Signs along the highway will specify the enforcement policy for each route. An "occupant" is defined as any person who occupies a safety restraint device, i.e., seat belt.Ĭertain routes in the San Francisco Bay Area I-80 and I-880, Los Angeles I-10 El Monte Bus Way (during peak hour) and San Diego I-5 San Ysidro requires three or more (3+) persons per vehicle to access HOV lanes. Motorcycles, mass transit, and vehicles with two or more (2+) occupants are allowed to access the HOV lanes during their operational hours. HOV facilities represent one approach being used in metropolitan areas throughout the state to respond to growing traffic congestion, declining mobility levels, air quality, and environmental concerns. HOV lanes are a viable alternative, and in most cases is the only alternative, in meeting federal air quality conformity standards for capacity-increasing improvement projects in metropolitan areas. The law states that HOV lanes are used "to stimulate and encourage the development of ways and means of relieving traffic congestion on California highways and, at the same time, to encourage individual citizens to pool their vehicular resources and thereby conserve fuel and lessen emission of air pollutants." Why Build HOV Lanes?Īccording to California state law, the goals of HOV lanes are to reduce congestion and improve air quality on the State Highway System. Southern California experiences very long hours of congestion, typically between six to eleven hours per day, with short off-peak traffic hours part-time operation under these conditions would not be viable. Using a full-time operation would leave the HOV lane relatively unoccupied during off-peak hours and would not constitute an efficient utilization of the roadway. Northern California highways usually experience two weekday congestion periods during peak morning and afternoon commute hours followed by a long period of non-congestion. The operational practices vary differently between Northern California versus Southern California because of traffic volumes and commuter patterns in the two regions. The HOV lanes are in effect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, referred to as "full-time" operation. In Southern California, HOV lanes are generally separated from other lanes by a buffer zone.This is referred to as "part-time" operation. All other vehicles may use the lanes during off-peak hours. In Northern California, HOV lanes are only operational on Monday thru Friday during posted peak congestion hours, for example: between 6 a.m.HOV lanes are usually located on the inside (left) lane and are identified by signs along the freeway and white diamond symbols painted on the pavement.High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, also known as carpool or diamond lanes, is a traffic management strategy to promote and encourage ridesharing thereby alleviating congestion and maximizing the people-carrying capacity of California highways. List of All HOV Documents, Links, & References.
HOV Degradation Reports and Action Plans.HOV Guidelines, English Edition (Jan 2018) (PDF).
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