Funeral Van Takes Shortcut in Carpool Lane, Counts Deceased as Passenger

A Nevada State Patrol officer in the United States stopped a driver traveling in the carpool lane, designated for vehicles with two or more passengers, and was startled by what he found. The driver was apparently alone but was transporting a coffin. As the officer prepared to issue a ticket for the solo journey in the carpool lane, the driver argued that the deceased should count as a passenger...

Officer Travis Smaka noticed a minivan traveling south on the highway in the carpool lane. According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, the driver seemed to be alone because Smaka didn’t consider the body as a passenger. He signaled the driver to pull over and approached the vehicle, expecting to hear one of the more common excuses like being late for an appointment or heading to an emergency.

Instead, the driver nodded and gestured towards the back of the van. Smaka caught the hint and asked, "Oh, you have a dead person back there?" That’s when the driver took a chance and replied, "So they don’t count?" An astonished Smaka informed the driver of what apparently wasn’t so clear—that the carpool lane is for cars carrying at least two "living and breathing" people, clarifying, "He’s no longer with us and the body is in the rear, which doesn’t qualify as a seat."

"It was one of the more interesting responses I’ve received," said the officer, admitting the encounter made him "chuckle a bit" during a routine workday. The penalty for a carpool lane violation is a $250 fine, but Smaka chose to let the driver off with a warning.

While the cemetery driver’s excuse was unique, it’s certainly not the first instance of someone attempting to navigate their way into the carpool lane with a tall tale. A person from Northern California once claimed the incorporation papers of his company counted as a second passenger since the Supreme Court treats corporations as individuals in legal matters. Other drivers have resorted to placing life-sized images of celebrities in the passenger seat. One California driver even tried to pass his German shepherd off as a legitimate passenger—after all, it wore a seatbelt just like a person.