Washington State Patrol Answers Citizen Calls to Patrol SR-520

It turns out the calls by concerned citizens to patrol SR-520 for HOV violations outside of Seattle was a really good idea!

Washington State Patrol: HOV Emphasis Patrol on SR-520

Just last week the Washington State Patrol led a 2.5-hour patrol looking for HOV violations on I-90 in the area of Mercer Island. During the only 2.5-hour patrol, they wrote 130 HOV citations. One driver was even ticketed twice only 2 miles apart. The best excuse the Washington State Patrol Troopers received for an HOV violation was "It's 2024, my dog identifies as human." One of the responses on the announcement on X asked the Washington State Patrol to focus on SR-520 saying, "Please do the same every week on 520 HOV lane, I swear 99% of cars don’t have 3+ persons inside." Another agreed, "Agree … WB 520 over the bridge is an entitlement zone. @wastatepatrol please go after these HOV violators too!" Well, the Washington State Patrol was obviously paying attention because they just conducted one on SR-520 yesterday evening.

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Citizen Tips on SR-520 HOV Violations Lead to Busy Troopers

The tip to patrol SR-520 was a good one because yesterday the Washington State Patrol paid that area a visit with good results. 3 Washington State Patrol motorcycle units patrolled SR-520 looking for HOV violators and stopped 84 different vehicles from the afternoon into the evening. The Washington State Patrol says that HOV violations are the number one complaint that dispatch receives out of all the calls they receive in King County. For a first HOV violation, the fine is $186 with any other violations you get in two years increases to $336. If you try to use a doll or dummy in the front seat, $200.00 is added to the fine. Read more about HOV violations at WSDOT.wa.gov.