‘Tis the season of the Grinch
The Grinch has come early for drivers across the United States, who will do anything to avoid a Christmas ticket.
An Arizona driver has tried to pass off an inflatable figure of the Dr. Seuss character as a passenger in an effort to speed his journey in an unoccupied people carrier..
An Arizona state trooper noticed a car in a high-occupancy vehicle lane on Interstate 10 in Phoenix with a “Seusspicious-looking” green passenger last week.
Last week, an #AZTrooper spotted a driver in the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane with a Seusspicious-looking “passenger” on I-10 at Avondale Blvd at 8AM.
The trooper stopped the driver & determined the grumpy green guy was, in fact, an inflatable Grinch. (No other passengers.) pic.twitter.com/YcOfZHJVoX
— Dept. of Public Safety (@Arizona_DPS) December 13, 2022
While the gag may have given the officer a laugh, it did not stop the driver from getting cited for being in the HOV lane during a restricted time.
Officials say they appreciate the “festive flair” but that the driver’s action was still illegal.
On the other side of the continent, another Grinch was operating at the other end of the law enforcer-breaker spectrum.
Several motorists speeding through an elementary school zone in the Florida Keys received an onion from a county sheriff’s deputy dressed as the Grinch.
Drivers who exceed the speed limit by 5 mph or less can choose between a traffic citations and an onion presented by the Grinch. Those who go much faster get not choice and the ticket is far from cheap.
Caputo said.
“We want people to slow down. It’s about education, awareness that our school zones are still operating even though it’s the holiday season,”
Caputo said he dresses up to give motorists a “gift” to call attention in a nice way to the need to obey speed limits in school zones.
“It catches them off guard”
“But when I give them a clear choice of a citation or the onion, they take the onion. And I’ve had them eat the onion right in front of me.”
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