Genius, or stupid? (Picture: Suffolk County Police Dept)

If there’s a chance that we’re going to be late for work, most of us will simply call our bosses and come up with a convincing excuse for our tardiness.

But a man in America showed real commitment to his job, putting a wooden dummy in the passenger seat of his truck in order to get to work on time.

James Campbell, 56, put the dummy in the vehicle so that he could use the carpool lane – which is only permitted if the driver has at least one other passenger.

But traffic police discovered the elaborate ruse after he was caught speeding on Friday morning, as he headed west on the Long Island Expressway, New York.




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After the dummy – formed of a few pieces of wood covered by a hoody – was discovered, Campbell admitted to police that he had recently got a new job and didn’t want to be late for work.

Speaking to NBC, Campbell admitted that the police officer who pulled him over saw the funny side of the incident.

‘He said, “Passenger, can I see some ID?” And I said, “Officer, I don’t think so,”‘ admitted Campbell.

He was reprimanded for speeding and violating occupancy rules, but admitted that he was undeterred from using the dummy in future.

He added: ‘He’s got a sister down in the basement and on special occasions, I bring her out and she wears a tutu’.