Forced Into Cheating? -- Hov Lane Enforcement Creates Additional Backup

Once again I spent a half-hour fighting my way through a traffic backup across Mercer Island. As I finally reached the edge of the island and met the Interstate 90 floating bridge I found the cause to once again be our fine public servants apprehending the "cheaters" in the HOV lane. I wonder if they have ever considered the cost of this protection.

I suspect that a high percentage of the drivers they do catch "cheating" feel forced into it because of a schedule they can't keep due to the backup caused by this enforcement. Isn't this entrapment?

Wouldn't it be better to just let traffic flow so the "cheaters" would not have a need to use the HOV lane to get over the island to Seattle? Maybe we could tax each Eastside commuter an hour's pay each week, at least then commuters would not lose the hour unnecessarily.

This approach would reduce stress, reduce wear and tear on our cars, reduce toxic auto emissions and free up those three or four patrol cars to protect us from other criminals.

I do not condone use of the HOV lane without the appropriate number in your car. Personally, I would not use the HOV lane unless my passenger load justified it. However, I do mind paying with my time for those who do "cheat." It is hard for me to see how these "cheaters" pose the same type of threat to my safety and welfare as those 16-wheelers that travel from Mercer Island to the Cascades at 65 mph.

Wouldn't the public be better served by an occasional stop of an HOV "cheater" than by the current emphasis patrols that are themselves a traffic problem?

I hope the recent emphasis on HOV "cheaters" is not a sign that we have overfunded and have an excess of patrol officers and patrol cars. - Dennis J. Hulet, Issaquah