Driver Tries to Sneak Into HOV Lane With a Creepy Doll Head

Image via State Police

It takes a really convincing mannequin to pull a fast one on the Massachusetts State Police, but one driver bagged trying to sneak into the carpool lane this week didn’t have one.

According to police, at 6:35 a.m. on Thursday, a trooper assigned to the Motorcycle Unit was working a paid detail in Quincy when he observed a vehicle enter the High Occupancy Vehicle lane, traveling on Interstate 93 North, with what appeared to be a “counterfeit passenger.”

Once the trooper flagged down the driver and investigated the situation he realized the it wasn’t an actual person in the front seat, but actually a mannequin’s head that was propped up on top of a work jacket. The officer said the fake passenger was the driver’s attempt “to create the illusion of a true passenger,” so he could speed through the congested traffic in the area.

After reprimanding the individual, and taking away the dummy’s head, the operator was issued a $50 citation for trying to enter the HOV lane with the phony commuter.

According to police, people are only allowed to make use of the HOV lane when at least two people are in a vehicle. “The purpose of the HOV lane is to alleviate the number of cars on the roadway during the morning and evening commute times. This is accomplished by encouraging carpooling,” police said in a statement.

Oddly enough, this type of thing has happened before. Around the same time last year, the same trooper stopped a woman barreling down I-93 with a full-sized doll in the passenger seat of her car. The woman was also making an effort to skip the congested traffic and sneak by officials to get into the fast lane.