Carpooling: My Theory
January 12th, 2006 by FuzzA woman in Phoenix was stuck with a $367 fine because she attempted to claim her unborn fetus was a “passenger” in her car, and therefore she qualified to drive in the carpool lane. The judge in the case, using a “common sense definition,” said that “the law is meant to fill an empty seat.” In the end, the woman had to pay the fine.
My theory is this: carpooling only occurs when more than one licensed driver is in the same vehicle. I don’t think that you should be able to use your children as excuses to drive in the carpool lane. I don’t think you should even be able to use your 90 year old, unlicensed grandmother as a carpool-lane pass. The idea behind “carpooling” is to cut down on the number of vehicles on the road. Your five year old can’t drive. Your grandmother can’t drive, either. So, when they’re in the car with you, you’re not actually cutting down on the number of cars on the road.
Exception: when you pick up somebody else’s children to take them to, say, hockey practice, then you ARE cutting down on the number of cars on the road, and therefore should be able to use the carpool lane.
I love this quote from the judge in this case: “[Allowing this] would require officers to carry guns, radios and pregnancy testers, and I don’t think we want to go there.”
Hat tip: Boots and Sabers
