HOV/CARPOOL LANES: Why does one Adult + one Child = Two Passengers???

[Mackie2k]

This has always been a sore subject for me. I commute nearly 1 hour everyday to work....I don't have kids, I'm a single guy.

I sit in traffic every morning, while Mommy or Daddy with their 2 year old, gets to drive in the HOV/Carpool lane....

Why does a child, who wouldn't be driving anywhere without their parent, qualify that Parent to drive in the carpool lane??

The point of the carpool lane, is to take 2+ DRIVERS and get them into ONE CAR....

That kid would NEVER be driving by himself....

In that respect, I should be able to take my DOG in my car and drive in the carpool lane.....

Please don't say "If you had kids you'd understand..." I realize kids suck in the car, and they scream and cry and whine, but YOU DECIDED TO HAVE KIDS......that's your choice...

If they opened up that extra lane, (4 lanes total)......we'd have 33% more lanes to spread traffic out into.......

Any thoughts?????

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
This has always been a sore subject for me. I commute nearly 1 hour everyday to work....I don't have kids, I'm a single guy.

I sit in traffic every morning, while Mommy or Daddy with their 2 year old, gets to drive in the HOV/Carpool lane....

Why does a child, who wouldn't be driving anywhere without their parent, qualify that Parent to drive in the carpool lane??

The point of the carpool lane, is to take 2+ DRIVERS and get them into ONE CAR....

That kid would NEVER be driving by himself....

In that respect, I should be able to take my DOG in my car and drive in the carpool lane.....

Please don't say "If you had kids you'd understand..." I realize kids suck in the car, and they scream and cry and whine, but YOU DECIDED TO HAVE KIDS......that's your choice...

If they opened up that extra lane, (4 lanes total)......we'd have 33% more lanes to spread traffic out into.......

Any thoughts?????

Tough luck, get over it. Would like some more cheese with your whine?

 

[purbeast0]

woah ... that is actually a very good point. i have never thought of that.

although, you sure are going to have to deal with it and nothing more

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
If they opened up that extra lane, (4 lanes total)......we'd have 33% more lanes to spread traffic out into.......

Any thoughts?????

...and do you know how much faster traffic would move? Well...pretty much ZERO. Carpool lanes are like handicapped parking spots...it looks like a waste since they're always open, but really they aren't cutting into the total available parking that much.

Also, carpool lanes provide a VERY valuable function that most people don't think about: A place for emergency vehicles to actually get somewhere. Believe me, if you are ever in the back of an ambulance barrelling down the carpool lane, you will be VERY glad that they didn't decide to have four solid lanes of stopped traffic instead of three.

Not to mention it allows the bus to go much faster too...which in turn encourages people not to drive, and frees up space on the other three lanes. Much more so than opening it to all traffic would.

 

[Queasy]

Hey, that's why I knocked my wife up and downloaded a tricycle motor that costs thousands of dollars a year to take care of....so I can get in the HOV lane!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

 

[DivideBYZero]

Do your nuts work?

 

[Longkid]

So you want the law to stipulate two or more persons of legal driving age have to be in the vehicle? I think you should just put your inflatable doll in the passenger seat and drive on.

 

[Doggiedog]

2/10

 

[phreakah]

i like the carpool lane on the 110 in downtown LA... it's mostly elevated above the freeway so that nobody can move in and out of the carpool lane, plus it allows for more lanes on the actual freeway

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan


Tough luck, get over it. Would like some more cheese with your whine?

Yeah, HOV lanes will instantly clog if opened up. Traffic will move no faster.

 

[psteng19]

Well, what sucks for me in NJ (turnpike and bridges/tunnels) require a total of 3 people (driver + 2) in order to make use of HOV.

I still make use of it a little on the rare occasion my car is packed, but when I'm just with my GF, I sigh and :frown:

 

[cyclistca]

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
Any thoughts?????

Your an idiot?

 

[MaxDSP]

Originally posted by: cyclistca

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
Any thoughts?????

Your an idiot?

seconded

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

In that respect, I should be able to take my DOG in my car and drive in the carpool lane.....

Any thoughts?????

Yeah, since kids and dogs are equals, I should be allow to have a shock collar for my kids to keep them quiet.

KK

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

In that respect, I should be able to take my DOG in my car and drive in the carpool lane.....

Any thoughts?????

I should be allow to have a shock collar for my kids to keep them quiet.

KK

ya know, that's a pretty good idea!!! I'm gonna run it past my wife, she babysits a lot...

 

[Pixelated]

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
This has always been a sore subject for me. I commute nearly 1 hour everyday to work....I don't have kids, I'm a single guy.

I sit in traffic every morning, while Mommy or Daddy with their 2 year old, gets to drive in the HOV/Carpool lane....

