Michigan’s 1st HOV lanes meant for I-75 carpoolers — but single drivers often ignore signs

A temptation on I-75 in Oakland County may be turning otherwise good drivers into scofflaws.

If a new state law gets enforced, they could be subject to fines and points, leading to higher insurance rates. The scene? It's a far-left lane of seamless new concrete. Cars streak down it with little congestion, amid rush-hour traffic.

Do the drivers see the new signs? Whether they do or not, as even youngsters watching "Judge Judy" know, ignorance of the law is no defense. In early November, state highway officials quietly opened this 12-mile stretch of temptation: Michigan’s first freeway lanes for HOV, or high-occupancy vehicles — better known as carpool lanes.

• Where: The HOV lanes are on northbound and southbound I-75, from just north of 12 Mile Road in Madison Heights to South Boulevard in Auburn Hills.

• What: Well-marked as the far left lanes, they're reserved during rush hours for vehicles carrying more than one passenger, although single-rider motorcycles are allowed.

• At issue: Fines can be $135 for first-time offenders, but Troy police said they've given just a few tickets. Michigan State Police have yet to decide when to start ticketing violators, spokesman Lt. Mike Shaw said. If not enforced, it's unclear whether Michigan might need to return $40 million in federal funds that paid for the lanes.

A Free Press reporter made four runs on the new lanes — two in the morning rush, two in the afternoon. The brief checks showed that plenty of drivers are succumbing to temptation. Although overhead signs state the rush-hour rules for HOV users — weekdays 6-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m. — most drivers flew by in solitude. The reporter drove in the adjoining lane as HOV users sped past. Social media trolls predict that enforcement is sure to stay spotty. So why not run the HOV gauntlet and get there sooner, they suggest.

The lanes “won’t work without enforcement,” said Rob Morosi, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Transportation. It’s unclear whether federal highway officials, if informed that enforcement was lax, would demand a refund of the $40 million in federal dollars that paid for the lanes. Federal highway officials approved the HOV lanes nearly two decades ago, Morosi said.

“I believe we got the green light from the feds in late 2006” for the massive redesign and reconstruction of I-75 in Oakland County, from Detroit to Auburn Hills, he said. In the course of picking up most of the cost, federal funders approved $40 million for HOV lanes running from just north of 12 Mile Road to South Boulevard. In all the years since, after the project was designed, engineered and largely completed, it wasn’t until this past summer that the state Legislature took up a bill to let the MDOT close the carpool lanes to non-HOV drivers.

“We needed the Legislature to approve the HOV lanes and make them enforceable,” Morosi said. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed it into law on Oct. 10. When the bill passed, a news release from Lansing lawmakers said: “This bill satisfies the conditions of a federal grant given to MDOT for last decade’s I-75 Modernization Project. If not for this legislation being passed, MDOT would owe the federal government $40 million.”

After the bill passed, MDOT posted numerous signs telling drivers who could use the new lanes and when. A reporter’s recent experience found that most drivers ignored the signs. This writer twice drove the HOV lanes in each direction, cruising in the adjoining lane as HOV users sped past. Here’s the scorecard:

Morning rush, northbound

About a dozen speeders used the HOV lane just to pass, although the reporter was moving fast with other traffic. The passers repeatedly used the HOV lane to streak around obstructing vehicles in the adjoining lane, then slid out of the HOV lane once they were ahead. But half a dozen drivers plowed past, anchored to the HOV lane despite having no passengers. No vehicle had multiple occupants.

Morning rush, southbound

In contrast to northbound, this stream included two cars in the HOV lanes that did contain passengers. Another half-dozen vehicles had solo drivers who flew past the reporter’s car, staying in the HOV lane until out of sight. Another dozen used the HOV lane just to pass.

Evening rush, northbound

Many more solo drivers, about 30, stayed in the lane until they were out of sight. About half a dozen used it as a passing lane. Several cars had such darkly tinted windows that the reporter couldn’t spot anyone inside.

Evening rush, southbound

Relatively sparse traffic was headed southbound, in all lanes, so there was little need for high-speed drivers to use the HOV lane for passing. It was empty for much of the stretch. Four cars and trucks clearly had just a driver inside as they bee-lined south in the HOV lane. Several vehicles had windows with tints so dark that no human forms could be discerned.

Diversity was the salient characteristic of these HOV scofflaws. Ignoring the carpool rules were men and women, young and old, wild hair and no hair. They drove every type of vehicle, from small hybrid electrics to brawny pickups. The sponsor of the bill to impose rules for HOV users was state Rep. Sharon MacDonell, D-Troy, as the House majority vice chair of Transportation, Mobility and Infrastructure. In her own recent rush-hour travel, MacDonell said she’d seen plenty of violators of the HOV lane rules.

“I think the word hasn’t gotten around yet, and the signs are somewhat subtle,” MacDonell said. When commuters do learn about the restrictions, they should keep any resentment in check, she said.

“Remember, that fourth lane didn’t even exist before the expansion project. It was added, so it’s not like we created more congestion to keep this lane for carpools,” MacDonell said. Instead, the HOV lanes have reduced congestion in a heavily traveled segment of I-75, she said. A news release from Michigan House Democrats adds this insight, contradicting some online critics: "The bill only gives MDOT the authority to build new highway lanes and make them carpool lanes; it does not give MDOT the authority to turn existing highway lanes into carpool lanes."

Learning about HOV lanes in other states turned MacDonell into a believer, she said: “If you carpool, you save on gasoline, you save stress from not driving yourself all the time, and you save wear and tear on your car. Plus, you’re driving in a less congested lane, so you get to work faster.” All of that is aside from benefits to society, including less pollution and fewer vehicles wearing out Michigan’s roads, she added.

Contact Bill Laytner: blaitner@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan’s first HOV lanes meant for I-75 carpoolers