Man Gets Ticket For Using Wooden Friend In Carpool Lane

Some people are just thick as a plank. But not usually literally.

A New York man was pulled over for speeding in the lane reserved for vehicles operating as part of a carpool scheme - where people share rides to reduce traffic - in Long Island, New York when officers noticed something fishy about his companion.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the 'passenger' was a shoddily-built wooden person, using a hooded top as a disguise.

The driver, James Campbell, told NBC 4 New York that the officer, Jonathan Abrams asked, "Passenger, can I see some ID?", to which he replied, "Officer, I don't think so."

Abrams commented that "I was trying not to laugh at the guy because I thought it was quite silly"

He was issued with a speeding and occupancy violation ticket, despite giving the excuse that he had started a new job and didn't want to be late, so used the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane. However, bizarrely, he then admitted to NBC that he'd been doing it for months, and had no plans to stop - he even had the dummy still in the seat on the way back home from his work.

"He's got a sister down in the basement and on special occasions, I bring her out and she wears a tutu." he added. Watch his, frankly, fantastic interview below.

[via NBC 4 New York]