Why does a child, who wouldn't be driving anywhere without their parent, qualify that Parent to drive in the carpool lane??

The point of the carpool lane, is to take 2+ DRIVERS and get them into ONE CAR....

That kid would NEVER be driving by himself....

In that respect, I should be able to take my DOG in my car and drive in the carpool lane.....

Please don't say "If you had kids you'd understand..." I realize kids suck in the car, and they scream and cry and whine, but YOU DECIDED TO HAVE KIDS......that's your choice...

If they opened up that extra lane, (4 lanes total)......we'd have 33% more lanes to spread traffic out into.......

Any thoughts?????

What if you have passenger who happens to be drunk? He/She's incapable of driving, so would you not be allowed in the carpool lane since the drunk driver is not legally allowed to drive? How about a passenger who's physically handicapped and incapable of driving? Them too?

Get over it.

 

[DougK62]

I agree with the OP.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

Its a stupid thing to whine about, but you do have a good point.

In terms of traffic, I think allowing HOV lanes to be used as all purpose lanes would speed things up. A bigger pipe, more bandwidth and hopefully better throughput. The decreased amount of time each car would spend on the road would have better effects on overall pollution than doubling up 10% of drivers and slowing 90% of them down by 20%. This is just a hypothesis on my part. I think there could be math to back it up, but I dont know statistics about HOV usage, or its effectiveness in reducing traffic/pollution.

 

[FoBoT]

i am glad we have no HOV/car pool crap lanes around here. we're lucky we have 2 lanes that are drivable

missouri roads suck donkey balls

 

[Doggiedog]

Originally posted by: psteng19
Well, what sucks for me in NJ (turnpike and bridges/tunnels) require a total of 3 people (driver + 2) in order to make use of HOV.

I still make use of it a little on the rare occasion my car is packed, but when I'm just with my GF, I sigh and :frown:

I thought they abolished HOV lanes in NJ. Well, at least they did around my parts.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

Originally posted by: Pixelated

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
This has always been a sore subject for me. I commute nearly 1 hour everyday to work....I don't have kids, I'm a single guy.

I sit in traffic every morning, while Mommy or Daddy with their 2 year old, gets to drive in the HOV/Carpool lane....

Why does a child, who wouldn't be driving anywhere without their parent, qualify that Parent to drive in the carpool lane??

The point of the carpool lane, is to take 2+ DRIVERS and get them into ONE CAR....

That kid would NEVER be driving by himself....

In that respect, I should be able to take my DOG in my car and drive in the carpool lane.....

Please don't say "If you had kids you'd understand..." I realize kids suck in the car, and they scream and cry and whine, but YOU DECIDED TO HAVE KIDS......that's your choice...

If they opened up that extra lane, (4 lanes total)......we'd have 33% more lanes to spread traffic out into.......

Any thoughts?????

What if you have passenger who happens to be drunk? He/She's incapable of driving, so would you not be allowed in the carpool lane since the drunk driver is not legally allowed to drive? How about a passenger who's physically handicapped and incapable of driving? Them too?

Get over it.

Yes, they don't really fit in the spirit of the HOV lane and really shouldn't qualify. Doesn't matter though, carpool lanes are stupid. And you never see consistency, logic or results in stupid endeavors.

 

[Mackie2k]

People bitch and moan on here all day, so I will to.....if you don't like it, suck it. :lips:

In fact, I think that these lanes should be eliminated and made to be "Paid" Carpool lanes.....

You pay a fee per month, and you get access to them.....and the state gets a fat new source of revenue...

I'm tired of people getting perks for having kids.....it's BS and should stop.

And you are RIGHT....kids and dogs aren't the same.....

MOST DOGS ARE SMARTER AND MORE WELL BEHAVED.

 

[ReiAyanami]

Yeah, blah blah blah, ambulances shouldn't be allowed to take the HOV unless there are two medics inside.

However on the way back they may take the HOV lane. Unless the person died, in which case they are a corpse not a person.

I commute nearly 1 hour everyday to work....I don't have kids

congradulations for not polluting the gene pool. why don't you move closer to work, you have no attachments. then you'll go boohoohoo, its a time consuming to move. well then you gotta weigh the 1 hour X how many more days you plan to work there VS the time it takes to move

 

[Hammer]

i agree with you for the most part. it violates the spirit of the HOV lane, although legal. it does nothing to reduce the number of cars on the road.

 

[Hammer]

Originally posted by: Longkid
So you want the law to stipulate two or more persons of legal driving age have to be in the vehicle? I think you should just put your inflatable doll in the passenger seat and drive on.

somebody did that. it was in the news. they got a heavy fine.