Highlander Hybrid seen with CA HOV stickers

Yeah, the HH isn't on the list, but the list of approved vehicles is pretty large. The California Air Resources Board even lists the HH this way: "2006 HIGHLANDER HYBRID - not qualified due to fuel economy less than 45MPG and and lack of compliance with ATPZEV emission standard."

The complete list can be seen at http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/carpool/carpool.htm ... there are quite a few CNG, electric, and even a couple of fuel cell powered vehicles listed. Dozens of them. So the average CHP officer isn't going to pull him over, thinking perhaps his car is one of the dozens that qualify.

I suspect your neighbor can be ticketed if a smart CHP officer pulls him over. He had to lie on the application in order to get the stickers, as the HH doesn't qualify as a vehicle meeting the standards for single occupancy diving in the car pool lanes. The application requires you to certify that your vehicle meets the standard; he obviously lied to get the stickers.

You gonna' turn him into the DMV?

 

I know one of our members, because of DMV screw-ups , has 2 set of Carpool stickers. Maybe that is what happened to him?

Does he own a Prius Also?

 

The OP basically identified the problem with the California "solution" regarding hybrid use of carpool lanes. California, rather than classifying all hybrids in a list as legal in carpool lanes, decided to try to make money on the issue, create a bureaucracy, create more laws that CHP has to deal with and opened theselves up to human error; which can send out duplicate sets of decals to drivers and registers vehicles not on the list. Human error and extra cost happen when systems become more complex. Human error and costs reduce when systems are simplified.

If they are going to allow single passenger use of carpool lanes by hybrids then they just need to do it. If they don't like that idea, than don't do it. But don't create additional regulation just to acomplish this purpose.

 

I assume you have done this, then.

He had to have lied, and the way the law on this stuff works, he misrepresented it so its his fault, not the DMVs. He's the one who will get the $271 - $321 ticket (if he ever gets caught) or pay whatever penalty the DMV has for defrauding them.

For jeromep, the purpose of the law allowing single occupancy in the car pool lanes was not to allow hybrids in it, but to allow any car that is zero emmissions, or very low emissions combined with high mileage. This is an incentive for people to buy that electric Escalade that is on the list rather than the gas guzzler model. The Prius and a few other hybrids get over the 40 or 45 GPM required for a hybrid model, but the HH doesn't, and neither does the Ford Escape Hybrid.

I advocate opening the car pool lanes to all traffic, but I know I'm in a distinct minority on that.

 

I think the Escalade on that list is a CNG vehicle, not an electric.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fshagan @ Feb 19 2006, 01:30 PM) [snapback]212573[/snapback]</div>

Only the HCH, Insight, and Prius qualify for the YELLOW Clean air stickers. All the other clean air qualified vehicles get WHITE stickers. The yellow stickers on a HH should attract the attention of the CHP.

 

jeromep, you speculate that it was done to make money. At $8 per sticker set, they are certainly not making money!

The reason for the limitation was to avoid the problems now evident on some other states--overcrowding. By limiting which vehicles, how many stickers ar eissued, and including a sunset clause, they prevented this problem.

The Cali legislature is dumb for a lot of reasons, but this was not one of them.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jbarnhart @ Apr 19 2006, 03:58 AM) [snapback]241987[/snapback]</div>

that would make a great photo!!

 

If that were me, I'd follow that neighbor onto the freeway and into the carpool lane, all the while calling up CHP on my Bluetooth and informing them of this major infraction, the license plate #, and the location of the HiHy. CHP is really good at responding to calls, I've found over the last few years.

Ooh, I just read the update. That is EXCELLENT news!!! Yessssss!!!

 

What a bunch of haters! Let the poor guy ride in the carpool lane. I'm sure there's room for him anyways.

The HOV lanes have been around for a long time and they haven't really helped traffic at all. If anything this guy is doing everyone else a favor by taking one more car out of the regular lanes and making the commute of the common-folk at least a few seconds less.

 

Jbarnhart, just make sure he doesn't find out it was you that ratted on him. He may want to kick your butt, or worse yet, key your prius.

 

Ibarnhart, your neighbor is a fool. He should just remove the stickers.... And if he's concerned about damaging the paint, he could safely remove them using a hair dryer with heat. What a retard!

 

Come to think of it, I saw a honda civic (not the honda hybrid) with the stickers. I got so pissed that I wrote down the licence plate #, and then forgot to report it. Who do I contact for that anyway?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(busyrosy @ Apr 27 2006, 02:11 AM) [snapback]246013[/snapback]</div>

Careful: there is a non-hybrid Honda Civic and there is a hybrid Honda Civic. They look the same except for a small hybrid plate on the rear. The hybrid Honda Civic qualifies for the California clean air stickers. (Not to be confused with the Honda Insight, which does not look at all like any non-hybrid Honda).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(highroute @ Apr 27 2006, 06:48 AM) [snapback]246062[/snapback]</div>

And there are also Honda Civic GX-CNG vehicles (non-hybrids)-which also get solo-driver carpool lane access but they have silver stickers instead of the yellow.

 

Well, I'm one of the people that the DMV sent 2 sets of stickers to (I applied 2x since the first time bounced), kept the 2nd set in my desk, about 6 months later received a letter from the DMV requesting I return the 2nd set sent in error, I returned the unused 2nd set, and have heard nothing since.