If carpooling isn’t fun, you’re not doing it right, Roadshow reader says

Plus: "If kids qualify as carpool passengers, so should my dog."

Q: I disagree with readers who resent the toll lanes being free for some carpoolers. I don’t like the toll lanes either, but it is a nice perk for those who will join a carpool.

I once commuted with three others from Hayward/Fremont to Palo Alto. Carpooling, like anything else in life, can be a compromise. But it can also be fun.

In our carpool, we had a rule that if anyone made us more than 15 minutes late, they had to provide doughnuts for the team the next day. Sufficient punishment, which eased the tension.

Lighten up, people. If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.

Jim Cauble, Hayward

A: What other rules do carpoolers use to make their commutes more enjoyable?

In the meantime, here are the new rules for carpools in express lanes:

Only clean-air vehicles (CAVs) with yellow, blue, orange or purple decals are eligible for discounted and toll-free travel.

For all express lanes, drivers must have FasTrak. Carpools must have a FasTrak Flex toll tag in the vehicle set to the 2 or 3+ position to get carpool toll discounts.

Q: When will my dog count as a passenger so I can drive in the HOV lane?

True, she cannot drive, but neither can children or babies. If the purpose is to reduce the number of cars on the road, then kids and babies in car seats shouldn’t count toward HOV.

Patricia Silver, Los Gatos

A: This brings to mind three unusual carpool stories. One guy had a large, hairy dog that he dressed in a shirt, sunglasses and a hat. As far I know, he never got caught.

There was the pregnant woman who got a carpool ticket and her defense was that the unborn baby should qualify as a passenger. The judge didn’t want to get into the question of when life begins and dismissed the case. The CHP officer was furious. It led to a change in policy that only a baby who had been born qualified as a passenger.

Finally, a young father would cheat the carpool lane rules by putting a large doll in a carseat. His wife warned him that was not a good idea, and she was right. One warm day he left the doll in the carseat at work. Others in the parking lot saw what they thought was a real baby and called the police. The cops smashed the tinted windows to “rescue” the baby. The driver was ticketed and also had to replace the window.

Police were not happy. Neither was the guy’s wife.

Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow, or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.