Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 9, 1994 TAG: 9412100055
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
Last Thursday, two motorcycle patrolmen of the state police spotted a car with foggy windows, not an unusual sight on these chill winter mornings. As he passed, the driver was talking to his companion.
But on closer examination, the fog turned out to be soap. The patrolmen stopped the car.
The companion was a dummy wearing a Halloween face, glasses, a hat and a scarf. Troopers Bill McKinney and John Wright cited the driver for being alone in a lane reserved for cars with two or more people. Fifty bucks plus $26 court costs.
The ruse is employed by drivers who want to be in the faster HOV lanes (for High Occupancy Vehicle) on interstate highways in the Virginia suburbs of Washington.
Safe-T-Man, according to a Santa Barbara manufacturer by the same name, ``creates the impression that individuals are not alone in the car.''
by CNB