Something interesting happened to me over the weekend.

Traveling through Denver, the Nav system told me to drive in the HOV ( carpool ) lane! In Denver, this is a segregated route, not just the center lane of Interstate25.

I was thinking this was an error, but heck! I actually had a passenger in the passenger seat! ( I usually drive this route alone ) I have never had the Nav tell me to use the HOV lane driving by myself.

I'm a bit skeptical, but is it possible that the passenger airbag / weight sensor provides feedback to the Nav system? While possible, this seems almost too good to be true for such an (otherwise) basic model Navigation unit.

Wow... if true, this is a VERY cool integration.
Anyone else notice this?
Since it just happened, I have not determined if it is a fluke or if it is normal.
Thanks.
-John

 

My handheld has a setting that allows the route to include/exclude carpool lanes. Does the NAV system have such a setting? It also has a toggle for toll roads but around here if you excluded toll roads you'd never get out the house.

I'd be shocked if the NAV had a connection to the passenger seat sensor but stranger things have happened.

 

I would say such integration would be highly unlikely. Besides, if you had backseat passengers, you would be HOV-eligible but there are no weight sensors that I'm aware of in the back seats.

Nice thought, but too much credit to engineers, here.

I've had my portable GPS route me to an HOV lane before... it's going by simple mathematics -- either shortest distance or fastest time -- not human factors like "Can I drive in HOV at this moment?" Imagine it trying to do that in Washington, D.C. where the HOV lanes close and open at various times in a given week/month.

 

The sales brochure for the 2007 MMH, even features, in rather bold print, that you can drive in the HOV lane, if you own a hybrid. While many states do have such an exception for hybrids, I am skeptical that it is universal enough to make such an encompassing claim.

However, if Ford/Mercury really believes that to be true, I can see them having the Nav system always "suggest" using the HOV lane, even if you are alone.

 

The way to test this would be to have a 250# passenger sit in the front seat and see if the NAV unit only suggests Jenny Craig restaurants!

 

Here they also change during certain times of the day. In the mornings, some routes are inbound only (into DC) and outbound only at night. I've had my Nav system route me using the wrong streets before (taking me into DC in the evening using an outbound route when I was checking to see how the Nav system worked.) luckily, the system re-routes itself when you miss an exit or a turn.

 

Many states do allow hybrid drivers access to HOV lanes. In the DC metro area, VA allows hybrid drivers access to some HOV lanes, but this past summer changed the access rules. They are now not allowing hybrid drivers access to some routes if there is only 1 person in the vehicle.

In the state of Maryland, they have no perks for hybrid drivers.

 

In the news, I read recently that NJ now allows hybrids in HOV lanes, but only certainly limited access highways (not all), and in highways it is allowed, only for certain sections. Talk about making it confusing!

 

FEH and MMH are not eligible for the New York State CleanPass program, which allows drivers of ultra-low emissions vehicles getting 40+ MPG (Prius and Civic Hybrid are the only cars currently made that qualify) to ride solo in the HOV lanes of the Long Island Expressway.