Let me preface this by reminding you all that we are a proud hybrid-owning family. We were very excited at the prospect of getting a fancy little sticker allowing us solo access to the carpool/HOV lane, since the federal government allowed CA to do so a few weeks ago.
This weekend, we finally got our stickers. Yes, plural stickers. There are four of them. They are HUGE. They are bright yellow. And all four have to be affixed permanently to the car, interspersed along our shiny smooth Prius bumpers.
They look exactly like this, but SEVEN INCHES LONG:
I've been cracking myself up commiserating with this thread at greenhybrid.com.
From an LA times article linked in the thread:
They're big. They're ugly. They're offensive. So say owners of the hybrid Toyota Prius -- not about larger gas-guzzlers that hog the road but about the decals the state is handing out that allow hybrid owners to drive solo in carpool lanes.I firmly believe this is karma coming back to bite us in the ass. We were so proud. We were so smug about our fancy little efficient cars. So holier than thou. This is everybody else's mustard-yellow way of getting back at us. If they can tell that our one inch registration sticker is current or that someone is carpooling with a two year old in the back seat without four gigantic stickers permanently marring the paint, then they can certainly tell that we're driving one of three approved hybrid vehicles eligible for HOV access. And hell, it's up in the air whether the stickers will mean anything after 2007.
Prius owners cheered when Congress approved solo driving in carpool lanes last month.
But a growing number of drivers are now protesting because the California Highway Patrol is requiring that four bright yellow decals -- 7 by 3 inches and 5 by 2 inches in size -- be displayed on their cars.
I'm guessing the guy who designed the access sticker and placement requirements doesn't drive a hybrid. Bitch.
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