Skeleton crew: California driver nabbed for using carpool lane with plastic effigy

Highway patrol says carpool lanes are for ridesharing for living humans, not lifeless bony impostors

Drivers looking to beat California's endless traffic can use designated carpool lanes, provided they have others in their car. But there's one pesky requirement: those other people have to be alive.

That was not the case for a driver stopped this weekend near San Jose for using a fake companion, police say. Riding in the passenger seat was a plastic skeleton. In an apparent effort to add to the illusion, the skeleton was wearing a mask with a giant mouth, reminiscent of the Scream films.