Tips on applying HOV sticker

Once they go on, they are not meant to be taken off. Of course you can try and use a blow dryer when the time comes, but I seriously doubt it'll come off really clean. They are not transferable........it's permanent

In SoCal, this HOV access is just a gimmick. During rush hour, there is very little difference in a regular lane and a HOV lane.....traffic is stopped!

 

I don't live in California so I know nothing about the HOV sticker or where it is applied. If it is applied to the inside of the windshield why couldn't you apply it with STICKER SHIELD that is available at Ace Hardware, Walgreens and online? Just asking. Since I know nothing about it please excuse me if it is a stupid suggestion.

 

There is a set of stickers that go on the front and rear bumper corners.....I figure if you can stand the stickers in place until 2019, why would it bother you afterwards? I would just leave them....like the rest of the people that have the yellow expired ones.

 

My plan won't work. Sorry guys.

 

You can use a heat gun, or possibly a hair dryer when the time comes that you want to remove them. I took the yellow ones off by simply letting my car sit in the sun on a warm day. The little bit of adhesive remaining came off using a paint cleaner followed by polish and wax.
I don't agree with the poster that said the HOV access is a gimmick. There are certainly times and places where all lanes get stopped, and at times I've seen the other lanes move a bit faster for a few hundred yards. But overall, I make better time using the HOV lanes. The poster appears to have a regular Prius, so unless he has passengers, he doesn't have HOV access anyway.

 

Even if you remove the sticker, say 2019. Your sticker will be different color then the car. Faded over time. You will see the marketing from previous sticker. Hair dryer not going to do it. Say if someone steal your sticker. There is a VOID after you remove sticker. It will be useless if someone steal it. I accidently put it on the wrong side in the front. But I don't think they care. They care about the rear more.

 

See my previous post. Been there, done that, with NO sign of stickers ever having been applied. Yes, the STICKER may fade, but I had no faded paint, no marks or "VOID." Others posted about using a hair dryer successfully in other threads on the subject, but I didn't need anything but sunshine after five years displaying the stickers.

 

Well you could just not follow the correct directions of placement of stickers and apply them to the back window and side glass....

 

2019 is still a long way away... I might have a different car by then...

 

The old expired yellow decals just pealed off off my Gen I Prius using my fingernail. I then removed the glue with tar remover. No sign that they they had ever been there. As others have mentioned, I am just hoping that I won't have to worry about expired green decals until 2019.

 

If you're really worried about your 5 year old prius being extra ugly because of the HOV decals in 2019 (anyone in California who would intentionally remove them before they expire is beyond logic), use 3m clear bra polyurethane sheeting in the bumper locations under the decals. Then, when the time comes, just peel the clear bra material off and the decals are gone.

 

The worry is that they be voided before January 2019 under the congestion clause in their enabling law.

 

We have congestion already, are they blind and dumb!

 

It would not surprise me once they hit the 55,000 carpool decal they will extend another 40,000. Law is weird. Last time I saw them failed. They keep on resubmitting it until it pass. If that happen. Everyone will be guilty even if you don't do any crime.

 

[Editorial commentary warning]

Honestly, I think the idea of allowing people to use carpool lanes as solo drivers because they drive "low-emission" vehicles is completely nonsensical. What does one have to do with the other? Not to mention the government subsidies for low-emission vehicles... the only reason the federal tax credit exist is to offset the blows dealt to the manufacturers by federal emissions standards.

That being said, if a law exists that can benefit me, you had better believe that I'm going to take advantage of it. If the taxpaying population is already bearing the burden, I may as well be one of the few benefiting. I just smile as I sail past those stuck in traffic, knowing that I really have no more reason to be in the carpool lane than they do... I just won't get pulled over.

[Editorial commentary off]

 

That's not the only reason the federal tax credit exists. There are substantial benefits in subsidizing gas saving technologies, not just in terms of how successful hybrids have been, but also in terms of the technological advances working their way into non-hybrids.

 

It all depends on what you think the reasoning is for having HOV lanes in the first place. One reason it to reduce emissions by having fewer cars on the road. Another reason is to reduce the number of cars in order to reduce congestion (and in turn perhaps reduce emissions by having cars get to where they are going sooner).

It seems to me that if you go back to LA in the 1970s, trying to make the air cleaner was more important than getting people to where they were going faster. But for those who didn't care about breathing cleaner air -- maybe you'd get to work quicker if there was a dedicated lane for carpoolers. IMO, the reality is that for most people the "car pool" lanes make their commutes take longer if there is any change. And only car poolers get an advantage, if any.

Regardless...rewarding those who spend extra to buy a cleaner car (EV, PHEV, CNG, FCEV, etc) by giving HOV access is recognition that it helps with one of the goals by having fewer emissions.

Mike