65 MPH vs. $1,000

HOV Cheaters Run the Numbers: 65 MPH vs. $1,000
Some Va. Offenders Find the Odds in Their Favor

By Eric M. Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 15, 2009; A01

HOV cheaters have a special, and dark, place in the hearts of area
commuters.

As motorists sit in stop-and-go traffic or pick up strangers to meet
the minimum number of riders to use the free-flowing HOV lanes,
cheaters blithely fly by in the restricted lanes. Alone.

"I run the gantlet and hope I don't get caught," said Thomas Edward
James, 44, who commutes to the District from Fairfax County on
Interstate 66. He has been ticketed seven times.

"It's a cost-benefit sort of decision that you make every morning," he
said. "It's partially laziness. I don't feel like getting off and
dealing with all those traffic lights."

Besides, the odds are in his favor.

"Let's be honest: I make it most of the time," he said.

The Washington Post, using court records and databases, tracked down
the biggest HOV offenders in Virginia, some with as many as 10
violations, and asked them why they ignored the law even after being
caught again and again. The answers ranged from guilt-ridden angst to
a sense that a quick ride was well worth a roll of the dice. Others
lost their driver's licenses, saw their insurance premiums double and
received thousands of dollars in tickets.

But there was a common thread throughout the comments that revealed a
sense of the daily misery of the Washington area commute. And that it
can make good people behave very badly.

"Sometimes when you commute, you do some crazy, crazy things when you
see all those red lights in front of you," said Aleta Joy Williams,
43, a daily cheater who has racked up 10 HOV violations on Interstate
95/395 commuting between Stafford and Fairfax counties. "The commuter
mind-set is just totally different. You need to be at a certain place
at a certain time, and you are willing to do whatever it takes to get
to where you need to."

Cheaters got 22,532 tickets in Northern Virginia in 2007, according to
Virginia State Police statistics, and they are the focus of law
enforcement attention and the ire of fellow drivers. Violators risk a
$1,000 ticket and three points on their driver's licenses.

Walter P. Magnotta, 33, a District real estate lawyer, called his
eight HOV violations on I-95/395 "an opportunity cost."

In addition to interstates 95/395 and 66, there are HOV lanes on the
Dulles Toll Road. Maryland has HOV lanes on Interstate 270 and Route
50 in Maryland, but the Virginia routes are far more congested.

Although the Maryland State Police do not keep traffic citation
statistics, HOV violation rates on I-270 run about 30 percent to 35
percent during the morning rush and 15 percent during the evening
rush, said David Buck, spokesman for the Maryland State Highway
Administration. On Route 50, the rate is 15 percent.

The Washington area has some of the most successful HOV lanes in the
country. The difference between traveling in HOV lanes rather than
regular lanes can sometimes be measured in hours on a bad traffic day.
It can also mean the difference between making it home for dinner with
the family or getting home after the kids are asleep.

Karen Marie Livingston, 49, who commutes between Woodbridge and
Capitol Hill, got six tickets during years of cheating, the last one a
whopper.

"I decided to stop when I had to tell my husband I got a $1,000
ticket," she said. "I cried for a week. But I couldn't blame anyone
but myself. When you get a $1,000 ticket, it's a come-to-Jesus
moment."

Now she gets on I-95/395 at 4:45 a.m. to reach work by 6 a.m., before
the HOV rules go into effect, and doesn't leave until the afternoon
rush restrictions are over. During her cheating days, she would
sometimes take hooded coats and arrange them on the seats so it looked
as if there were three people in the car. Sometimes that worked.

She also talked her way out of four tickets. "I played one as a dumb
female. Another time, I said I was pregnant and sick. The officer
understood because his wife was pregnant. One time, I was pulled over
but the officer got another call and left," Livingston said.

"I've been lucky," she said. "So now I obey."

Cheaters hurt the system by clogging the lanes and making those who
make the extra effort to play by the rules feel like suckers.
Thousands of drivers a day pick up slugs, commuters who accept free
rides from drivers looking to add passengers to qualify for the HOV
lanes.

