Should the drivers of high occupancy vehicles be fined for not using HOV lanes?

No

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by Scott Kolecki

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Everyone has experienced the frustration of driving to or from work during rush hour. Whether driving into a large Metropolitan area like Chicago or a much smaller city like Nashville, rush hour traffic is almost always congested, often causing prolonged delays and backups. Many states have begun to address the issue of reducing the challenges of driving during rush hour by creating HOV or "High Occupancy Vehicle" lanes which are intended to be used only by vehicles that contain two or more passengers. The concept behind the HOV lane is to encourage and reward drivers (and passengers) who share a single ride by expediting their daily commute. However, as the HOV lanes have become more commonplace throughout the country, so too has the number of drivers who choose to ignore the rules governing the use of the HOV lane. As a result, law enforcement agencies have begun increased patrols of the interstates and any driver who chooses to travel the HOV lanes without any passengers are likely to receive a ticket with a hefty fine.

Thus begins the debate; should the drivers of high occupancy vehicles be fined for not using HOV lanes? The absurdity of the question almost makes it dismissable without a response. Still, as the question has been posed, this article will focus on addressing why the author believes the answer is a resounding "NO!"

Let's begin with understanding how the HOV lane works. The High Occupancy Vehicle lane is only governed as such during rush hour drivetimes. Basically that means that the HOV lane is only active during the morning hours (generally 6-9a.m.) and the evening hours (generally 4-7p.m. (or similar time intervals)). The lane is generally the "hammer" lane, or the center most lane of the interstate and is usually limited to a single lane. The HOV lane is usually only designated in concentrated Metropolitan areas where an increase in traffic is likely to occur.

Now let's consider the percentage of single passenger occupied drivers to multi-passenger vehicles. Statistically, almost 70% of all drivers making their daily commutes during rush hour are single passenger occupied vehicles. With that single statistic in mind, let's consider that most interstates in metropolitan areas have at least 4 lanes. When considering the amount of increased congestion that an HOV lane could potentially create by limiting the type of commuters that can use it, we must consider that roughly 30% of all vehicles on the road fit the requirements of using the HOV lane. If we assume an even distribution of traffic across a four lane interstate, 25% of the total traffic would fit each lane. That is to say that if all high occupancy vehicles were to utilize the HOV only lane, the HOV lane would be more backed up than any other lane on the interstate by cause of overcrowding in the single lane. Simply from a statistical distribution of traffic, it would be impractical for all HOV drivers to exclusively use the HOV lanes as to do so would create a traffic problem in itself.

Let's also consider the fact that most interstate exits and interchanges from one interstate to another exist in the far right lane of most interstates. It would be simply impossible for a high occupancy vehicle to remain exclusively in the HOV lane at all times, as merging into and out of traffic, entering and exiting freeways and changing routes is simply not possible if a driver is confined only to the HOV lane.

But let's consider the most obvious reason of all. The HOV lane is designed as an incentive to increase the number of people sharing their daily commute, which reduces fuel consumption, increases the overall number of vehicles on the interstate and the amount of emissions being generated by each vehicle being operated. Individuals who pull together to share a daily commute should be rewarded for doing so, and should not be punished if they cannot or choose not to utilize the HOV lane. For many drivers, their commute is nothing greater than a short jaunt between one exit and the next, and so merging across four lanes of traffic is unnecessary. For those making a longer commute, should they choose to use the HOV lane, have the privelage of doing so, but should not be punished if they choose not to do so. The HOV driver is making responsible choices that positively effect all of us, and should therefore not be punished or fined for not using a lane that was only ever intended to reduce the number of individual passenger vehicles in the first place.

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