A driver in California has been stopped by police after trying to avoid rush hour traffic by putting a mannequin in the passenger seat so he could use a carpool lane.

His plan was going well until he veered sharply out of the carpool lane, which can only be used by cars carrying more than one person.

The move caught the attention of an officer who pulled him over.

It was only then that they noticed his passenger wasn't real.

In a Facebook post, the Brea Police Department called it an "interesting carpool lane violation" and explained the driver admitted to "having done this for quite some time".

It explained: "The officer rode up alongside the driver's side open window, with the intention of warning him to be more careful when changing lanes.

"He was surprised to see that the passenger in the vehicle was actually a mannequin."

They added the man, who hasn't been named, was given a ticket for driving alone in in the carpool lane and would "now just accept the fact he needed to sit in traffic like everyone else".

Despite many people commenting that they had thought about doing something similar, the police department said this was the first time they'd caught someone out.

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