Skip to main content

Skeleton key to Arizona HOV lane violation

The lengths to which drivers will go to speed up their journey has been brought into focus by one man’s – slightly grisly - ingenuity.
By Adam Hill January 28, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
Skeleton crew (picture from Arizona Department of Public Safety)

Arizona Department of Public Safety (ADPS) revealed that one of its officers has issued a ticket to a 62-year-old man who was illegally using a Phoenix high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane.

In itself this is not particularly unusual. HOV lanes are a fixture on routes which are prone to congestion and it is far from unknown for devious, lone commuters to position shop window dummies in their passenger seats to beat the system. But it is uncommon for someone to try the same thing with a skeleton as a co-driver.

The bare bones of the matter are these: the offence took place on Arizona State Route 101 near Apache Blvd in Phoenix. The skeleton, shrouded in Halloween cobwebs and topped with a battered camouflage hat, was propped up in a bid to circumvent the forces of law enforcement. 

ADPS saw straight through the ploy. Using the hashtags ‘NiceTry’ and ‘YoureNotHeMan’, the organisation tweeted: “Think you can use the HOV lane with Skeletor riding shotgun? You’re dead wrong!”

A less than amused ADPS spokesman told ITS International: “What we would add is that this behaviour is not only illegal, it is also a disservice to all other motorist that are attempting to do the right thing.”


Related Content

  • MaaS Market conference platform for pioneering projects
    August 21, 2017
    In opening the session on putting MaaS ideas into practice, Hans Arby, chief executive of UbiGo, told the conference that, “MaaS can mean different things to different people. This is why we decided to run MaaS under real conditions and launch the Gothenburg pilot scheme in 2013.” The trial involved 70 households paying €130/month for 6 months with participants agreeing that 20 cars could be put into storage. More than 12,000 bookings/transactions took place during the trial and there were no drop-outs. Ac
  • Q&A: Spire Payments
    November 20, 2013
    Kazem Aminaee, President and CEO of Spire Payments, talks to CARTES Daily News about challenges and opportunities – and about why the industry must embrace change Q Can you give a brief outline of Spire’s current business priorities? A To remain the fastest-growing European-based POS supplier and best alternative to traditional POS suppliers; to remain the leader in mobile POS; to remain the centre of excellence for T42xx and M43xx technology and to provide the best in kind call centre, logistics and
  • Rio’s TMC rises to Olympic challenge
    October 27, 2016
    Timothy Compston lifts the lid on Rio de Janeiro’s preparations for keeping its transport systems moving during the Olympics – and the outcome. Hosting the Olympics poses major traffic management challenges for any city and Rio was no exception – especially as it is already one of the world’s most congested cities. Beyond its normal 6.5 million inhabitants wanting to carry on their daily lives, in August Rio was also home to 11,300 athletes from 206 countries. Athletes who, without fail, had to reach their
  • ITS applications a key part of US national strategy
    July 18, 2012
    The US Department of Transportation's ITS Joint Program Office has issued a Request for Information for its next five-year plan, which will emphasis the transformative potential of wireless connectivity. Shelley Row, ITS JPO Director, writes. During his confirmation hearing in January, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood emphasised that the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) will remain committed to improving the safety of the country's transportation system under his leadership, and will engage in