California DMV - Plates & HOV Stickers

[liuping]

As long as it's not the I-405 HOV in rush hour, you should be going a little faster than other cars now...

That should ease a little bit of the pain.

My commute is such that the carpool lane is rarely faster than the flow of traffic here in San Diego. Sometimes it is slower (getting stuck behind a slow Prius drives me nuts)

The stickers mostly save me time getting on the freeway, since there are carpool access lanes on the on ramps and they are almost always empty.

 

[GoBlue88]

As long as it's not the I-405 HOV in rush hour, you should be going a little faster than other cars now...

That should ease a little bit of the pain.

Might save me 5 minutes on my commute since I get on at Del Mar Heights and the northbound carpool lane only lasts for about 4.5 miles from there. It'll probably more of an opportunistic thing really. Still, I will take it.

- - - Updated - - -

My commute is such that the carpool lane is rarely faster than the flow of traffic here in San Diego. Sometimes it is slower (getting stuck behind a slow Prius drives me nuts)

The stickers mostly save me time getting on the freeway, since there are carpool access lanes on the on ramps and they are almost always empty.

Yeah, that is actually the bigger bonus unfortunately. Getting on via the car pool lane at Encinitas Blvd. this morning saved me about 3 minutes of trudging up that onramp. That was nice.

 

[hyperpretension]

Same experience with me on the onramps. I used to wait up to 5 minutes at Washington Street, now I breeze on the freeway. I take the Encinitas onramp at night to head south, but the HOV lane only saves me some seconds since it's usually not backed up at 5:00.

I use the HOV lane on the northbound I-5 in the morning and usually save a few minutes if I don't get behind a slowpoke. I rarely take it on the way home unless I need to veer off onto the 805. The southbound HOV stretch from Lomas Santa Fe to the 5/805 split is usually slower than the regular lanes, but if you're heading down the 805, sticking to the HOV lane through the end will save quite a few minutes before you're dropped back in with the muggles.

 

[nakedsushi]

I got my white decals (about a month after applying for them) and am thinking about going with the 1-smallest sticker on the bottom plastic bumper approach previous posters have been saying. Have you folks who have done that been okay with that still? I often take the hov/fastrak lanes on the 10 east of the 5. My license plate also makes it pretty clear that I have an hov exempt vehicle, but one can never be too sure.

 

[Lloyd]

I have only used the small center sticker, but I only drive the lanes about 1X per month. No issues so far.

 

[GoBlue88]

I got my white decals (about a month after applying for them) and am thinking about going with the 1-smallest sticker on the bottom plastic bumper approach previous posters have been saying. Have you folks who have done that been okay with that still? I often take the hov/fastrak lanes on the 10 east of the 5. My license plate also makes it pretty clear that I have an hov exempt vehicle, but one can never be too sure.

No issues so far, with just the one small white sticker on my lower right plastic bumper. Can't say for sure though if I've passed a cop or had one behind me while driving in the HOV lane.

 

[bareyb]

I'm still driving Commando with the stickers in my Glove Box. So far, so good. I've driven right past Highway Patrol and they don't give Teslas a second look. There are so many of them here I guess it's common knowledge that they are exempt.

 

[GoBlue88]

I've never seen much enforcement down in the San Diego area anyway. Not like up in LA, where I have seen motorcycle cops camped out on the median of the southbound 405 during rush hour, looking for carpool lane violators.

 

[AEdennis]

I got my white decals (about a month after applying for them) and am thinking about going with the 1-smallest sticker on the bottom plastic bumper approach previous posters have been saying. Have you folks who have done that been okay with that still? I often take the hov/fastrak lanes on the 10 east of the 5. My license plate also makes it pretty clear that I have an hov exempt vehicle, but one can never be too sure.

I'm often on the 105, 110, 210, 405, and 605. On Friday afternoon Rush Hour, when the "jumper" snarled the 5 and all points last week (July 25), I was on the 10 Carpool/Express Lanes.

 

[iffatall]

I have a generic question (not related to our HOV stickers per se. Sorry for the distraction)

I take the CA-237 to I880 express lane everyday. This express lane allows HOVs for free, and others for a variable fee charged by Fastrack during rush hours. The instructions ask you to put away or turn off your Fastrack transponder when there are 2+ people in your car.

My question is - how does the CHP enforce this? It seems impossible to me. A single driver can always not have their transponder, and if stopped, can claim he had it on. I do not believe the CHP is going to connect to the Fastrack database on the spot and check if the transponder was actually charged. Is this system just based on people's honesty?

 

[nakedsushi]

I'm guessing it's on the honor system.

