HOV "Special Use" lane

EV.com applauds the California Assembly and governor Schwarzenegger for making California’s Assembly Bill 1500 into state law that improves air quality and reduces greenhouse gasses by encouraging the use of electric and natural gas vehicles.

The new law allows drivers of Alternate Fuel Vehicles (AFVs) that are certified as pure zero emission vehicles (100% electric and hydrogen fuel cell) or those that operate on compressed natural gas to utilize the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes also called carpool or diamond lanes even if the vehicle contains only a single person.

This is a wonderful non-monetary green incentive that will go a long way towards making California one of the greenest states in the USA. Ken Burridge and the rest of the staff here at EV.com believe that this new California law is so good that the federal government should promote it’s adaptation by all 50 states. In addition he says “HOV lanes should just be redesigned as “Special Use” lanes for whatever governments are wishing to promote down the road, be it increased use of car pooling, EVs or mag-lev vehicles”.

Editor’s Note: Around the EV.com office “Special Use” lanes have been nicknamed “SU” or “Super User” lanes.

The Federal Government could accomplish getting the new California law established nationally almost overnight by threatening to withhold federal highway funds from states that don’t adopt similar measures within a certain time frame, not unlike the national speed limit of 55 mph that was introduced as part of the 1974 Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act. That speed limit came about because of the USA’s obvious dependence on fossil fuels and their inability to be energy self-sufficient since 1950 during issues at the time with middle eastern oil (the 1973-74 Arab Oil embargo).  Does anyone else hear any bells ringing or feel as if they are stuck living in the movie “Groundhog Day” like Phil Connors (aka Bill Murray)? The Daily show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central recently aired a skit about how the last eight (8) presidents said the USA needed to stop using so much foreign oil and develop alternative fuels, obviously the US government no matter what party is in control hasn’t had the political power or will to make the USA energy efficient in the last 60 years!

Alternatively the federal government could try and reinstate the relatively unpopular mandatory federal 55 mpg speed limit in an attempt to reduce the country’s massive fossil fuel consumption, but that would only spur more song’s like Sammy Hagar’s “I can’t drive 55″ and would probably be no more effective than the government’s “Don’t be fuelish” type of slogan campaigns.

speed limit 55

The old adage “If you want something done right…you have to do it yourself”, comes to mind, which means it is individual behavior that needs to change before things will ever start getting greener in the USA.

Even without a federal mandate California is not alone as: Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia are also providing incentives for alternate fuel vehicles.