A sharp-eyed Denver-area police officer nabbed a lone driver using a high-occupancy lane when he decided the woman in the passenger seat didn't look right.
Sure enough, Greg Allen Watters' passenger proved to be constructed from a polystyrene head attached to a body consisting of clothes stuffed with foam balls and newspapers, The Denver Post reported.
Watters, a police officer in Westminster, had seen the passenger before and decided that this time he wanted a closer look. Once he saw that the dummy was basically nothing but an empty suit of clothes he confiscated it as evidence and issued Pringle a $115 ticket.
Pringle said that he had simply become frustrated by sitting in traffic during the morning commute, while cars sped by in the HOV lane. Starting next summer, he will be able to drive there with impunity -- and the cost of tolls -- since Colorado is switching to a system of charging for some lanes during rush hour.
© Copyright 2006 by United Press International
