Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS : COUNTY : Car-Pool Lane Rules Violated, Group Says

A grass-roots highway safety group opposed to car-pool lanes on the Costa Mesa Freeway unveiled their own statistics to dispute state transportation officials’ contention that only a small percentage of drivers violate rules for the high-speed lanes.

Drivers for Highway Safety said the group’s own study showed that car-pool policy, which requires two or more occupants in cars using the high-speed lanes, is being violated by 28.5% of the drivers during peak traffic hours. The statistics differ dramatically from the 6% to 9% violation rates reported by the California Department of Transportation.

Caltrans installed the lanes and has been monitoring them for the Orange County Transportation Commission.

Volunteers from the Irvine-based Drivers for Highway Safety drove cars during peak traffic hours to observe violators along the 11.8-mile stretch between the Riverside and San Diego freeways. Caltrans derived its figures by stationing observers at fixed locations on bridges overlooking the traffic.

A spokesman for the highway safety group said his organization’s method is more accurate because it covers more area where traffic congestion is worst. Caltrans and the transportation commission declined to comment on the findings, which they had not yet reviewed.