Surprising reason passenger caused driver to get $500 fine
A driver has been fined more than AU$500 after police noticed something odd about their passenger.
The driver was pulled over in the carpool lane in Baldwin Park, California on February 19.
California Highway Patrol noticed the driver didn’t actually have a passenger in their car.
Instead, a dummy was put in the passenger seat and fully dressed in a flannel T-shirt, glasses, a Cleveland Indians baseball cap and a face mask.
“By far, one of the best dummies we have ever seen,” police said.
“To clarify, we are referring to this fake passenger.
“At least he was following CDC guidelines by wearing his face mask.”
Dummy used so driver could use carpool lane
Officer Rodrigo Jimenez told San Gabriel Valley Tribune the driver “didn’t say much”.
“Other than that he’s been driving with the mannequin, and he’d been getting away with it for a year and a half,” he told the paper.
The driver was using a dummy to seemingly show he had a passenger so he could ride in a carpool lane. It is illegal in several US cities to use a carpool lane with only the driver in the car.
The fine was for about $514 but the driver was allowed to keep the dummy.
Cleveland Indians mannequin amuses people
On Facebook, the driver’s antics to use the carpool lane had people in stitches.
“Cleveland Indians hat a dead give-away. Nobody roots for them,” one man wrote.
Another man gave the driver an “A for effort”.
“Is traffic really that bad?” one woman wrote.
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