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Hate California Traffic? Drive in Car Pool lane alone (legally)

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Bill, you make things too complicated. And who wants to drive out of their way to the refueling stations. If it didn't occur to you, having an abductee with you qualifies you to use the HOV lane too. There is always a potential victim closer than those #%% refueling stations. Plus every once in a while you can get a good ransom; eBay works well 😉



<< Ok, debated posting this, but I think it's a hot deal. Since a new law last year, California allows you to drive in the HOV (carpool) lanes alone if you have an alternative fuel vehicle (natual gas or electric, hybrids don't qualify). Very few people know about this new law (about the only other people I ever see taking advantage of it are cab fleets so their drivers can return from a dropoff quickly).

The Natural Gas Vehicle form at www.ngv.org has a list of used qualifiying cars for sale at Cars for sale The site also has a list of refueling stations at Refuelling stations

I've had one of these vehicles since July to commute in, I regurally enjoy passing miles of stopped traffic while the HOV lane keeps moving 😉 The fact it has almost 0 emessions is another bonus. The topper is that fuel costs are about 33% less than unleaded fuel costs for the equivalent amount of fuel.

Bill >>

 
answer to my own question

"California grants exceptions to the car-pool lane minimum passenger limit only for vehicles that meet ULEV or better emissions level AND which are powered primarily by an "alternative fuel" - meaning something other than gasoline."
 
Up front, I will state that I never been to CA and only know what been in the media. A few years ago, I read in an automotive magazine that half the pollution from automotive emissions happen on Saturday. Folks, the problem is that families get into their SUVs and mini-vans, then almost every Saturday do a series of short trips. Their vehicles engine never goes into lamba, closed loop. I would like to see more people car pool; but let stop p***ing on commmuters who primary propose Monday thru Friday is to earn a living. Plus these indivduals produce goods and services, unlike politicians whoproduce hot air.

I live in Missouri and in my area I'm force every two years to have my car tested on its emission by a state approved site. Luckily, the state has set-up random on-road drive by testing and will when one passed twice send you a waiver around when your plates up due. Otherwise, it take your vehicle to the testing site and allow someone who has never driven a manual or done automotive repairs before, drive your vehicle through the testing lane. Countless owners have had their vehicles messed up by fools who work for less then eight bucks an hour.

I like to thank the Feds in Washington and the idoits at Jeff City, the state capital, for saving me from a bunch of criminals. The criminals, I refer to are those who worked in the private sector and passed a few polluting cars and trucks to supplemental their incomes. What funny is vehicle owners still got to go through safety inspection ( it only every other year now) and I doubt changing who perform emission inspection cut into the fake inspection racket. Before someone ask, my car plates were renewed last Nov and both inspections are legit.

 
last year I heard they were selling natural gas Caddies SUVs for 23k 🙂 in Arizona

too bad I don't live there
 
Does it include the toll road of 91? I don't think so, that's private toll road, not normal carpool lane.

I saw the Honda Insight electric car with a dealer markup $4000 on the sticker at Riverside Honda,
The government wants people to use electric car to help improving the environment, but the car dealer puts a such huge markup on such car. What's the point?
 
If you have a car that's converted from regular gas to natural gas, don't forget to go to the gas station and fill up (the old gas tank) with water from a hose. I'd love to see their faces after you ask, "how much is water? Free?! Great!" then drive off with a full tank of water.
 
The only thing more worthless than a carpool lane in California is a Rail line in California.

About 90% of the people in the carpool lane would still have the same number of people in the car even if the lane wasn't there. Most the cars in carpool lanes are Parents with kids, or Gardners, or construction workers.

There have been several studies that have shown that almost all freeways (at least in California) would carry more cars & more people (and produce LESS polution) if the carpool lane was turned into a regular lane.

But that is not why they build carpool lanes out here. They won't build any regular lanes because they WANT to get people out of thier cars. The Gridlock on the freeways is exactly what they want (there was a Sr. Democrat in Sacramento that actually said the only way they can get people out of thier cars was to create massive gridlock).

As for light rail, it may work in places like New York, but out here in California, everything is too scattered. The cost of running the rail systems is so high, if they charged enough to pay for it, nobody could afford to ride them. Instead, they subsidize them with taxpayer money. One of the rail lines in LA costs the taxpayer over $30 for each passanger that rides it. They don't even make enough to pay for the security guards on the trains ! If they managed to get 15% of the public to use light rail the entire state would go broke in days.
 
Actually, up in northern California, they have hours for the carpool restrictions- during rush hour, it's usually two or more people per car... I don't remember the exact hours, but it's during both morning and afternoon/evening rush hour traffic. At all other hours, you can drive in the carpool lane by yourself. Another good thing about the carpool lanes up north is that you can go in and get out of them whenever you want, instead of having to wait for the dotted lines inbetween the sections of double or sometimes quadruple yellow lanes we have down here in LA.
 
