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Judge: Fetuses Don't Count in HOV Lanes

PHOENIX (AP) - Fetuses do not count as passengers when it comes to determining who may drive in the carpool lane, a judge ruled.

Candace Dickinson was fined $367 for improper use of a carpool lane, but contended the fetus inside her womb allowed her to use the lane. Motorists who use the lanes normally must carry at least one passenger during weekday rush hours.

Municipal Judge Dennis Freeman rejected Dickinson's argument Tuesday, applying a ``common sense'' definition in which an individual is someone who occupies a ``separate and distinct'' space in a vehicle.

``The law is meant to fill empty space in a vehicle,'' the judge said.


Sgt. Dave Norton stopped Dickinson's car Nov. 8. When asked how many people were in the car, Dickinson said two, pointing to ``her obvious pregnancy,'' the officer said.


Norton said Dickinson's theory ``would require officers to carry guns, radios and pregnancy testers, and I don't think we want to go there.''

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 

 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 

quote:

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require officers to carry guns, radios and pregnancy testers, and I don't think we want to go there.

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Honey, I passed the sobriety test, but I failed the pregnancy test...

Ma'am, I'll need to see your licence, registration, proof of insurance, and a sonogram.
 

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Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
 
Oh my, that's clever. Sort of. In a whacked kind of way.
 

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Posted by Evie3217 (Member # 5426) on :
 
Ah... What will people think of next?
 

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Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
 
When Nathan was two years old, I argued vehemently with a parking enforcement officer about the right to claim children as passengers to qualify for carpool parking in the college parking lot.

Needless to say, I didn't win the battle.

I did win the war.

After taking it up with several layers more of bureaucracy, the following quarter in college, they allowed students to count their children as passengers when they were bringing their children to parent/child classes, or campus daycare.

*smiles*
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
Women have been trying -- and failing -- to have a passenger in utero accepted as a ticket to HOV lanes since there were such things. I believe the earliest case in California was 8-10 years ago.
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 

quote:

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When Nathan was two years old, I argued vehemently with a parking enforcement officer about the right to claim children as passengers to qualify for carpool parking in the college parking lot.

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They count for the state-governed carpool lanes. Why not the college parking lot? Did they give you a reason?
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
At some colleges, to qualify for carpool spots, you must prove that at least two passengers are currently-enrolled students.
 

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Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
 
You'd think on-campus daycare enrollment plus enrollment in parent ed (child attendance with parent for parent-child learning activities required) would count. *rolls eyes*
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
I tend to agree. I just know that some have very specific rules (most likely in part because no one THOUGHT about students with kids).
 

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Posted by Little_Doctor (Member # 6635) on :
 
That's funny.


I'm just glad this thread wasn't what I was expecting it to be when I read the title.

[ January 22, 2006, 10:00 PM: Message edited by: Little_Doctor ]
 

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