What are the carpool lane rules in California?

Here in California, it’s safe to say we have a plethora of vehicles out on the road. In an effort to encourage carpooling and ridesharing, the state of California has incorporated High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on a number of highways. The lane is designed to alleviate road congestion and maximize the rider capacity on California roads.

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Who is allowed to use HOV lanes in California?

The following vehicles are allowed to use HOV lanes:

• Motorcycles
• Public transit vehicles (i.e. busses)
• Certain plug-in hybrid, alternative fuel, and clean-air vehicles (must have green or white decal issued by the California DMV)
• Any vehicle with 2 or more occupants (some highways require 3 or more)

Tips for using High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes in California

Below are a few things to keep in mind while using HOV, or carpool, lanes on California highways:

• The HOV lane is typically found on the inside (left) of the highway.
• Signs, as well as white diamonds painted on the pavement, identify HOV lanes.
• Northern California: HOV lanes are usually only in operation on weekdays (Monday through Friday) during peak travel times, such as 6-10am and 3-7pm. The hours will be posted, and the lane may be used for regular traffic outside of those hours.
• Southern California: Typically, HOV lanes are separated from regular lanes by a buffer and are in effect 24/7.

It’s important to make the distinction between Northern and Southern California. Here in the northern part of the state, generally, we only see a lot of congestion during two peak travel times per day (during the morning and evening commutes). Thus, the part-time HOV lanes allow all lanes to be effectively utilized outside of the operational periods. In the southern part of the state, however, congestion periods are much longer—sometimes up to 11 hours per day—meaning full-time HOV lanes make a lot more sense.

To learn more about the carpool lane rules in California, feel free to visit the California DOT page on High Occupancy Vehicle Systems. If you are looking to invest in a plug-in hybrid, alternative fuel, or clean-air vehicle (or really any new Toyota model), we encourage you to check out our current inventory here at Toyota Vacaville.

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