Virginia State Police 1st Sgt. James DeFord, charged with enforcing
HOV rules in Northern Virginia, said he gets angry e-mails when
commuters feel enforcement is slipping, and troopers writing HOV
tickets often get a thumbs-up or a honk of support from passing
motorists.

The cheaters don't get any support from their fellow drivers.

"I used to get a lot of dirty looks," said Katrina R. Thomas, 39, who
used to cheat during her tortuous daily commute on I-95/395 between
Fredericksburg and Arlington County. "I really didn't care at the
time."

Thomas was caught cheating eight times in less than a year. She now
lives in Charles County, a move made in part to get out of her monster
commute and away from the cheating, the fines and the stress.

"I did feel guilty," she said. She said she didn't pick up slugs
because her husband was uncomfortable with her picking up strangers.
"I just used the HOV lanes. Yes, I knew it was wrong. But it was like,
'I can't deal with this traffic, and I'm in a rush.' "

In 2006, HOV violators became such a problem that the Virginia General
Assembly dramatically increased the fines in Northern Virginia. The
first ticket is $125; the second, $250; the third, $500; and a fourth
offense within five years will cost you $1,000. And beginning with the
second violation, three points are added to your driver's license.

"The law had no teeth," said Joan Morris, spokeswoman for the Virginia
Department of Transportation. "It was as little as a $50 ticket for a
first offense, and none of the tickets came with any points." She said
cheating has dramatically fallen since the new fines and points were
implemented, but it is still a problem. VDOT said in 2007 that 21
percent to 24 percent of vehicles in the HOV lanes on I-95/395 had
fewer than the three required passengers. On I-66 inside the Beltway,
the cheating rate is 32 percent.

Ricci Angresano, with six convictions, said the enforcement and
penalties made him change his ways. After racking up points on his
license from HOV violations, he got hit with a speeding ticket. The
judge did not take pity. He revoked Angresano's license for six
months. Afterward, it was difficult to find insurance.

"I just don't get on I-66 anymore," said the Fairfax City technology
consultant. "I take the long way home and tell my clients not to
expect me before 9 a.m.," when the HOV restrictions end.

Asked why he didn't take Metro, he said that he tried it but that it
was difficult to get a seat on the commute home. And then there were
all the germs. "Everybody's stacked up like sardines, coughing and
sneezing and touching the poles," he said. "Then they turn up the heat
in winter, and the germs just multiply."

Jonathan Krasnov, 41, who commutes from Edsall Road in Fairfax County
to the Washington Design Center in the District, cheated every morning
on I-95/395 for 11 years, or about 2,200 trips. He received six
tickets in that time. Those are pretty good odds. One could even argue
that cheating paid off in terms of gasoline and time saved. He stopped
only because he received a $500 ticket after the fines went up.

"You get to the point where you are so desperate you can't take it
anymore," Krasnov said. "The highway is just a parking lot. It's
beyond hope. It's the state's fault."

A consortium of private companies is proposing converting the two-lane
HOV facility on I-95/395 to a three-lane toll road, where drivers
would pay a sliding scale of tolls depending on traffic. Tolls would
increase to keep the lanes flowing, and the private companies would
use technology and increased enforcement to reduce cheating.

Krasnov said he would pay up to $20 a trip if they could guarantee a
congestion-free ride.

Fredericksburg resident Gary Gibbs, 52, insists he's a law-abiding
citizen, but he has eight HOV violations and recently received a
$1,000 ticket.

"When I tell someone I paid $1,000 for driving down the highway, they
think it's crazy," he said.

He tries to get on and off the HOV lanes before the rules go into
effect at 6 a.m. But sometimes, he says, he can't.

After the big ticket, he started using two alarm clocks.

"My alarm is set for 4:10; the next one at 4:19. I can't go past that.
Otherwise I can forget about getting there on time."

Staff researcher Meg Smith and database editor Dan Keating contributed
to this report.
http://tinyurl.com/a9tto7
-----

- gpsman

"gpsman" > wrote in message
...
> HOV Cheaters Run the Numbers: 65 MPH vs. $1,000
>
<snip>
> "When you get a $1,000 ticket, it's a come-to-Jesus moment."
<snip>
>

LOL What a great quote, sig line quality, for sure.

