Two drivers caught using dummies in Washington carpool lanes

May 5 (UPI) — The Washington State Patrol said two drivers were caught using dummies to illegally drive in carpool lanes in the space of just a few days.

Trooper Rick Johnson, public information officer for the WSP, said on social media that the first driver was pulled over Tuesday in the high-occupancy vehicle lanes of Interstate 5, near Shoreline, when a trooper noticed the only passenger was a mannequin wearing a brunette wig, a plaid shirt and a scarf.

“Driver admitted this was only to be able to use the HOV lane,” Johnson wrote. “The driver also indicated he has not named his ‘passenger.’”

Johnson said another driver was stopped two days later on I-5 in Federal Way when a trooper suspected a backseat passenger of being fraudulent.

The passenger was found to be a “dummy doll” wearing a bright yellow windbreaker and a baseball cap.

Drivers stopped for incorrectly using HOV lanes in Washington are subject to a $186 fine, with an extra $200 tacked on if the driver is found to be using a dummy or mannequin as a passenger.