Strange Times #1

Dead Zone (New Scientist 7 July 1988)

In the sunshine state of California Robert Hanshew was stopped dead on his tracks recently by the state's highway patrol. He had been driving in one of California's "car pool" lanes. A special lane, invariably faster, which means drivers can use only if they have at least two passengers.

Hanshew, 35, who transports cadavers for a mortuary, told the officer that he had four dozen corpses in the back of his van, and that qualified him to drive in the lane. No, the judge didn't buy it either. Hanshew was fined $58. Hardly a stiff sentence, though.