**Frequently Asked Questions about HOV-Lane Enforcement**

This document provides the answers to frequently asked questions about
the role of enforcement in planning, designing and operating
high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) facilities. Questions regarding
high-occupancy toll (HOT)-facility enforcement, exempt vehicles, and
enforcement technologies are also addressed. The document was prepared
as part of the HOV Pooled Fund Study project, which included development
of the *HOV-Lane Enforcement Handbook.* The following questions and
answers are targeted to a range of audiences, such as the public, media,
community leaders, as well as transportation professionals.

**1) What is HOV Lane Enforcement?**

Enforcement is a critical element to the successful operation of an HOV
facility. The purpose of an HOV enforcement program is to ensure that
operating requirements, including vehicle-occupancy levels, are
maintained to protect HOV travel-time savings, to discourage
unauthorized vehicles, and to maintain a safe operating environment.
Visible and effective enforcement promotes fairness and maintains the
integrity of the HOV facility to help gain acceptance of the project
among users and non-users.

**2) Why are HOV lane enforcement programs important?**

Enforcement policies and programs perform a number of important roles.
The development of enforcement policies and programs will help ensure
that all of the appropriate agencies are involved in the process and
that all groups have a common understanding of the project and the need
for enforcement. The enforcement process encompasses not only the
detection and on-site ticketing of violators but a continuum that
extends through adjudication of citations via the court system.
Policies, legislation, procedures and agreements with the affected
enforcement agencies need to be in place, and enforcement agencies have
to be stakeholders in decisions that influence design, operation and
performance monitoring activities. This same information can be provided
to the public, especially travelers in the corridor, to help introduce
the HOV facilities and to communicate the guidelines for use of the
lanes.

**3) Who enforces the HOV lanes?**

The authorization and allocation of powers for enforcement of freeway
HOV facilities is handled through a combination of state regulations and
local ordinances, so long as those laws do not conflict with any federal
regulations governing the operation of federal-aid highways. Most
commonly, such legislation designates primary responsibility for HOV
enforcement to the state patrol or state police. Some states may instead
assign primary HOV enforcement responsibilities to local or regional
agencies. Other agencies with the power to enforce HOV requirements may
include transit authorities.

**4) What enforcement issues need to be addressed in the planning stage
of an HOV project?**

Some of the most important enforcement-related issues that should be
considered include:

-   *Early Involvement of Enforcement Agencies.* State and local police
    involvement during the planning process will ensure that the needs
    of enforcement personnel are being addressed and that the facility
    being planned will be enforceable. As the project evolves this
    becomes more critical.

-   *Design Screening.* The degree to which an HOV facility can be
    effectively enforced is profoundly dependent on both the type of
    facility and the presence of adequate enforcement and refuge areas.

-   *Funding and costs.* Depending on which agency assumes the primary
    responsibility for enforcement of the HOV facility, funding may have
    to compete with all types of enforcement as well as other, more
    critical responsibilities of the entire state.

-   *Enforcement staffing and Scheduling.* The number of enforcement
    personnel assigned to cover an HOV facility can be highly variable
    between very similar projects. The level of effort assigned to each
    HOV project is dependent on many factors, with the most significant
    ones being facility length, facility operation, the degree to which
    a facility is conducive to enforcement activities, the types of
    enforcement strategies, and the availability of enforcement
    personnel. Enforcement agencies also need to consider institutional
    and human resource issues when assessing the manpower requirements
    for HOV enforcement.

**5) What kind of violation rates are typically observed on HOV
facilities?**

Violation rates depend to some degree on the type of HOV facility.
Contraflow and barrier-separated facilities usually have the lowest
rates (typically 5 to 10 percent), and non-separated contraflow
facilities have somewhat higher rates (10 to 20 percent). In the absence
of effective enforcement, however, violation rates may exceed 60 percent
during periods of peak congestion.

**6) What kinds of HOV facilities are the easiest to enforce? The
hardest?**

Reversible barrier-separated facilities and contraflow facilities are
generally the easiest type of facility to enforce, primarily due to the
limited number of access points. Barrier-separated lanes also act as a
deterrent to potential misuse, as violators are trapped in the lanes
with few options to evade detection. Concurrent flow HOV lanes provide
little or no physical separation from the adjacent freeway lanes. As a
result, concurrent flow lanes are the most difficult type of HOV lane to
enforce, as single-occupant vehicles may merge in and out at will. The
perception of enforcement, as much as an actual enforcement presence, is
an important attribute to managing lane violations on these facilities,
and the more effective the design is at meeting this objective, the
better enforcement needs are addressed.

