Driver With Mannequin In HOV Lane Caught By State Police

TACOMA, WA - If you're going to commit HOV lane fraud, you might want to at least try to drive the speed limit.

A Washington State Patrol officer pulled over a driver for speeding in an HOV lane Friday morning near Tacoma. The driver was going 81 MPH in the HOV lane, according to state police.

But when the officer went to talk to driver, he discovered the shy passenger.

Of course, this isn't the first time a driver in Washington has tried to cheat the HOV rules by faking a passenger.

In 2015, a Washington State Patrol officer pulled over a woman for speeding in the HOV lane along I-5 near Lynnwood. When he looked inside her car, he noticed a mangled body wearing a Seahawks sweatshirt in the passenger seat. The trooper asked the woman, "What's up with your passenger?" and the woman said, "Nothing." When the trooper asked the woman to ask her passenger to sit up, she said simply, "I can't."

If you see an HOV lane violator - or just a funny looking passenger - you can report it to state police by calling 1-877-764-HERO.

In Friday's case, the driver was ticketed with an HOV violation, a $136 fine. But the trooper didn't have to give them a ticket for a seatbelt violation - both the driver and passenger were buckled in.

Image via Washington State Patrol