New York Man Given Summons For Using a Mask in the HOV Lane

We're all probably a bit tired of the whole mask debate, but here's a case where "wearing" a mask actually landed a man in a bit of trouble. As many of you will be traveling around the state here in the coming weeks, you might want to keep this story in mind if you're heading to certain parts of New York. You have to give this particular guy some points for creativity though.

The New York Post is reporting that a Lake Grow man was busted Wednesday evening for driving in the HOV lane without a passenger. Thing is, this guy thought he'd fooled authorities by creating his own fake companion for the trip ahead. And by fake companion, we mean attaching a plastic drama mask to the passenger side headrest to make it look like someone else was in the vehicle with him. Maybe not the best effort overall, but at least he tried?

Police said the 20-year-old was pulled over near Commack at around 7:15 PM. There, he was given a summons for riding with the weird looking mask that he may as well have picked up a local Halloween Shop. According to the Post, the Long Island Expressway HOV lane is reserved for two or more passengers from 3 to 8 PM. Now, only if had waited another 45 minutes?

We've heard the funny stories through the years of drivers cruising the HOV lanes with phony passengers in tow. They've used everything from mannequins, dummies, dolls, and even fake skeletons wearing hoodies to try to get around the system. Some are creatively hilarious, and others can be a bit embarrassing (this guy used a pile of clothes). We're not really sure where this latest story falls?