**7) What design features are considered critical for effective
enforcement of Concurrent-flow HOV lanes?**

Adequate space for median shoulders on concurrent flow facilities is
tremendously important. The absence of a center median shoulder has an
adverse impact on the safety of enforcement activities, as police are
forced to apprehend violators by taking them across potentially
congested general-purpose lanes to the right shoulder of the freeway.

Where full 4.3 m (14 ft) median shoulders are not available, mainline
enforcement areas should be considered at regular intervals, with
typical spacing of 3.2 to 4.8 km (2 to 3 miles). A sufficient length
should be provided to pull over a violator and, once cited, allow the
violator to safely reenter the traffic stream. The minimum length
required for this operation is approximately 400 m (1,300 ft), excluding
tapers.

On buffer-separated facilities, painted buffers between 1.2 m and 3.6 m
wide should be avoided, as some drivers may perceive and use the space
as a breakdown lane.

**8) What kinds of penalties exist for HOV violations?**

Most states consider HOV violations to be moving violations, and roughly
half of these impose "points" or demerits on license records. Fines
range from as low as \$50 to as much as \$351 for a first offense. In
addition, some states impose escalating fines for "repeat" offenders. In
Northern Virginia, a fourth offense within 5 years costs \$1039 plus 3
points. California fines rise as high as \$876 for a third offense
within a 12-month period.

**9) What are the principle difficulties encountered when trying to
count passengers, and can these be reduced?**

Unless a good vantage point is used for observing vehicles, enforcement
personnel have a hard time discerning the number of vehicle occupants.
Even with an optimal viewing location, passenger counts are made more
difficult by factors such as

-   Poor lighting conditions or bad weather

-   Dark window tint

-   Backseat passengers, especially small children

-   High vehicle speeds

Some of these difficulties can be overcome by designing enforcement
features into the HOV facility. Raised observation areas can provide
better vantage points, and low-speed enforcement areas can allow
enforcement personnel more time to discern vehicle occupants.

**10) I appreciate HOV enforcement, but wish that it wasn't so
disruptive at times. How can the situation be improved?**

Although visible enforcement is desirable, heavy enforcement can be
disruptive to traffic as it usually induces rubbernecking.
Minimally-intrusive enforcement techniques can significantly reduce the
potential for traffic disruption. Enforcement personnel trained in these
techniques

-   Reduce the use of emergency lighting during traffic stops,

-   Avoid multiple patrol vehicles at one location,

-   Have no more than one car waiting to be ticketed at any time,

-   Refrain from standing outside the vehicle, and

-   For concurrent flow lanes, release violators cited in the median
    back into the HOV lane

**11) Why is enforcement more critical on HOT lanes?**

The concept of HOT lanes - selling "unused" capacity in the HOV lanes -
means that the potential negative impact of uncontrolled violators on
HOT revenue, person-movement capacity, and public approval can be large.
HOT lanes in particular depend on public acceptance of the tolling
concept, and effective enforcement provides visible means of promoting
the fairness and integrity of the facility. Enforcement programs play an
expanded role in HOT operations, due to the increased complexity of the
enforcement task, and the inherently greater importance of enforcement
to the continuing success of a HOT facility. Here, each violation has a
direct economic impact on the HOT facility in the form of lost revenue
from toll evasion. Since all HOT facilities utilize toll revenue to some
extent for funding enforcement activities, excessive violations can
financially impair enforcement efforts when greater expenditures in this
area are most needed.

**12) What additional challenges do HOT lanes pose for enforcement?**

Enforcement personnel must deal with two major types of violations on
HOT facilities -- those involving a violation of minimum occupancy
requirements, and the related problem of toll evasion. The presence of
mixed toll and carpool vehicle traffic on High Occupancy Toll (HOT)
lanes adds an additional challenge to effective enforcement. Regular
toll lanes are amenable to automated enforcement techniques, such as
license plate recognition (LPR) in combination with automated vehicle
identification (AVI). However, usage of toll transponders on HOT lanes
is not required for HOVs, while additional verification of vehicle
occupancy is needed. Enforcement personnel must not only identify low
occupancy vehicles, but also verify proper toll payment by these
vehicles.

**13) How can HOT lanes be operated, and how does this affect
enforcement?**

HOT lanes depend heavily on electronic toll collection (ETC) technology,
and can potentially exploit the latest advances in automated toll
enforcement. The degree to which toll enforcement can be automated is
critically limited by the type of operating concept used on the HOT
facility:

-   *HOV Ineligibles Tagged.* Vehicles not meeting the
    eligibility/occupancy requirements for the HOT facility (i.e., those
    paying to use the facility) are the only vehicles required to have a
    toll transponder. At a stationary enforcement zone or through roving
    patrols the vehicle occupancy is first checked, and for vehicles not
    meeting occupancy requirements the toll payment must also be
    verified. Automated violation enforcement systems (VES) have thus
    far not been implemented under this operating concept, since not all
    vehicles are required to have transponders.

