“Is that Snoop Dog?!”: Man caught with fake passenger in carpool lane
A US motorist has been handed a traffic infringement after police found him using a dummy to drive in the carpool lane.
Not only did his hilarious attempt to bypass morning traffic with the fake passenger whose goatee was "just a little too sharp" get him fined, he helped authorities answer the common question: “If I have a mannequin in the passenger seat, does that count as a second occupant in the vehicle?
"The answer is simple… NO."
According to an Instagram post shared by the California Highway Patrol Santa Fe Spring, authorities stopped the unnamed driver for crossing a double line when they noticed the plastic passenger.
"Officer Kaplan made an enforcement stop on this vehicle for crossing solid double lines only to realise the driver was the only occupant in the vehicle with their plastic friend," they wrote.
The mannequin in question had a human-like mask, sported a hoodie and sunglasses, and was seated upright with his seatbelt buckled in just like any other passenger.
And he would've gotten away with it too if it weren't for the fake facial hair.
"The goatee was sharp … just a little too sharp," they shared.
"We've gotta give it to them, the appearance is next-level modelling but at the end of the day ... plastic is plastic."
The driver was issued with a number of citations for carpool violations, but many online commenters shared their amusement at the light-hearted nature of the traffic violation.
"Is that snoop dog?!" wrote one commenter.
"Leave Stevie wonder alone," joked another.
"I really don’t see a problem here because most people are fake and have lots of plastic on them anyways," quipped a third.
Image: Instagram