> http://tinyurl.com/a9tto7

Thanks for that, quite entetaining.
--
John C.

gpsman > wrote in news:ed228a6c-0e55-4508-880a-
:

> HOV Cheaters Run the Numbers: 65 MPH vs. $1,000
> Some Va. Offenders Find the Odds in Their Favor
>
> By Eric M. Weiss
> Washington Post Staff Writer
> Sunday, February 15, 2009; A01
>
> HOV cheaters have a special, and dark, place in the hearts of area
> commuters.
>
> As motorists sit in stop-and-go traffic or pick up strangers to meet
> the minimum number of riders to use the free-flowing HOV lanes,
> cheaters blithely fly by in the restricted lanes. Alone.
>
> "I run the gantlet and hope I don't get caught," said Thomas Edward
> James, 44, who commutes to the District from Fairfax County on
> Interstate 66. He has been ticketed seven times.
>
> "It's a cost-benefit sort of decision that you make every morning," he
> said. "It's partially laziness. I don't feel like getting off and
> dealing with all those traffic lights."
>

This is one crime where stiff penalties would help. If these criminals were
hit with loss of driver license for 3 months, they wouldn't do this.

Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS wrote:
> gpsman > wrote in news:ed228a6c-0e55-4508-880a-
> :
>
>> HOV Cheaters Run the Numbers: 65 MPH vs. $1,000
>> Some Va. Offenders Find the Odds in Their Favor
>>
>> By Eric M. Weiss
>> Washington Post Staff Writer
>> Sunday, February 15, 2009; A01
>>
>> HOV cheaters have a special, and dark, place in the hearts of area
>> commuters.
>>
>> As motorists sit in stop-and-go traffic or pick up strangers to meet
>> the minimum number of riders to use the free-flowing HOV lanes,
>> cheaters blithely fly by in the restricted lanes. Alone.
>>
>> "I run the gantlet and hope I don't get caught," said Thomas Edward
>> James, 44, who commutes to the District from Fairfax County on
>> Interstate 66. He has been ticketed seven times.
>>
>> "It's a cost-benefit sort of decision that you make every morning," he
>> said. "It's partially laziness. I don't feel like getting off and
>> dealing with all those traffic lights."
>>
>
> This is one crime where stiff penalties would help. If these criminals were
> hit with loss of driver license for 3 months, they wouldn't do this.
You are weird. You've been reading Mein Kampf again, haven't you?
Gobles would appalude your drive to regimentation.

In article >, Frog Britches >
wrote:

> Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS wrote:
> > gpsman > wrote in news:ed228a6c-0e55-4508-880a-
> > :
> >
> >> HOV Cheaters Run the Numbers: 65 MPH vs. $1,000
> >> Some Va. Offenders Find the Odds in Their Favor
> >>
> >> By Eric M. Weiss
> >> Washington Post Staff Writer
> >> Sunday, February 15, 2009; A01
> >>
> >> HOV cheaters have a special, and dark, place in the hearts of area
> >> commuters.
> >>
> >> As motorists sit in stop-and-go traffic or pick up strangers to meet
> >> the minimum number of riders to use the free-flowing HOV lanes,
> >> cheaters blithely fly by in the restricted lanes. Alone.
> >>
> >> "I run the gantlet and hope I don't get caught," said Thomas Edward
> >> James, 44, who commutes to the District from Fairfax County on
> >> Interstate 66. He has been ticketed seven times.
> >>
> >> "It's a cost-benefit sort of decision that you make every morning," he
> >> said. "It's partially laziness. I don't feel like getting off and
> >> dealing with all those traffic lights."
> >>
> >
> > This is one crime where stiff penalties would help. If these criminals were
> > hit with loss of driver license for 3 months, they wouldn't do this.
> You are weird. You've been reading Mein Kampf again, haven't you?
> Gobles would appalude your drive to regimentation.

I despair for our world.

That would be "Goebbels", bright boy.

