Ask Mike: Pregnant in the carpool lane
Hey Guys,
Commuting is the pits. The carpool lane (aka the HOV lane) can make it a bit less painful, but what if you don’t have another body in the car? Do you actually need one? A lot of folks on Yahoo! Answers wonder if pregnant women can legally ride in the carpool lane. The answer? Sure, but there has to be another person in the car, too.
It’s not hard to imagine how this might come up. Pregnant women “eating for two” is a common expression. Some might say they’re also driving with a little passenger. But the law says otherwise. According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, a pregnant woman counts as one person. It’s a different story once the little miracle is born. “Babies of any age… count as a person” in the world of high occupancy vehicles.
Rules of the road vary state to state, but, near as I can tell, this one is in effect across the board. California has a similar law, as do Washington and Arizona.
One woman tried to test this law back in 2006 and lost the case. Candace Wilkinson of Phoenix claimed that her fetus should meet the second person requirement for carpools. The judge didn’t agree and the woman was forced to pay the fine.
Bottom line — the carpool lane is nice, but don’t use it unless you have another person in the car with you. Buns in the oven do not count.
Thanks for reading,
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