See the dummy a Bay Area motorist put in front seat to cheat carpool lane

The California Highway Patrol in Contra Costa County caught a motorist driving illegally in the carpool lane with a dummy in the front seat. The California Highway Patrol in Contra Costa County caught a motorist driving illegally in the carpool lane with a dummy in the front seat. Photo: CHP -- Contra Costa County Photo: CHP -- Contra Costa County Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close See the dummy a Bay Area motorist put in front seat to cheat carpool lane 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

Scroll through the gallery above for photos featuring the least convincing carpool passengers you've ever seen.

The California Highway Patrol wants you to meet "Angel."

Officers from the Contra Costa Area office encountered this lovely lady, or shall we say dummy, on Highway 4, which connects Stockton with the East Bay.

Wearing a red Los Angeles Angels sweatshirt to match her cherry lipstick, she was sitting in the passenger seat of a car cheating the carpool lane near Pittsburg.

"Angel didn't have much of a personality as a passenger when we met her this morning," the Officer Brandon Correia shared in a message along with the photo above on Twitter. "She just oddly stared at us while we issued her chauffeur a ticket for carpool violation."

ALSO: Oakland carpool cheat caught with not one but two dummies in the backseat

In the traffic-clogged Bay Area, solo motorists often drive in the carpool lane and sometimes go to extremes to trick police into think there are passengers in their car. A 2016 study found that nearly a quarter of cars in the carpool lanes during the morning commute in the Bay Area don't have the requisite number of passengers.

When the California Highway Patrol catches offenders, they don't hesitate to shame people who sometimes put dolls and mannequins in their cars. Getting caught not only subjects you to social media embarrassment, but also a minimum fine of $489, including fees and penalty assessments.

Amy Graff is a news producer for SFGATE. Email her at agraff@sfgate.com. SFGATE news producer Filipa Ioannou also contributed to this story.