California: New HOV Restrictions
Posted on July 22, 2010
Filed Under Fuel Economy, Government
The California State Government is taking an interesting approach at trying to persuade car shoppers to buy certain low emission vehicles. There is not one model that you can find at Peoria Volkswagen that will let you drive solo in the carpool lanes in that state. And while for years and years, solo drivers of the Prius which is sold at Toyota Lexington for example were welcomed in the HOV lanes. Now, one of the most expensive and crowded states to live in the whole country is changing the legislature regarding solo drivers in the HOV lane. No longer will hybrid vehicle drivers be allowed in the carpool lanes unless they are legitimately carpooling. That means more business for Kansas City used car loans as people are likely to trade in their hybrids and opt for one of the newer electric car models with record low emission rates.
California has plenty of traffic and bumper-to-bumper rush-hour congestion records! Thus, the state has over 1,300 miles of carpool lanes. Legislation has recently been extended for four years so that solo drivers of ultra-low emission vehicles are rewarded by using the carpool lane until January 1, 2015. This law is going to help electric vehicles get a sales boost, as having access to the carpool lane is a huge selling tactic. There are five other states currently with similar legislation.
The new legislation is termed Assembly Bill 1500 and approved vehicles receive a white sticker that says “Clean Air Vehicle.” This new white sticker replaces the previously yellow sticker that was part of previous legislation. That previous legislation also allowed solo drivers of the Honda Civic hybrid, the Honda Insight, and the Toyota Prius to use carpool lanes. Approximately 85,000 vehicle owners will have to use the regular lanes while driving as of December 31, 2010; unless they do what is anticipated and slightly expected of them and they upgrade an electric vehicle, such as the Honda FCX Clarity. There is currently a bill on the table that would extend the solo privilege to plug-in charging vehicles, like the Chevrolet Volt, but it has yet to be approved and finalized.
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