Welcome to Targeted Enforcement Day!

[Gone in 60]

Many of California's freeways now feature car pool lanes, which are a boon for motorcyle riders, who can use the lanes, and since they usually have a wider than normal gap to the adjoining lane, make splitting easier.

The CHP rarely enforces them to my observation, so single drivers, otherwise bound by the Honor System, are rarely penalized for jumping into the car pool lanes to speed past traffic.

But this morning appeared to be a targeted enforcement day, and I'm sure that the two CHP officers working my freeway this morning were writing a copious amount of those $491 tickets.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Yeah, punish the cheaters. Clearly there is a deep pool of revenue that can be harvested - pretty much in any HOV lane around the world.

Some people always feel they are entitled more than others.

 

[Gone in 60]

It's funny... lots of drivers who cheat have dark tinted windows so that it's hard to see inside.
This guy's right side of the rear window was covered over in black duct tape. Maybe it's because of a broken window, but from behind, sure makes it hard to see if there's someone in the passenger seat.

The enforcement days seem well organized. From my obersvation, looks like a CHP motor officer lane-splits, looking inside all of the cars he passes. This morning, he was on a Harley, sort of hard to spot as an officer. I imagine he radios to another unit, as a cruiser like this Dodge then slides up and pulls them over.

 

[pekingduck]

The lack of CHP presence on the highways since Covid started has allowed a lot of abuse to take place. I rarely see them on the highway.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Sucks to be a cop and have to approach a vehicle with stupid dark tinted windows.

In Ontario, Canada that used to be illegal for a vehicle to have such dark front windows. I don't think the law has changed, but some drivers get away with it routinely. Darkened license plates is another folly.

 

[the Ferret]

Lots of vehicles with darkened windows , lic plate covers and blacked out taillight covers here too

 

[Cormanus]

Everywhere, I think.

 

[Mixagon_imp]

My UK Ford Kuga (you may know it as the Escape) has dark rear side and back windows from new, we call it privacy glass.

 

[Gone in 60]

Privacy glass is pretty standard on most SUVs to keep the rear contents out of view, but we’re talking about people who actively darken all of their windows. Tinting the front side windows is technically illegal in California, but enforcement is rare.

 

[Mixagon_imp]

Privacy glass is pretty standard on most SUVs to keep the rear contents out of view, but we’re talking about people who actively darken all of their windows. Tinting the front side windows is technically illegal in California, but enforcement is rare.

That happens here as well, some drivers black the fronts out and get away with it for ages but if and when stopped they usually if first offence are given chance to peel it off at the side of the road and carry on. If caught again I don't think the punishment is severe.

If your pool lanes are for more than one occupant in the vehicle then we have similar with our bus lanes. I know people who have a dummy in the passenger seat so they can use these lanes.

 

[Nachodaddy]

We just bought a new Honda Accord Hybrid and the dealer put dark window film on all the windows. I was surprised, as I remember, back in the 80s, California Highway Patrol stopped cars with out-of-state license plates and warned them that darkened front windows was illegal in California. In Arizona, I see very little enforcement of much of anything on the roads. They do seem to get a little interested when drivers start exchanging gunfire.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

We just bought a new Honda Accord Hybrid and the dealer put dark window film on all the windows. I was surprised, as I remember, back in the 80s, California Highway Patrol stopped cars with out-of-state license plates and warned them that darkened front windows was illegal in California. In Arizona, I see very little enforcement of much of anything on the roads. They do seem to get a little interested when drivers start exchanging gunfire.

... "no fear" behind a curtain. :dodgy:

Police risks are not fun.

 

[Charlie Bravo_imp]

I had a friend who lived in Riverside, CA and worked in the South Bay, near Redondo. He and his son both worked for a company that provided them a dual-cab pickup with a back seat. One of the HOV lines in SoCal required three occupants of the vehicle, so they made up a dummy from a wig stand, put a baseball cap on it, really big dark sunglasses and a huge fake beard, and propped it up in the rear seat. All the booth camera could see was a vague shape in the back seat, but they never got busted as far as I know.

 

[Randy B]

We just bought a new Honda Accord Hybrid and the dealer put dark window film on all the windows. I was surprised, as I remember, back in the 80s, California Highway Patrol stopped cars with out-of-state license plates and warned them that darkened front windows was illegal in California. In Arizona, I see very little enforcement of much of anything on the roads. They do seem to get a little interested when drivers start exchanging gunfire.

This is illegal. A state can't enforce their vehicle codes on out of state vehicles. If they could a ton of people would be getting tickets for no front license plate. 31 states require both front and rear license plates, while the remaining 19 only require a rear plate.

 

[Nachodaddy]

We just bought a new Honda Accord Hybrid and the dealer put dark window film on all the windows. I was surprised, as I remember, back in the 80s, California Highway Patrol stopped cars with out-of-state license plates and warned them that darkened front windows was illegal in California. In Arizona, I see very little enforcement of much of anything on the roads. They do seem to get a little interested when drivers start exchanging gunfire.

This is illegal. A state can't enforce their vehicle codes on out of state vehicles. If they could a ton of people would be getting tickets for no front license plate. 31 states require both front and rear license plates, while the remaining 19 only require a rear plate.

This is illegal. A state can't enforce their vehicle codes on out of state vehicles. If they could a ton of people would be getting tickets for no front license plate. 31 states require both front and rear license plates, while the remaining 19 only require a rear plate. Randy, you are right in that they couldn't ticket drivers and they didn't. But they did stop them and let them know that if they planned to stay in California, they had to remove the film. At a car show in Buellton, I met a guy with a beautiful custom rod that had dark front windows. He explained that (at that time) you could have them dark as long as it wasn't a film. So he had the glass tinted. More expensive, but so was his car.

 

[Charlie Bravo_imp]

The cop and the pick-up are in an emergency lane, not the HOV lane. It's very dangerous to travel in the emergency lane, which is reserved for first responders. I would bet that the ticket would be very expensive, and then there are all the added fees, which nearly doubles the fine.

 

[Gone in 60]

They're not travelling in the emergency lane, Charlie, the CHP car stopped the violating truck and pulled him over to the emergency lane to hand him a ticket. It's standard procedure to do that on this part of the freeway, rathter than the violator and the cop fighting four lanes of gridlocked traffic to the right to get to the opposite shoulder. Pull them to the left, hand a ticket, and go hunting for the next guy. They were out hunting again on Monday morning.

It's funny, a few miles south of this area, they are doing a freeway widening project, and the lanes shift over to the left, putting the car pool lane up against the concrete barrier. Car pool violators know that there's no good way for CHP to patrol that area, so they jump in the HOV lane down in that section.

 

[Charlie Bravo_imp]

Thanks for the clarification, Gone.