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(Arlington-AP) -- HOV violators, you know who you are. So do the cops. And pretty soon, they're about to get tough.  

Virginia State Police are planning what they call a "No Excuses" crackdown on HOV violators in northern Virginia, along Interstates 95, 395 and 66, as well as the Dulles Toll Road.

Beginning Wednesday, if you're in the car pool lanes but don't belong there, you're getting a ticket.

Authorities claim the number of violators has nearly doubled in the last four years. They say that weekday mornings between six and 6:30, more than two-thirds of the drivers in the I-95 car pool lanes have no business being there.

VDOT says that in the morning rush, more than a third of the HOV drivers on I-95 and on I-66 inside the Beltway are there illegally. About a quarter of the drivers on I-395 and the toll road are violators.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Date published: 7/14/2003

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