By Tim Binnall
Cops in Arizona caught a clever motorist cruising in a carpool lane with a seasonal, albeit illegal, 'individual' riding shotgun in the form of an inflatable Grinch. Recounting the bust on social media, the Arizona Department of Public Safety jokingly explained that the incident occurred last week when a state trooper initially noticed a "Seusspicious-looking 'passenger'" in the HOV lane of the interstate highway passing through the city of Tuscon. Upon pulling the vehicle over, the officer's intuition proved to be correct as the "grumpy green guy" sitting alongside the driver was a fairly sizeable inflatable Grinch that appeared to be waving to other cars on the road.
While the department conceded that they "appreciate the festive flair" behind the motorist's attempt at skirting the law, the noted that it was driving violation, nonetheless. As such, they indicated that "the driver received a citation for their HOV violation" and, by virtue of being 'showcased' on their social media, wound up serving as something of an amusing cautionary tale for other residents who may be entertaining similar shenanigans in the carpool lane during the holiday season. The Grinch is actually not the first unorthodox HOV 'passenger' to be busted by the department in recent years as, back in January of 2020, they also caught a motorist driving with a remarkably realistic skeleton.