What a Dummy!

By Jill Wagner

There's nothing worse than sitting in traffic--especially in rush hour when you're trying to get to work!  But if you commute alone, how far would you go to gain access to the HOV lane and cruise on by?   

As Suffolk County Deputy Sheriff Robert Howard points out, you need at least two people--two LIVING people--to ride in the HOV lane on the LIE.  Sounds simple enough, right?  Grab a friend and commute together.

So I'm sure you can imagine Howard's surprise when he was patrolling the HOV lane last week.  As he told me, he saw what looked like two guys in a Ford Explorer.  The driver was only going about 60mph, but something else caught his eye.  There seemed to be some kind of strange reflection coming off the passenger.  Hmmm.  Then the driver started talking.  But the passenger just sat there, motionless.  There was no head turning.  No arm movement.  No nothing. 

Nope, this wasn't a Weekend at Bernies situation!!! 

Howard pulled over the car... and it turns out that the side passenger was made of plexiglass.  That's right--two pieces of plexiglass that fit together.  Take a look--this picture was taken by the Sheriff's department.

The driver dressed up his plexi glass friend in a baseball cap, sunglasses and a black coat!  And if you think that sounds like a lot of effort, the Deputy says the driver works at a plexiglass factory... and actually MADE the cut-out! 

Howard gave him a summons, which comes with a 90 dollar fine and perhaps some points on his license. 

That's actually not too bad, when you consider how some other alleged HOV offenders were punished. The picture below shows a cop holding the mannequin he confiscated from a driver in Denver.  According to the Denver Channel, not only did the driver have to pay a $115 fine, but a judge ordered him to stand on the side of the road with a sign -- "HOV LANE NOT FOR DUMMIES."    

 

Comments

[L Callagy]

This morning you did a segment on falling gas prices and it being the one bright aspect of our current economic situation. Are you kidding me? So it dropped below $4.00. BIG DEAL! Gas at $3.48 is hardly a bargain! With these current prices, Long Islanders still can't afford food, mortgages, etc.. the list goes on. Gas would have to fall another $2.00 for it to balance out the costs of everything else these days. It seems hardly appropriate when we are in one of the worst recessions since the depression, for you to smile at the camera and report on gas prices as a positive issue. As far as Americans are concerned, gas prices are not dropping fast enough! Who are you directing your stories to - Certainly not the majority of Long Islanders struggling these days? I think it's in bad taste and maybe you'll think twice next time.