clearly, I was incorrect. Thank you for the information.

 

I merely replied with the same snark I read in your words.

So you're claiming, based solely on the information discernible from the photo (that it has a green sticker and is a non-plug-in Prius), that it's not possible the owner performed any other type of conversion that would qualify for a decal? Based on what?