Posted on 03/23/2006 8:30:34 AM PST by Clive
The astounding sense of entitlement of some GTA commuters has left police shaking their heads after a woman was found sneaking onto the high-occupancy lanes with a fake baby in the back.
"She looked like the cat who swallowed the canary," OPP Sgt. Cam Woolley said of the woman who was pulled over yesterday. "She told the officer it normally works."
STIFF ARMS
Woolley said the cop was patrolling the HOV lanes of Hwy. 404 near Sheppard Ave. yesterday when he spotted an Intrepid whizz by and noticed the baby's arms seemed unnaturally stiff.
Not being sure, the officer decided to take a closer look and pulled the driver over.
The odd-looking child --Woolley likened it to a cartoon character from the show South Park -- was nothing more than a hooded jacket stuffed with clothing and strapped into an old car seat.
"We should have given her another ticket because the fake baby she had in there was too light to be in a forward-facing child seat," Woolley said.
"You can bet we'll be taking a closer look at all the babies we see in the next little while."
In fact, cops had expected to see similar scams turn up as soon as the popular HOV lanes -- which give commuters on sections of Hwys. 404 and 403 a swifter ride downtown -- opened last fall.
$110, 3 POINTS
"We're still writing a few hundred tickets each month," Woolley said of those abusing the lanes.
Cops think the woman ticketed yesterday, a 39-year-old Aurora resident, has children but none who need a car seat.
She faces a $110 fine and three demerit points.
Bingo
I'm waiting for.. and unfortunately I may be prophetic here... lanes reserved for Hybrid cars.
OMFG!!
Why did I give them that idea?!?!
*sad but (prolly) gonna be true.
(I want a Hummer lane!)
I always got away with it with my old labrador... - course I had to keep poking him when he tried to lay down.
I think you're propbably right. This time, he got lucky and actually found something.
Amen...
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their consciences." -- C. S. Lewis
Agreed. Mom with kids in the car is not carpooling.
I hate the concept. It's most dangerous when traffic ~is~ heavy and cars are whipping by at 55... past slow and stopped traffic.
She deserved it for trying that stunt without tinted windows...
yes we all want a lane for a hummer.(chortle)
NEWSFLASH!!!!
the HOV lane here on the LI Expressway, has a new sign inviting 'Green Friendly' cars with the appropriate window stickers to enter.
Lard ass bureaucrats love them because it means more make work jobs for them and it annoys the rational drivers
Yeah, people with kids and old passengers have no right, wanting to get out of traffic...who do they think they are?
Until the overpaid morons driving the damm things go on strike...
No way! HOV shaves 45 minutes off of my morning commute. My state is dumb enough to let me drive by myself on the HOV just because I drive a hybrid, and I'm smart enough to take advantage. The time I've saved over the past six months alone pay for the $3000 premium I paid.
LOL, yeah probably!
Sure they do. They create a steady stream of taxing monies for the local governments with the tickets they give out. :>)
There is a deep circle in Hell waiting for you for that one.
I used to work odd hours, and was stuck in traffic jams going the opposite way of the rush because they took away 2 lanes to create an 8 lane jam going the other way and leave me in a 4 lane jam that would not be there but for the HOV screwing. The problem is usually where the lanes all lead to. Four, 6, or 26 lanes leading to 2 lanes is a jam. Government of any form cannot see past the next election date. Stuck on Stupid.
IF they are privately funded that tempers my reaction somewhat. IF they are coming out of public funds, they do noble work but I would spend the money protecting kids from predators, etc.
I disagree. The HOV lanes on I-5 allow me to work at my job. My daily commute is at least 3 hours total (Sometimes as much as 4 hours). If I didn't ride the bus (and thus use the HOV lane to avoid most of the traffic), I cannot imagine how long my commute would be. If the goal of HOV lanes is to increase use of mass transit and to increase carpooling, I would say they are very successful.
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