Much is said about the Spanish picaresque, but these activities do not understand borders. In the United States they also have Bus-HOV lanes with rules similar to those in Spain: one of the requirements to drive through them is the number of occupants traveling in the vehicle. And to reach that minimum, drivers sometimes give free rein to their imagination. In this case they have chosen an inflatable Grinch, which, obviously, does not count as a companion.
As we said, the US has its own roads for high-occupancy vehicles: they are called HOV lanes because those acronyms mean the same thing in English, High Occupancy Vehicle. They were also born with the aim of reducing traffic congestion and pollution levels and in order to drive through them, the driver must be accompanied by at least one other passenger.
Two passengers minimum
As is the case in Spain, HOV lanes are usually separated from the main ones by physical barriers and, depending on the state, outside rush hours, their circulation can only be enabled for emergency vehicles, works vehicles or public transport. In United States they are very popular and common because, taking into account the distances and the time that drivers spend in their cars, they are essential to avoid traffic jams.
Reason why more than one has tried to deceive the authorities to travel through the HOV lanes when traveling alone. We found the last offender in Arizona: he placed an inflatable doll in the passenger seat, but failed to mislead the authorities. Basically, because the improvised companion was the Grinch, the green goblin created by Theodor Seuss Geisel and famous for wanting to end Christmas. We imagine that the choice had a lot to do with the time of year in which we are.
last week #AZTrooper spotted a driver in the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane with a Seusspicious-looking “passenger” on I-10 at Avondale Blvd at 8AM. The trooper stopped the driver & determined the grumpy green guy was, in fact, an inflatable Grinch . (Not other passengers.) pic.twitter.com/YcOfZHJVoX
— Dept. of Public Safety (@Arizona_DPS) December 13, 2022
The Grinch, an original co-pilot
Arizona State Police realized that the co-pilot was not human, recognized the fictional character and stopped the driver. This was sanctioned and the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) decided to publish a tweet with the facts, which soon gained notoriety on social networks.
The truth is that the chances of success of that plan were practically non-existent. The driver could have fooled other road users and even the speed cameras… but not the agents. He is not the first person to try to cheat the system with fake passengers such as stuffed animals, mannequins, cardboard cutouts or simple sweatshirts placed on the seat, but it just might be one of the funniest attempts yet.
In Spain the dummy tactic is famous. Over the years, several drivers have tried to circumvent the access rules to the Bus-HOV of the A-6 with dolls that were placed in the child restraint systems or with mannequins that they dressed and complemented to make them look like real people. It should be remembered that driving on these roads with an unauthorized vehicle or breaking the regulations is punishable by a fine of 200 euros without loss of points on the driver’s license.
