When is an over-the-road bus a truck?
When it crosses the state line in Georgia.
Not knowing - or ignoring - that fact is costing scores of coach drivers fines of $250-$275. Here's the story:
Like most states, Georgia has a law that prohibits big trucks from using high-occupancy-vehicle lanes. But unlike other states, Georgia also has a law that defines any vehicle with more than six wheels as a truck. That means that 40- and 45-foot motorcoaches using HOV lanes in Georgia are violating the state law that prohibits trucks from driving in HOV lanes.
In recent weeks, Georgia law enforcement agencies have stepped enforcement of the law, ticketing unsuspecting motorcoach drivers right and left, according to the vice president of the Georgia Motorcoach Operators Association
The situation has gotten so bad the Georgia association has issued a warning to drivers to watch out for aggressive county sheriff deputies who are handing out expensive tickets to coaches using HOV lanes, especially around metro Atlanta.
The ticketing has become so commonplace and egregious that one of the major convention and visitors bureaus serving metro Atlanta is worried the region is getting a public relations black eye.
The heaviest ticketing appears to be occurring in Henry County, which is about 15 miles southeast of metro Atlanta along I-75, which is a major route to and from Florida for motorcoaches coming out of the Midwest.
One driver who got caught is Mike Hansen of Tri-State Tours in Galena, Ill. Like others, Hansen found that the Georgia signage is vague and does not specifically exclude buses from using the HOV lanes. The only reference on the signs is to the number of axles.
So, if you're cruising along and you've driven through a half-dozen metro areas in other states that permit buses in HOV lanes, and you come to Georgia and its signs say vehicles with more than three axles can't use the HOV lanes, you easily assume the message is from trucks. Well, it is. But in Georgia, buses with tag axles are considered trucks.
Hansen picked up a $250 moving violation for improper lane usage when he was stopped.
Brenda Tidwell, president of the Georgia Motorcoach Operators Association, reports that sheriff deputies in Henry County are handing out tickets for a variety violations tied to coaches using the HOV lanes. In addition to improper lane usage, tickets also are being written for improper lane change, following too close and speeding. Most carry a $250-$275 fine.
Worse from a driver standpoint is the tickets are being classified as moving violations, meaning they go on the driver's record.
John Klapmeyer of BOWA Trails, a coach operation in Cornelia, Ga., and a vice president of the Georgia Motorcoach Operators Association, said tickets are being issued on other interstates around Atlanta as well. He says there is no defense once a ticket is issued.
The ticketing, plus the serious nature of the violations and the heavy fines, prompted the Georgia Motorcoach Operators Association to issue its blanket warning for drivers to be on the lookout. Drivers should stay out of the HOV lanes, pay particular attention to their spacing and lane change maneuvers, and be cognizant of the heavy truck traffic which makes the non-HOV lanes particularly nerve-wracking for passengers.
Georgia motorcoach operators tried unsuccessfully to get the law changed in the legislature this year. But one lobbyist said it was impossible to get anything through because of legislators' myopic focus on budget issues.
Jeff Mills, vice president of sales of the DeKalb County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said his organization will work with motorcoach operators next year to get the law changed. He said CVBs are working hard to bring coach charters to Atlanta and he worries about the potential backlash from the ticketing.
He, like Tidwell and Klapmeyer, urges operators to contact Georgia legislators to make them aware of the problem and to request their support to change the law.