Carpool Teddy Bear Earns Woman $260 Fine

A woman who strapped a teddy bear into the passenger seat of her car was busted for attempting to use the carpool lane, according to the Daily Mail. Scarlett Zibritovsky was driving through Portland, Oregon when the proverbial light bulb went off inside her head. Instead of having a useless teddy bear in the back seat, Scarlett thought he would serve a much better purpose in the front seat. Unfortunately for Zibritovsky, authorities didn’t feel the same way.

KATU reports that the carpool faker was embarking on a short vacation when she hatched the aforementioned scheme.

“I was going on a camping trip trying to get home fast, I knew it wasn’t the right thing to do, but I just got over and I thought you know, if I can get a couple cars behind me why not,” she explained.

Unfortunately for Scarlett, it didn’t take long for local authorities to spot the cheater in the carpool lane. The next thing Zibritovsky knew, police were attempting to flag her down.

“I’m rolling by in my car driving and I turn and I see a motorcycle cop and I just have this huge smile on my face ’cause I’m like yep, I am getting a ticket right now,'” the culprit said.

For her clever attempt to avoid heavy traffic, authorities slapped Zibritovsky, who claims she never breaks the law, with a $260 fine. To immortalize the violation, Scarlett snapped a photo of herself with the ticket and the aforementioned teddy bear.

Although Scarlett’s use of a teddy bear is certainly unique, people attempt to unlawfully use the carpool lane on a fairly regular basis. In order to take advantage of the lane in her city, 61-year-old was fined for riding around in the carpool lane on the Long Island Expressway with her friend. According to The New York Times, her BFF was a mannequin, complete with makeup and a stylish outfit.