A would-be HOV lane hack is now at the center of national headlines thanks to a speeding driver in Washington state.
This past weekend, the Washington State Patrol shared a photo of a mannequin, or at least a portion of one, propped up in the backseat of a vehicle. The dummy boasted long hair and a somber-seeming expression one could easily mistake for something bordering on existential malaise, were this a human being, of course.
The mannequin wore what appeared to be a jacket as its top, while the bottom half of its body was nonexistent. Instead, a cooler had been carefully positioned to hold the deceptively presented figure in place.
According to a public information officer from the department, the human driver of the vehicle was pulled over after being observed traveling 20 miles over the speed limit. The drive is also said to have explained the presence of the mannequin by stating that it was, in fact, a "training aid," with its backseat positioning only done to "properly dry the hair." At any rate, a speeding infraction was issued to the driver.
The same public information officer has previously shared photos of similar moves from HOV-bound drivers, including a decidedly timely one from Halloween of last year.