Arizona Motorist Busted for Driving with Inflatable Grinch in Carpool Lane

December 14, 2022



By Tim Binnall

Cops in Arizona caught a clever motorist cruising in a carpool lane with a seasonal, albeit illegal, 'individual' riding shotgun in the form of an inflatable Grinch. Recounting the bust on social media, the Arizona Department of Public Safety jokingly explained that the incident occurred last week when a state trooper initially noticed a "Seusspicious-looking 'passenger'" in the HOV lane of the interstate highway passing through the city of Tuscon. Upon pulling the vehicle over, the officer's intuition proved to be correct as the "grumpy green guy" sitting alongside the driver was a fairly sizeable inflatable Grinch that appeared to be waving to other cars on the road.

While the department conceded that they "appreciate the festive flair" behind the motorist's attempt at skirting the law, the noted that it was driving violation, nonetheless. As such, they indicated that "the driver received a citation for their HOV violation" and, by virtue of being 'showcased' on their social media, wound up serving as something of an amusing cautionary tale for other residents who may be entertaining similar shenanigans in the carpool lane during the holiday season. The Grinch is actually not the first unorthodox HOV 'passenger' to be busted by the department in recent years as, back in January of 2020, they also caught a motorist driving with a remarkably realistic skeleton.

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The Grinch is actually not the first unorthodox HOV 'passenger' to be busted by the department in recent years as, back in January of 2020, they also caught a motorist driving with a remarkably realistic skeleton.

Laughed my butt off at the scene where she was blowing the thing up

Looks like the Grinch didn’t keep said motorist from the Pinch.

I had to buy the Grinch as that is my wife's nickname for me....it's fun. Even more so when I put it waving from the hatchback

Tucson does not have HOV lanes.

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Originally posted by phydough:
Tucson does not have HOV lanes.

Don't confuse us with the facts.

She gets an A for effort.

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Originally posted by phydough:
Tucson does not have HOV lanes.

But this is Tuscon, not Tucson.

I've heard of people dressing up mannequins and getting away with driving in HOV lanes. But a skeleton or a blow-up Grinch seems like a poor choice. Maybe she figured the cops would find it funny enough to let it pass.

Wait until the passenger is Santa, does an officer dare being put on the naughty list?

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Originally posted by Expert308:

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Originally posted by phydough:
Tucson does not have HOV lanes.

But this is Tuscon, not Tucson.

I've heard of people dressing up mannequins and getting away with driving in HOV lanes. But a skeleton or a blow-up Grinch seems like a poor choice. Maybe she figured the cops would find it funny enough to let it pass.

I would have let her go with a warning.

Didn’t someone driving a hearse get stopped a couple of years ago, and (unsuccessfully) argued that the deceased they were transporting counted as a second person?

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Originally posted by CoolRich59:
Didn’t someone driving a hearse get stopped a couple of years ago, and (unsuccessfully) argued that the deceased they were transporting counted as a second person?

Yes, and there was another case of a pregnant woman ticketed and tried to make the case that there were 2 occupants in the vehicle.

The was a new commuter on inbound Toll Road/I-66E (an HOV2 route) to DC who suddenly appeared with a large sign in the rear window saying “HOV BABY.”

Shortly thereafter I began noticing a spike in the birth rate, as evidenced by other cars with similar signs.