Hefty fines for Fakers in Madrid

DRIVERS in big cities have been apprehended by traffic police after using shop dummies and life size dolls to replicate family members to enable them to use Bus-VAO (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes.

These lanes require there to be a minimum of two people in the vehicle which has led some motorists to get creative.

In one case, a driver was stopped travelling towards Madrid in the VAO lane with a fully dressed children’s mannequin in the front seat.

The traffic Police who were conducting routine observations at the time, were struck by several cases of bad driving and the fact the “passenger” was wearing a thermal jacket in the middle of June!

After revealing the drivers ingenious plan, he was given a €200 fine.

According to the DGT, certain vehicles are permitted to use the VAO lanes, such as those with a with V-15 reduced mobility signal, two- or three-wheeled motorcycles, buses with more than 3,500 kg of MMA, vehicles with zero label emissions from the DGT, taxis and car sharing vehicles.

These lanes are also specified for use by emergency services and road construction vehicles.