 

[jaanton]

Switchable fastrak for bay area next spring

Bay Area carpoolers must use FasTrak in express lanes under new law - San Jose Mercury News

 

[iffatall]

Switchable fastrak for bay area next spring

Bay Area carpoolers must use FasTrak in express lanes under new law - San Jose Mercury News

The issue I pointed to - still persists. You switch your transponder to "4 passengers" when passing under the detector, and then switch it back to "Driver only" after you pass it. CHP cannot say what you did from outside, and hence will not stop you - unless they are eager enough and capable (unlikely) to stop someone and connect to the Fastrack database to check how this driver was charged. Not to mention facing the wrath of the honest driver who paid to save time on an express lane, and was stopped.

I'm guessing it's on the honor system.

That has to be it.

 

[spaghetti]

I'm guessing it's on the honor system.

OK, so this is what I have seen numerous times driving southbound on I-680 (which I use everyday). Every now and then I see a white mini van with no windows, but a revolving yellow light on top - the van will be off to the side of the freeway deep into the shoulder - someone will be standing behind the van with the rear hatch doors open doing something at the rear of the van. Now every time I see this minivan, there will be a CHP cruiser or motorcycle within a mile ahead hidden around a bend/curve on the freeway median. The overhead Fastrak receivers on the freeway pick up every car that passes below them. Clearly they know when a car has used the express lane without a transponder. I think what is happening is that the minivans on the side of the freeway have realtime access to the Fastrak database, and are relaying in near realtime to the CHP ahead that a car has used the express lane without a transponder. This presumably makes the CHP's task of nailing single-occupant violators easier. Dual-occupant usage is permitted anyway, so the CHP has to simply keep an eye out for a single-occupant vehicle when they get the signal from the minivan.

This is all clearly speculation on my part, but I have seen this so many times now and am trying to connect the dots...

 

[SFOTurtle]

Switchable fastrak for bay area next spring

Bay Area carpoolers must use FasTrak in express lanes under new law - San Jose Mercury News

For now this looks like it is just aimed at 580 and 680 toll lanes and toll bridge crossings.

 

[iffatall]

OK, so this is what I have seen numerous times driving southbound on I-680 (which I use everyday). Every now and then I see a white mini van with no windows, but a revolving yellow light on top - the van will be off to the side of the freeway deep into the shoulder - someone will be standing behind the van with the rear hatch doors open doing something at the rear of the van. Now every time I see this minivan, there will be a CHP cruiser or motorcycle within a mile ahead hidden around a bend/curve on the freeway median. The overhead Fastrak receivers on the freeway pick up every car that passes below them. Clearly they know when a car has used the express lane without a transponder. I think what is happening is that the minivans on the side of the freeway have realtime access to the Fastrak database, and are relaying in near realtime to the CHP ahead that a car has used the express lane without a transponder. This presumably makes the CHP's task of nailing single-occupant violators easier. Dual-occupant usage is permitted anyway, so the CHP has to simply keep an eye out for a single-occupant vehicle when they get the signal from the minivan.

This is all clearly speculation on my part, but I have seen this so many times now and am trying to connect the dots...

That must be it. I see no such thing on the CA-237:I-880 interchange though. Not even CHP. I always figured it was because they couldn't catch anyone anyway. I use it every single day, by the way.

 

[spaghetti]

That must be it. I see no such thing on the CA-237:I-880 interchange though. Not even CHP. I always figured it was because they couldn't catch anyone anyway. I use it every single day, by the way.

I have never seen CHP on 237 monitoring the express lane. I have personally exerienced CHP hanging out right after the Dixon Landing rd on-ramp to SB I-880 to nail diamond lane violators - you don't see them until it is too late. A CHP officer pulled me over after I used the diamond lane on the ramp, but it was a very short conversation in my favor:
- Officer: "Do you know why I pulled you over?"
- Me: "No."
- Officer: "You were alone in the HOV lane."
- Me: "Yes, I am aware of that, but I have a ZEV. You can see the clean air decals on the car at the rear."
- Officer: "Oh, I am sorry, my mistake. Have a good day."

I was in no mood for Tesla talk, as I was on my way to work, so away I went.

 

[TTT]

For those of you that have chose not to splatter the CAV stickers all over your vehicle in the recommended placement, would you mind posting pictures of where you did put the sticker(s).

thanks

 

[Lloyd]

Dusty Car

Well, I need to wash it and the light really shows the dust, but here is my solo placement.

 

[AEdennis]

For those of you that have chose not to splatter the CAV stickers all over your vehicle in the recommended placement, would you mind posting pictures of where you did put the sticker(s).

thanks

As posted earlier in the thread...

Model S HOV Sticker Placement by dennis_p, on Flickr