Speeders, Cheaters on I-15 : Some Are Already Taking ‘Express Lane’ Too Literally

In the 24 hours after the opening of Interstate 15’s reversible car-pool lane, officers gave out many citations to speeders and cheaters, the California Highway Patrol said Friday.

“I’m actually astonished by what I’ve seen,” said Alicia Contreras, a CHP officer who had monitored the high-occupancy-vehicle lane since it opened at 3 p.m. Thursday.

“It reminds me of the autobahn in Germany,” she said of the white, virtually empty strip that splits I-15. Motorists “need to be aware that the express lane is 55 m.p.h. just like the highway.”

Contreras said she has stopped several drivers traveling alone in the express lane, which is open only to motorcycles and vehicles with two or more people.

“It’s very interesting how people try to explain their way out of it, “ Contreras said. “One individual said she thought it was the slow lane. Others drive down it alone because they . . . don’t think the rules are fair.”

Contreras said that, because of the lane’s novelty, most such drivers received verbal warnings rather than tickets, but she added that it won’t be long before the agency begins giving out citations regularly.

The fine for driving alone in a car-pool lane is about $45, contrasted with $25 for a seat-belt violation, Contreras said.

Officials said congestion on I-15 has lessened a bit, but not as much as expected.

Jim Larson, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation, said that, during heavy traffic, car-poolers can zip down the middle lane about three times faster than in the traditional lanes.

The first hour the express lane was open Thursday, 621 northbound vehicles went through, Larson said. The figure rose to 952 in the second hour and to 1,028 in the third.

When the lane changed to southbound Friday morning, 696 vehicles traveled it the first hour, 981 the second, and 445 the third, he said.

“We had to keep the northbound lane open a little longer because there was an accident on I-15,” Larson said.

“It was still bumper-to-bumper when I drove down I-15 to go home,” Contreras said. “But I haven’t started car-pooling yet, so I can’t use the lane.”

Construction on the 8-mile-long lane began in 1984, Larson said, and the final cost was about $31 million.

The lane stretches from the junction of California 163 to North City Parkway at Rancho Penasquitos. Caltrans may eventually extend the lane north to the Lake Hodges area, and may someday build trolley tracks alongside it.