The "Carpool" Lane, Big Oils Greatest Scheme In History?

Picture it...


A sprawling 5 lane highway, bumper to bumper traffic, miles & miles of cars, hours of commuting alone.

& not so out of reach, the forbidden 2-person only lane.
Empty. Devoid of any tire marks or stray trash even. A lone hatchback zips past you, unhindered.
You think...
That could have been me... Alas, I am alone.

You are cattle, bound by protocols & strict conditioning. Existing in a constant state of fear of repercussion by The Man.

Well, I say let the cattle be cattle. I will use the carpool lane all day, every day, passenger or not.
Write me a ticket? I dare you. Bring it on!

You think a cop is going to try to drag your ass across 4 lanes of dense traffic? Doubtful.
& how often do you see popo in the carpool lane?
Very very rarely.

Now we must ask ourselves...whom could this elite slab of concrete possibly be benefiting?
How & when was such a ludicrous system established? Who is behind it?

My guess? Big Oil.

"Hey, if you try to help save the earth by sharing rides, we will reward you by keeping you out of traffic!"

Let's examine the many disgusting flaws in this blatantly sinister sales pitch.

1st) You are driving a coworker to the job. That's one less car on the road! Let's get them to their destination as fast as possible, to minimize the LACK of expended gasoline.

2nd) How many people live near coworkers & can carpool? How many people drive to work every day? Mmm, yes yes, we must force these individuals to idle as much as possible. The more gasoline expended, the better.

3rd) A form of subconscious class warfare is spawned. The Haves(2) & the HaveNots(1). The 2s will not only feel superior because they're "saving the environment with carpool", but they will also judge the poor 1s sitting in the clutches of TPTB.
Those stupid 1s, if they cared about the environment, they'd get to be as cool as us in the no traffic zone. Stupid, stupid 1s.
Obviously the 1s will sense this from the 2s & a resentment forms towards all potential 2s

How do we put a stop to this madness?!?
Is this merely an archaic remnant of a time far less populated?

Or is it a devious & long term scheme perpetuated by Big Oil Lobbyists?

Either way, the carpool lane must be eliminated at all costs!

WHO IS WITH ME?!?!

a reply to: Eunuchorn

You have no sources.

How do you know it was Big Oil and not the hippies that lobbied for these lanes?

This really should be in Rants and not Skunkworks.

a reply to: Eunuchorn

If I was a poor liberal like you I wouldnt waste my time with such nonsense

originally posted by: doompornjunkie
a reply to: Eunuchorn

You have no sources.

How do you know it was Big Oil and not the hippies that lobbied for these lanes?

This really should be in Rants and not Skunkworks.

If not Oil, then Business in general.

All those chauffeured driven cars avoiding being part of the gridlocked madness.

originally posted by: doompornjunkie
a reply to: Eunuchorn

You have no sources.

How do you know it was Big Oil and not the hippies that lobbied for these lanes?

This really should be in Rants and not Skunkworks.

This is definitely not a rant, this is absolutely a skunk works worthy conspiracy.

Despite my form of storytelling, I was hoping some members might be able to shed some light on the origin of the carpool lane.

How anyone can't agree with me, I don't know.

The carpool lane does NOTHING outside of promote the excess waste of gasoline & feed big oil at the expense of...everyone.

originally posted by: msallo
a reply to: Eunuchorn

If I was a poor liberal like you I wouldnt waste my time with such nonsense

If I was an ignorant (insert partisan political conditioning here) I wouldn't waste my time responding to other people's threads.

a reply to: Eunuchorn

I would have to put this a different way.

Big Oil: more lanes on the freeway means traffic flows better and commuters spend less gasoline on their daily trip to work, you need to quit making freeways so wide.

Politician in Big Oil's pocket book: We have already put too much effort into this and can't simply stop without the general populous becoming enraged.

Big Oil: How about this then, take the left lane of the freeway and make it restricted to vehicles used for carpooling to "promote carpooling to save the environment", then, where possible, take the next lane over and use it for barricades to restrict access to the carpool lane so less people can use it, no one will ask questions about that.

Politician in Big Oil's pocket book: I LOVE YOU MAN!!! I will do this right now.

a reply to: Eunuchorn

Nope, not a scheme or conspiracy.

Just an outdated relic from the 1970's and the energy crisis.

Most of us don't live in large cities that have carpool lanes. The cities I have driven in that have them most of the time have them blocked off, especially during rush hour. Go figure on that. They are a joke. When there's heavy traffic, those lanes are just as congested, and nobody follows the rules.

One of many reasons I do not live in a large city.

a reply to: Eunuchorn

Carpool lanes are well used where I live and I see people getting pulled over. If it was about big oil they would just have no carpool lane.

a reply to: Eunuchorn

i love Germany six lanes highway one way
six lanes the other way unlimited speed between cities

get a move on
no conspiracy
taxi drivers own the lane world here

I linked a survival guide for driving in California for everyone else here

www.californiadriving.com...

