An Overview of California’s HOV Law for Hybrids

Hybrid owners have recently gotten a lucky break while driving in the state of California. Unfortunately for them, the break might not be as long-lived as many hybrid owners would have liked for it to be.

Everyone knows that hybrids get much better gas mileage than other kinds of vehicles. Better gas mileage means a lot during times when gas prices soar to more than three dollars a gallon as it has been in recent years. But a simple gas break isn’t the only thing that California hybrid drivers have received.

In 2004, the Department of Motor Vehicles in California announced that is would be issuing exemption stickers for hybrid vehicles to drive in the HOV lane of the interstates. The HOV lanes, High Occupancy Vehicle, are the innermost lane on the interstate previously designated solely for the use of those vehicles that were car pooling. The new California law permits hybrid cars to drive in the HOV lane even if they do not have any passengers riding along with them.

As with most other laws, the new HOV-permitting-hybrid-vehicles law had a purpose. This purpose law was to encourage the use of low-emission vehicles. Officials believed that it would be beneficial for the environment if more people drove vehicles that weren’t harmful. They used HOV lanes as an incentive for drivers to purchase hybrid cars rather than driving non-hybrid cars that are known to pollute the air.

Prior to the amendments to the law, only vehicles with at least one passenger were allowed in the HOV lane. Whether these vehicles were hybrid or fueled by natural gas was negligible. However, lawmakers in California deemed it helpful to the traffic on the interstate and the environment to allow hybrid vehicles with no passengers to make use of the HOV lane. The legislation also allows these vehicles to pass through toll bridges without having to pay a fee.

Only hybrid vehicles that operate with at least forty-five miles per gallon were granted access to the HOV lane. This forced many hybrid vehicle owners to drive along with the rest of the traffic since only a small number of vehicle models made the cut. Among those that met the gas mileage cutoff were the Honda Civic, Honda Insight, and the Toyota Prius. Even with such a small number of models eligible, officials still find themselves passing out an alarming two hundred passes a day.

Those vehicles that do pass the gas mileage guidelines are characterized with electric motors and small combustion engines. These two factors allow the vehicles to run using considerably less gas and emit a fewer of toxins than other hybrid and non-hybrid vehicles. Hybrid SUVs and sedans that are not used for carpooling are not allowed to drive in the HOV lanes during the designated hours.

Hybrid vehicles that qualify can apply for a pass at their local Department of Motor Vehicles. Qualifying vehicles are fitted with a decal to let police know that these vehicles are legally allowed to drive in the HOV lane.

The law is met with much criticism from those drivers who use the HOV lane for carpooling. The carpooling HOV lane drivers are upset at hybrid drivers for congesting the HOV lane. Not only has there been an influx in the number of cars that drive in the carpool lane, most of the hybrid drivers drive considerably slower than the native carpooling drivers of the HOV lane. The slower pace of these drivers causes the lane to become congested, slowing down drivers who are using the lane for its preceding purpose – carpooling.

The extension of the HOV law to include hybrid vehicles has created quite a backlash. In many places along the California interstate you will find that the traffic in the HOV lane goes about the same rate, if not slower than, the traffic in the standard lanes. Ironically, the law has created more congestion on the interstate rather than it has relieved. It seems that the results of the law aren’t what officials have expected.

Many lawmakers are aware of the fact that adding hybrid vehicles to the HOV lane isn’t coming along as planned. However, whether the law will change remains to be seen.