2 chapters across the catalog
A pregnant Texas woman, Brandy Paton, is fighting a traffic ticket for driving in the HOV lane, arguing that her unborn baby counts as a second passenger under the state's new abortion laws. While the Department of Transportation does not currently recognize a fetus as a person for carpool purposes, the case raises legal questions regarding fetal personhood and child support.
In the Washington DC area, a commuter practice known as "slogging" (or slugging) involves drivers picking up strangers at designated stops to meet the three-person requirement for HOV lanes. The hosts compare this to similar carpooling systems in the San Francisco Bay Area. The practice is described as a user-generated movement that allows commuters to reach destinations like the Pentagon more quickly while providing free rides to passengers.
