Carpooling in Bay Area is bad enough without HOV lane ‘bait and switch’: Roadshow

Q: I think someone in the state bureaucracy is guilty of bait-and-switch.

When I considered buying a car, I was enticed by the offer of being allowed in HOV lanes if I drove an electric vehicle, presumably because such vehicles had no harmful emissions and the state encouraged carpooling to get some cars off the road. I paid $30 for decals so police could see my car was OK in the restricted lanes.

Then a new rule was announced: One needed three passengers to drive without a fee in express lanes being installed throughout the Bay Area. Oh, and if one has an EV, the new rule with two people in the car is that they pay a reduced rate for the express lane.

I submit that the fair solution to this bait-and-switch would be that no fee should be charged for an EV with two people. What do you think?

Bob Pierce

A: Regional officials promoted this change for several months prior to making the change. I do understand your frustration.

Q: So many people go over double white lines to enter HOV lanes. It’s very dangerous, as they often go from a dead stop into a fast-moving lane.

I think Caltrans should post warnings on those electronic billboards to inform people that it is a carpool violation and the fine for doing so is $490. It might discourage a few people. A friend was caught and she was shocked.

Mary Conway

A: Caltrans has posted this information at times, but a few more messages would help, as people get used to express lanes.

Q: I have often wondered why the photograph of the person to whom a handicapped parking placard is issued isn’t placed on the placard. I know of people who take a relative’s handicapped placard when they go to a place where they know parking is an issue. Since the DMV has the person’s photograph for their license, it wouldn’t seem to be too difficult to have this picture on the placard.

Brenda Loman

A: The DMV says it does not have the legislative authority to add a photo to a customer’s disabled person parking placard (DPP). Federal and state law govern what is required on a DPP, and neither requires a photo.

A DPP may only be used by the person who was issued the placard. It is illegal, and could result in citations and fines, if you:

• Lend your placard to someone
• Use someone else’s placard
• Forge a licensed medical professional’s signature
• Possess or display a counterfeit placard or license plates
• Provide false information to obtain a placard or license plates
• Alter a placard or placard identification card

Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.