-   *Universal Tag.* Under this operating concept, all vehicles in the
    HOT lane are required to have a toll transponder, including HOVs,
    and violation enforcement systems (VES) using photographic methods
    are used to enforce toll payment. Users in vehicles that meet the
    eligibility/occupancy requirements for the HOT facility are required
    to access a special lane to receive a reduced (or zero) toll for the
    trip. This concept scenario follows the model used on toll
    facilities with electronic toll collection (ETC).

**14) What exactly is a HERO program?**

HERO programs are a type of self-enforcement that began in Seattle,
Washington. The term HERO is more of a name than an acronym; as used in
Seattle, it stands for HOV Lanes Education and Support. Signs and other
communication techniques provide HOV users and non-users with a
telephone number they can call to report HOV lane violators. The
individuals anonymously report the sighting of a violator and give the
license number, time of day, location, and any other supporting
information to the HERO telephone operator. This approach has
subsequently been used in other areas, including Houston, Texas and the
Northern Virginia/Washington, D.C. region.

**15) I have a hybrid vehicle. Can I ride solo in the HOV lane?**

Virginia and California are currently the only states that allow
single-occupant hybrid vehicles to use the HOV lanes. New rules for
federal-aid highways give states the option to permit hybrids on HOV
lanes, but only if these vehicles meet EPA standards.

**16) If solo hybrid vehicles aren't permitted on HOV lanes, is there
another kind of low emission vehicle that is exempt from carpool
requirements?**

Seven states currently permit Inherently Low Emission Vehicles (ILEVs)
to be driven by a single occupant on HOV lanes. ILEVs are alternative
fuel (non-gasoline) vehicles satisfying EPA standards for low
evaporative and tailpipe emissions.

**17) What are the circumstances under which law enforcement and
emergency vehicles can use the HOV lanes?**

Vehicles operated by federal, state, or local law enforcement personnel
may be permitted to use HOV lanes as long as they are clearly marked law
enforcement vehicles equipped with rooftop emergency lights and a siren.
Officially marked emergency services vehicles, such as ambulances, fire
and tow trucks, and emergency medical services vehices are also allowed
to use HOV lanes. This exemption from minimum HOV lane occupancy
requirements only applies to on-duty personnel, and does not apply to
personnel commuting to and from work.

18\) Can automated methods be used to count the number of passengers? If
not, why?

While attempts have been made in the past to use automated methods for
HOV enforcement, these have all ultimately failed. Photo enforcement has
been successfully defeated in courts on the grounds that it is not
sufficiently accurate to constitute prima facie evidence of a violation.
Photo enforcement also raises significant privacy concerns. A new
generation of infrared cameras and more powerful image processing shows
mild promise, but fully automated vehicle occupancy detection remains
years away from being viable. Significant technical challenges remain,
including accurate and reliable "face" counting, and the ability to
detect small rear seat passengers.

**19) How do enforcement personnel know if a HOT vehicle has paid the
toll?**

Technological countermeasures exist for all of the above forms of toll
evasion on HOT facilities. As may be expected, the most comprehensive
measures have the greatest capability for detection, but even relatively
simple systems can effectively combat some forms of toll evasion.

-   *Indicator Beacon.* One approach to transponder verification uses an
    AVI-activated overhead beacon mounted on the toll reader gantry to
    indicate when a toll transponder passes under the reader. Under this
    approach, enforcement personnel must be within the line of sight of
    the tolling zone in order to see both the overhead beacon and the
    triggering vehicle. Also, many ETC systems do not process billing
    transactions in real time, so this approach cannot determine if a
    transponder is linked to a valid toll account; it merely indicates
    that a readable transponder is present in the vehicle.

-   *Handheld and In-vehicle Systems.* Compact and portable transponder
    verification systems are available in hand-held configurations,
    which are suitable in situations where a suspected violator has been
    pulled over by an enforcement officer. In-vehicle transponder
    verification systems enable enforcement officers to remotely verify
    transponders while driving alongside or behind vehicles in the HOT
    lanes.

**20) Where can I find more information about HOV and HOT enforcement?**

The *HOV-Lane Enforcement Handbook* is available at the FHWA Pooled Fund
Study Website: <http://hovpfs.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/index.cfm>