Arizona Man Uses Dressed-Up Skeleton To Access HOV Lane

In what may be the most disturbing effort to cut down on commute time, an Arizona man used a fake dressed-up skeleton to gain access to the HOV lane. The Arizona Department of Public Safety said the skeleton was wearing a hat and tied to the passenger seat with yellow rope.

BBC News reports that the 62-year-old driver was pulled over by the Arizona State Troopers and was issued a summons. The Arizona Department of Public Safety tweeted about the incident saying, "Think you can use the HOV lane with Skeletor riding shotgun? You're dead wrong," referring to the fictional nemesis of He-Man in the Masters of the Universe series. The caption ended with the hashtags "#NiceTry" and "#YoureNotHeMan".

The driver is one of approximately 7,000 Arizona motorists per year that violate HOV access rules in the state, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. While they may not have resorted to such extreme means, they still use clever tactics to try and gain coveted HOV access in an effort to expedite their journey.

Last April, a man was caught driving in an HOV lane with a mannequin wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. Then just five days later, a 48-year-old woman was caught in the HOV lane on the Loop 202 San with a fake baby aboard. The only thing that gave the scam away was the doll’s fake feet were hanging out from the blanket inside the car seat.

The driver was cited with violations of HOV and car window-tint rules, according to law enforcement officials. Fines for violating Arizona HOV laws start at $400. There’s no word as to whether or not the man plans to appeal the ticket, though it would undoubtedly prove difficult since there is now viral photographic evidence.