Wired.com reports on the enforcement of HOV/HOT lane use rules. The article looks at Xerox’s Vehicle Passenger Detection System, which uses imaging and algorithms to catch motorists in the act of cheating on HOV occupancy rules. Highway designs that include physical lane dividers are also mentioned. Research suggests dividers both discourage “lane diving,” the most common form of HOV abuse, and facilitate faster traffic flow within express lanes. Chris Tomlinson of Georgia’s State Road and Tollway Authority tells Wired that vigilant enforcement is important even if a small minority of motorists are violators, because visible abuse of rules causes public disenchantment with HOV and HOT mobility solutions.
