A police trooper pulled over a funeral hearse driving in the HOV lane, reminding everyone that dead people don't qualify for the carpool lane.
"Today we stopped a local funereal home hearse in the HOV lane," the Nevada Highway Patrol's Southern Command wrote on Twitter. "The driver had the dearly departed in the back, he thought the deceased could be counted as two people. I guess we should clarify this, living, breathing people count for the HOV lane."
The driver responded with, "I have a deceased in the back."
"Tell you what, I'll go ahead and give you a warning today, but I'll warn you we're working the HOV lanes pretty heavy today," the officer said.
"He's not with us anymore," the officer responded.
He told the news outlet that while he was used to a variety of excuses, this was a first.
"In this job you hear people's excuses for different things all day long, and that's the most original one I've had yet in my career," he said.
"When you talk about high occupancy vehicle lanes, you’re talking about seats – so a person would need to occupy a seat to qualify," Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Jason Buratczuk told the Reno Gazette Journal.
He added that in this case, "This person was obviously a decedent and in the cargo area of the car, so they would not qualify for the HOV lane."
Most funeral homes seem to agree with that statement and tend to avoid HOV lanes.
"When they're dead, they're cargo," Fred McDermott, a crematorium manager, told the news outlet.
On the other hand, some people have brought up the question of whether or not a fetus counts towards the HOV lane.
"That fetus wouldn't be taking up an extra seat in the car," Buratczuk said. "It would be in the womb."
"The law is meant to fill empty space in a vehicle,″ the judge said at the time.
The state of Nevada just updated its laws on HOV lane last year.
The fine for illegally driving in an HOV lane is $250.