Hey Guys,
I've had Natural Gas in my car for ages.....especially after bean night. I get right in that commuter lane. If I get pulled over in my Corvette....I just roll down the window and give em a wiff of that natural gas. they just wave me on....at least thats what I think they're doing.....eh...works for me!
Bluz you can use!😉
 
Funny thing about electric cars is, if you take into account the pollution from the power plant that produced the electricity the car gets charged with, they're actually higher emissions than traditional gasoline cars.

-=Marcus
 
> Funny thing about electric cars is, if you take into account the pollution from the power plant that produced the electricity the car gets charged with, they're actually higher emissions than traditional gasoline cars.

Most places that quote that don't take into count the energy costs associated with producing and refining oil into gasoline, so the comparision is not as real as it seems. Also, for what it's worth, it allows commuties to displace the emissions to other areas (robbing Peter to pay Paul is it where).

Bill
 


<< Actually, up in northern California, they have hours for the carpool restrictions- during rush hour, it's usually two or more people per car... I don't remember the exact hours, but it's during both morning and afternoon/evening rush hour traffic. At all other hours, you can drive in the carpool lane by yourself. Another good thing about the carpool lanes up north is that you can go in and get out of them whenever you want, instead of having to wait for the dotted lines inbetween the sections of double or sometimes quadruple yellow lanes we have down here in LA. >>

yah it's 5-9am and then 3-7pm, but carpool lanes are only available during select stretches where there are enough lanes (east bay 880, but not south bay 880 since only 2 lanes until downtown San Jose)

most of the carpool lanes require 2 ppl, except in rare cases like north bay 80 where 3 are required...
 


<< As for light rail, it may work in places like New York, but out here in California, everything is too scattered. The cost of running the rail systems is so high, if they charged enough to pay for it, nobody could afford to ride them. Instead, they subsidize them with taxpayer money. One of the rail lines in LA costs the taxpayer over $30 for each passanger that rides it. They don't even make enough to pay for the security guards on the trains ! If they managed to get 15% of the public to use light rail the entire state would go broke in days. >>



Uh, highways get enormous subsidies, from tax breaks on oil production to liability caps for catastrophic pollution damage, not to mention the increased costs of health care because of pollution and accidents both. As more and more people drive, these costs spiral.

By the way, there isn't any light rail in NYC. Hasn't been for years.
 


<< They should be all "shot in the ass" for even thinking of carpool lanes. Is there anywhere in the USA where they work? >>



No, if you live in SF Bay area you will know how busy the freeway is..... takes you 1 hour to get through 30miles ..... Even the Carpool lane is FULL during traffic hour. The whole purpose of carpool lane is to encourage people carpool, so there are less cars on the road. They don't put carpool lanes on road that has only 1 person vehicle...... or places that are not too busy.

 


<< Funny thing about electric cars is, if you take into account the pollution from the power plant that produced the electricity the car gets charged with, they're actually higher emissions than traditional gasoline cars. >>



Electric motor is so much more efficient (up to 90%) than Gasoline Engine (up to 16%), and power plant run at a larger scale and is more efficient than your regular gas engine in your car. So, the emission of Electric Car is still so much better than Gasoline Engine. The only problem they are facing is the range problem, you cannot have an electric car drive for more than 80miles (EV1 as example), and the charging time is very long, so you cannot drive long trip for it.

The biggest cost for electric car is the battery, not the motor. Thats why hybrid has a huge advantage compare to electric car, the electric motor provide the torque and boost when it is needed, while the gas engine is tuned to an optimal driving efficiency, range, and size for the normal freeway driving (60 to 80mph).

Now if they could produce more of it to drive down the initial cost...... it would be a killer.
 


<< Yeah, or get a motorcycle. You can go in between cars too then! 🙂 >>



Yeah, you cant beat a motorcycle for getting around south bay,
when the weather is good, I pass cars at every light,
They reserve my special lane right down the middle, where the white lines are 🙂

I noticed nobody mentioned 101, most of the way to SF there is a commuter lane too,
237, and several expressways through Santa Clara (sil valley for mich people)have carpool lanes durring commute hours too.

The traffic is generally sh!tty, but unbearable at times, it doesnt help that there are a lot of people driving here with less than 1 yr driving experience.
A co-worker of mine came over from China, never driven before in his life, and spent $300 for a week long driving school, and then went and got his license. The driving school cert got him out of the road test, lucky for him, cause he would never have passed it.
So there he was here for two weeks and driving (in the loosest definition). It was a scary as it sounds.
Sadly, that is very common here......

maybe we should all move to montanna.......
anyway as long as you are watching out for the stupid car drivers, motorcycles are great here 🙂
 
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