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
<http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg>

Alan Baker wrote:
> In article >, Frog Britches >
> wrote:
>
>> Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS wrote:
>>> gpsman > wrote in news:ed228a6c-0e55-4508-880a-
>>> :
>>>
>>>> HOV Cheaters Run the Numbers: 65 MPH vs. $1,000
>>>> Some Va. Offenders Find the Odds in Their Favor
>>>>
>>>> By Eric M. Weiss
>>>> Washington Post Staff Writer
>>>> Sunday, February 15, 2009; A01
>>>>
>>>> HOV cheaters have a special, and dark, place in the hearts of area
>>>> commuters.
>>>>
>>>> As motorists sit in stop-and-go traffic or pick up strangers to meet
>>>> the minimum number of riders to use the free-flowing HOV lanes,
>>>> cheaters blithely fly by in the restricted lanes. Alone.
>>>>
>>>> "I run the gantlet and hope I don't get caught," said Thomas Edward
>>>> James, 44, who commutes to the District from Fairfax County on
>>>> Interstate 66. He has been ticketed seven times.
>>>>
>>>> "It's a cost-benefit sort of decision that you make every morning," he
>>>> said. "It's partially laziness. I don't feel like getting off and
>>>> dealing with all those traffic lights."
>>>>
>>> This is one crime where stiff penalties would help. If these criminals were
>>> hit with loss of driver license for 3 months, they wouldn't do this.
>> You are weird. You've been reading Mein Kampf again, haven't you?
>> Gobles would appalude your drive to regimentation.
>
> I despair for our world.
>
> That would be "Goebbels", bright boy.
>
I could use a spel cheker. How much yu chrg.

In article >,
Frog Britches > wrote:

> Alan Baker wrote:
> > In article >, Frog Britches >
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS wrote:
> >>> gpsman > wrote in news:ed228a6c-0e55-4508-880a-
> >>> :
> >>>
> >>>> HOV Cheaters Run the Numbers: 65 MPH vs. $1,000
> >>>> Some Va. Offenders Find the Odds in Their Favor
> >>>>
> >>>> By Eric M. Weiss
> >>>> Washington Post Staff Writer
> >>>> Sunday, February 15, 2009; A01
> >>>>
> >>>> HOV cheaters have a special, and dark, place in the hearts of area
> >>>> commuters.
> >>>>
> >>>> As motorists sit in stop-and-go traffic or pick up strangers to meet
> >>>> the minimum number of riders to use the free-flowing HOV lanes,
> >>>> cheaters blithely fly by in the restricted lanes. Alone.
> >>>>
> >>>> "I run the gantlet and hope I don't get caught," said Thomas Edward
> >>>> James, 44, who commutes to the District from Fairfax County on
> >>>> Interstate 66. He has been ticketed seven times.
> >>>>
> >>>> "It's a cost-benefit sort of decision that you make every morning," he
> >>>> said. "It's partially laziness. I don't feel like getting off and
> >>>> dealing with all those traffic lights."
> >>>>
> >>> This is one crime where stiff penalties would help. If these criminals
> >>> were
> >>> hit with loss of driver license for 3 months, they wouldn't do this.
> >> You are weird. You've been reading Mein Kampf again, haven't you?
> >> Gobles would appalude your drive to regimentation.
> >
> > I despair for our world.
> >
> > That would be "Goebbels", bright boy.
> >
> I could use a spel cheker. How much yu chrg.

More than you can afford, that's clear.

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
<http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg>

