Often called the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane or car pool lane, we see them around the country. Those who have a passenger can scoot into that lane at any time and sail along as the rest of the world inches along on congested freeways. But, there are issues. What about the parent who has a toddler in a car seat in the back seat of the car? Wasn't the car pool lane intended to encourage people to double and triple-up in getting to and from work? And what about a woman who is pregnant? Do we have an interpretation of whether her unborn child constitute a passenger? And if there is no one in the car pool lane, even in high-traffic travel times, should we let it go to waste or are we justified in slipping over and moving traffic along?.....................................

Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever used the car pool lane as a driver-only car? Why?

2. What are the intentions of having a car pool lane? Does that answer provide answers for the dilemmas presented above?
3. Apply any of the models in analyzing the car pool lane questions.