California: Prius owners can drive in the carpool lanes by themselves?
Is this true?
To travel in the CA HOV lanes, you either need the required number of passengers, or have a Clean Air Vehicle sticker (set of 4 “Access OK”). 2004 or later hybrids with at least 45mpg EPA highway ratings and at least ULEV emissions could qualify for the stickers. However, the limit of 85,000 stickers was reached in Feb. 2007, so the only way to get a hybrid with these stickers is to purchase a used one (a 2004-2007 model year). (The stickers stay with the vehicle. If a sticker is damaged, an owner can get replacement stickers, though.) The stickers are valid until Jan. 1, 2011.
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/decal.htm
http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/carpool/carpool.htm
The stickers on a used Toyota Prius or Honda Civic Hybrid add about a $4000 premium to their used sales price:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007-03-25-hybrid-carpool-stickers_N.htm
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9626745
The stickers are issued only for a particular Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), and cannot be transferred to another vehicle. That hasn’t stopped some thieves from stealing stickers off of cars and trying to sell them to unsuspecting owners…
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/04/12/thieves-stealing-carpool-stickers-in-california/