Alan Baker wrote:
> In article >,
> Frog Britches > wrote:
>
>> Alan Baker wrote:
>>> In article >, Frog Britches >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS wrote:
>>>>> gpsman > wrote in news:ed228a6c-0e55-4508-880a-
>>>>> :
>>>>>
>>>>>> HOV Cheaters Run the Numbers: 65 MPH vs. $1,000
>>>>>> Some Va. Offenders Find the Odds in Their Favor
>>>>>>
>>>>>> By Eric M. Weiss
>>>>>> Washington Post Staff Writer
>>>>>> Sunday, February 15, 2009; A01
>>>>>>
>>>>>> HOV cheaters have a special, and dark, place in the hearts of area
>>>>>> commuters.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> As motorists sit in stop-and-go traffic or pick up strangers to meet
>>>>>> the minimum number of riders to use the free-flowing HOV lanes,
>>>>>> cheaters blithely fly by in the restricted lanes. Alone.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "I run the gantlet and hope I don't get caught," said Thomas Edward
>>>>>> James, 44, who commutes to the District from Fairfax County on
>>>>>> Interstate 66. He has been ticketed seven times.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "It's a cost-benefit sort of decision that you make every morning," he
>>>>>> said. "It's partially laziness. I don't feel like getting off and
>>>>>> dealing with all those traffic lights."
>>>>>>
>>>>> This is one crime where stiff penalties would help. If these criminals
>>>>> were
>>>>> hit with loss of driver license for 3 months, they wouldn't do this.
>>>> You are weird. You've been reading Mein Kampf again, haven't you?
>>>> Gobles would appalude your drive to regimentation.
>>> I despair for our world.
>>>
>>> That would be "Goebbels", bright boy.
>>>
>> I could use a spel cheker. How much yu chrg.
>
> More than you can afford, that's clear.
>
I wouldn't be buyin any new Lambos if i wuz you.

In article >,
gpsman > wrote:
>HOV Cheaters Run the Numbers: 65 MPH vs. $1,000
>Some Va. Offenders Find the Odds in Their Favor
>
>By Eric M. Weiss
>Washington Post Staff Writer
>Sunday, February 15, 2009; A01
>
>HOV cheaters have a special, and dark, place in the hearts of area
>commuters.

Dark, hell. The place is a pure bright poisonous green.

>The Washington area has some of the most successful HOV lanes in the
>country. The difference between traveling in HOV lanes rather than
>regular lanes can sometimes be measured in hours on a bad traffic day.

That is a rather poor metric.

>"I decided to stop when I had to tell my husband I got a $1,000
>ticket," she said. "I cried for a week. But I couldn't blame anyone
>but myself. When you get a $1,000 ticket, it's a come-to-Jesus
>moment."

Well, maybe. But if cheating can be worth "hours", it may also be
worth the $1000, provided you don't get caught that often.

>Cheaters hurt the system by clogging the lanes and making those who
>make the extra effort to play by the rules feel like suckers.

Obviously the cheaters aren't clogging the lanes. The lanes are badly
underutilized. They do make those who play by the rules feel like
suckers... but that's because they are suckers.

>Thousands of drivers a day pick up slugs, commuters who accept free
>rides from drivers looking to add passengers to qualify for the HOV
>lanes.

And the states have on occasion tried to break this up, claiming the
slugs as unlicensed taxis or some other excuse.
--
It's times like these which make me glad my bank is Dial-a-Mattress

Matthew Russotto skrev:
> In article >,
> gpsman > wrote:
>> HOV Cheaters Run the Numbers: 65 MPH vs. $1,000
>> Some Va. Offenders Find the Odds in Their Favor
>>
>> By Eric M. Weiss
>> Washington Post Staff Writer
>> Sunday, February 15, 2009; A01
>>
>> HOV cheaters have a special, and dark, place in the hearts of area
>> commuters.
>
> Dark, hell. The place is a pure bright poisonous green.
>
>> The Washington area has some of the most successful HOV lanes in the
>> country. The difference between traveling in HOV lanes rather than
>> regular lanes can sometimes be measured in hours on a bad traffic day.
>
> That is a rather poor metric.
>
>> "I decided to stop when I had to tell my husband I got a $1,000
>> ticket," she said. "I cried for a week. But I couldn't blame anyone
>> but myself. When you get a $1,000 ticket, it's a come-to-Jesus
>> moment."
>
> Well, maybe. But if cheating can be worth "hours", it may also be
> worth the $1000, provided you don't get caught that often.
>

Exactly, if the risk-reward ratio is favorable it would be stupid not to
use the lanes. Although $1000 is damn high, saving a few hours a week is
worth a lot to some people.


Ulf