PHOENIX – An Arizona state trooper had no trouble seeing through the excuse of a motorist caught driving illegally in an East Valley HOV lane Thursday morning.

A 62-year-old man was ticketed for driving in the restricted lane on Loop 101 near Apache Boulevard in Tempe with a costumed skeleton in the passenger seat, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Think you can use the HOV lane with Skeletor riding shotgun? You’re dead wrong! ☠︎ One of our motor troopers cited the 62-year-old male driver for HOV & window tint violations on SR-101 near Apache Blvd this morning. #NiceTry #YoureNotHeMan #AZTroopers pic.twitter.com/wQYY831mNY — Dept. Public Safety (@Arizona_DPS) January 23, 2020

The man also was cited for tint violations, but the windows weren’t dark enough to hide the fake passenger.

In a photo tweeted by DPS, the skeleton was wearing a camouflage bucket hat covering most of his head and a shredded shirt or jacket.

It doesn’t appear to be wearing pants, because no legs can be seen.

The skeleton is a new twist on creative but failed efforts to avoid heavy traffic on Valley freeways. DPS has previously reported catching illegal HOV drivers with mannequins in the passenger seat or even a baby doll in a car seat.

Vehicles must have at least two people aboard from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays-Fridays to legally use the HOV lanes. Violators are subject to $400 fines.

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