Catch Carpool Lane Violators Differently

Every morning, I drive from Long Beach to Manhattan Beach to work, driving north on the 405.

Do I wish I could jump into the carpool lane? Of course I do; it’s quicker and the rest of the 405 is jampacked with people stressed about being late. Do I jump into the lane? Of course not; I drive alone and to do so would be illegal. Do others? Of course they do, they don’t care. They probably are late for work and after all, it’s not like they are robbing a bank.

After sitting in traffic for the better part of an hour, I see on the right side of the road, one, sometimes two, sometimes even three California Highway Patrol cars sitting near the Inglewood Boulevard onramp pulling over single-occupant cars and ticketing the drivers who jumped into the carpool lane.

An admirable idea, but the police are the reason for the rubbernecking that has caused my traffic delays for the last hour.

Something should be done about drivers who break the law. Yes, people should be caught, but is this the most effective way of doing so?

Since we know there are specific locations where this happens most often, wouldn’t it make more sense to set up cameras in those locations that can automatically issue the tickets without causing the cars to stop? It might be expensive, but think of the expense we now incur with traffic snares, officers’ time, smog caused by the traffic and the potential for lost lives due to road rage from this much traffic.