Carpool lane cheater claims dummy in back seat is training aid

The carpool lane cheaters were at it again this weekend, but at least one caught the eye of a Washington State Patrol trooper.

It wasn’t the first time that Trooper Rick Johnson has seen a dummy in a car (other than a cheating driver).

This time, Johnson pulled over a driver on southbound Interstate 5 near South 272nd Street in Federal Way on Saturday. The car was going 80 mph in a 60 mph HOV lane.

When Johnson approached the driver, he discovered her “passenger” in the back seat: what appeared to be a female mannikin head — with a luxurious head of hair — atop a stuffed coat resting on top of a cooler.

“The driver said this is her training aid and the reason it was positioned this way was to properly dry the hair,” Johnson said in an X post.

We don’t know if the driver is a hair stylist in training, but regardless of her story, she was ticketed, as she was the only real person in the car.

The fine for the first HOV lane violation is $186. After that, other violations within two years increase to $336.

But if a doll or dummy is in the car, an extra $200 will be added to the fine.