I am telling u if this guy is driving on ur roads u all need to read it

Disclaimer to the link attached
Please do not rely on me or this Guide for legal advice; what follows is a brief informal summary that may be out of date and / or incomplete, or even entirely wrong — there’s no excuse for not doing your own homework on this! And please don’t ask me for legal advice or advice on getting around the law or whatever: I’m not a lawyer, or even particularly intimate with Californian law.

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04
a reply to: Eunuchorn

Carpool lanes are well used where I live and I see people getting pulled over. If it was about big oil they would just have no carpool lane.

Me too. I love the carpool lane.

Standing still on the 405 sux.

originally posted by: MasterOfTheDamned
a reply to: Eunuchorn

I would have to put this a different way.

Big Oil: more lanes on the freeway means traffic flows better and commuters spend less gasoline on their daily trip to work, you need to quit making freeways so wide.

Politician in Big Oil's pocket book: We have already put too much effort into this and can't simply stop without the general populous becoming enraged.

Big Oil: How about this then, take the left lane of the freeway and make it restricted to vehicles used for carpooling to "promote carpooling to save the environment", then, where possible, take the next lane over and use it for barricades to restrict access to the carpool lane so less people can use it, no one will ask questions about that.

Politician in Big Oil's pocket book: I LOVE YOU MAN!!! I will do this right now.

Isn't that what I said?

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04
a reply to: Eunuchorn

Carpool lanes are well used where I live and I see people getting pulled over. If it was about big oil they would just have no carpool lane.

That's not the point, but is the only argument I've ever heard when I broach the topic.

The fact you see it used so much (while sitting in traffic im sure) proves that were anyone allowed to use it, overall traffic flow would be exponentially faster, thus better gas mileage. The bain of our global economy, & especially USA.

It would be interesting to see who really pushed it & "why", but I'm sure some secrets will always be hidden. I doubt any kind of movement could be started to have them removed nationally. People will defend their right to judge others in any fashion & at all costs.

originally posted by: Eunuchorn


That's not the point, but is the only argument I've ever heard when I broach the topic.

The fact you see it used so much (while sitting in traffic im sure) proves that were anyone allowed to use it, overall traffic flow would be exponentially faster, thus better gas mileage. The bain of our global economy, & especially USA.

It's not a magic lane, it's only faster because fewer cars can use it. If they opened it to everyone then people would carpool less, there would be more cars on the road, and more gas would be used, meaning worse gas mileage.

It would be interesting to see who really pushed it & "why", but I'm sure some secrets will always be hidden. I doubt any kind of movement could be started to have them removed nationally. People will defend their right to judge others in any fashion & at all costs.

How does a carpool lane judge you? Does it make you feel like you have no friends?

a reply to: OccamsRazor04

The amount of cars in the road at every moment of every day would not be affected by there being no carpool lane, there would still be traffic but it would go faster because the entire population of drivers wouldn't be strangled into 1 less lane.

You argue that people drive with other people to go about their daily lives BECAUSE there's a carpool lane?
This is pure conjecture, & really isn't even logical.
People use the carpool lane because there's at least one passenger, not the other way around.


As to your second paragraph, you either didn't read my OP fully or didn't understand it.

I expect both.

a reply to: Eunuchorn

I got drunk one day and created the carpool lane, it seemed like a good idea at the time my bad bro.

a reply to: Brotherman

Did you also create the "high occupancy vehicle" lanes here in Canada? /shake fist

originally posted by: Eunuchorn

originally posted by: MasterOfTheDamned
a reply to: Eunuchorn

I would have to put this a different way.

Big Oil: more lanes on the freeway means traffic flows better and commuters spend less gasoline on their daily trip to work, you need to quit making freeways so wide.

Politician in Big Oil's pocket book: We have already put too much effort into this and can't simply stop without the general populous becoming enraged.

Big Oil: How about this then, take the left lane of the freeway and make it restricted to vehicles used for carpooling to "promote carpooling to save the environment", then, where possible, take the next lane over and use it for barricades to restrict access to the carpool lane so less people can use it, no one will ask questions about that.

Politician in Big Oil's pocket book: I LOVE YOU MAN!!! I will do this right now.

Isn't that what I said?

It appears to be what you meant, the way it was worded was very confusing though.
I prefer to have a short and sweet summary when reading threads like this so I gave you one

originally posted by: Eunuchorn

You argue that people drive with other people to go about their daily lives BECAUSE there's a carpool lane?
This is pure conjecture, & really isn't even logical.

Actually it is.

Regional data indicate that HOV lanes do induce people to carpool, but the statewide impact on carpooling is unknown due to lack of data.

www.lao.ca.gov...

Research indicates that even underused carpool lanes have a smoothing effect on freeway traffic.
They found that in the two lanes closest to the carpool lane, a reduction in the lane-changing rate was followed by an increase in the "queue discharge flow" when the carpool restriction went into effect. In other words, people started changing lanes less frequently and bottlenecks cleared up. The researchers argue that the fact that this occurred so close to 3 p.m. strongly suggests that the carpool lane is responsible.

www.psmag.com...

Are they good, are they bad, who knows, but the overall effect is neutral if not net positive.

a reply to: Eunuchorn

If there was bumper to bumper traffic, and every single rider car did the same thing as you, how much to you posit that would alleviate the bumper to bumper traffic? By 1/5th?