It's time once again for a friendly reminder...In order to drive a hybrid in the Virginia HOV lanes, you MUST have the proper Clean Special Fuel tag. Without it, you're another violator. Please see High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes if you aren't sure about the rules. Thank you.
how do they catch violaters? if its a camera system and tickets are mailed to your home you probably shouldn't drive without the stickers. but if its just cops pulling you over, you could just risk it and claim ignorance if you get pulled over. after all, most cops wouldn't pull over a prius in a HOV lane w/o the stickers, and if one of those other cops pulled you over you could just say, 'I thought all hybrids could drive in this lane, I didn't know about the stickers, I'm sorry I won't do it again' I roll thru all the stops signs here in my hometown to save the brake pads and keep the engine from kickin' on, I do get pulled over once a year, I distract the cops with my mpg screen and we'll start talking about hybrids and I always leave with just a friendly warning. (only works for people with a great driving record and in cities that aren't bankrupt & desperate for cash)
Don't bet on it. My part of Virginia doesn't have HOV lanes so I don't have a good sense of how strict this particular enforcement is, but in general Virginia State Police don't play games. As clearly as the lanes are marked and as well as their usage regulations publicized, ignorance won't cut it. Virginia doesn't use stickers; it uses a special license plate. With plates on the front and rear, the car probably stands out more than those in states with stickers. And on I-95 in Northern Virginia, the driver can't suddenly move out of the lane when he fears detection (as with most illegal driving behavior like speeding or your slow rolls). The HOV lanes are separated from the main lanes by Jersey walls, so once you're there you're stuck ... and busted if caught.
My avatar is my plate, the newer one, so I can only use the HOV lanes on I-66 and the Dulles Toll Road here in Northern Virginia, but not the HOV lanes on I-95/I-395. I have seen hybrids without the proper license tags get pulled over and ticketed. I'm not familiar enough with the HOV lane situation in the rest of Virginia to comment, or even know if I can use them with this plate.
I had forgotten the tags changed in 2006 and those issued after 7/1/06 couldn't be used on 95/395. I knew at one time they were allowed there because after I got my car I considered getting them for my occasional trip up north. You got my curiosity up about whether they can be used in Hampton Roads. VDOT's HOV web pages are silent on the subject, best I can tell.
pre-2006 tags can use I95 AND toll road/66 inside the beltway - post can't use I95. When you sell or trade you can transfer the old tags i got stopped in about 2006 on an on-ramp on 66 inside the beltway in my 02 prius for not having the license plates - i honestly did not know they were required, because when i registered my car at DMV they asked me if i wanted the special plates and i asked if i needed them for anything, or were they just smugness plates. they said i didn't need them for anything. anyway when i explained all this to the cop he let me go and then i went and got the plates asap when i got my 2010 in June it had hard plates but they weren't the special plates. I chanced it for 3 weeks. I carried a copy of my faxed application for the plates in the car. I had to wait because they won't give you the special plates until there is a title and the dealer wouldn't process the title until they were sure my check cleared.
I think the point of the OP is that it is wrong for you to use the HOV lanes if you don't have the special plates and also don't have the required number of people in the car. As in, there is more than enought traffic in the HOV lanes, and it's not fair to those who are there legitimately when you "take a chance" on not getting caught.
Philosphically, hybrids are legitmately there by virtue of being hybrids. Legally, the law requires the plates as Virginia's way of making enforcement easier for the po po. This is so because so many hybrids sprung up - like the escalade hybrid. If we didn't require the special plates, yahoos could pry a hybrid badge off another chevy product and try to get over. The Prius is unique in that it is the only current production hybrid that doesn't have a non-hybrid version (I think that statement is true).
I'd say the fact that they are not issuing new tags for use on 95 indicates that all hybrids are not legitimately allowed.
replace "all hybrids are not legitimately allowed" with "not all hybrids are allowed" the policy on 95 grandfathers older tags
I am moving to a new house and will be driving rt 66 after I get my Prius. For you fellow Virginians out there, what is the chance that one day they would revoke the HOV privileges for hybrids. Just wondering. New to the area.
I believe ( since I actually live on the Outer Banks ) that VA drivers with either type of Special Clean Fuel tag can use the HOV lanes on 64. I think that the exemption keeps being rolled over from one year to the next.
The exemption is currently in place until June 30, 2010. I would not be surprised to see Virginia stop issuing Clean Special Fuel Plates, but allow those with existing plates to keep using the HOV lanes or end the program altogether when the law expires.
