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Marque Ledoux's Toyota Prius gets pretty good mileage and it's more environmentally friendly than most.
But Ledoux, a Fredericksburg resident who commutes to Washington each day, bought the car for one reason and one reason only: Virginia law allows him to travel in the state's High Occupancy Vehicle lanes without carrying extra passengers because the Prius is a hybrid, or a clean-fuel vehicle.
"I bought it exactly for that reason," said Ledoux, who chatted on his cell phone while zipping up I-95 to his office on K Street yesterday morning. "I am passing by the Lorton exit. The main lines are moving, but they're bumper to bumper, and I'm doing 74 in the HOV with hardly anybody in here."
But a recommendation from a state task force--and an opinion from the Federal Highway Administration--may be slamming the brakes on Ledoux's morning commute.
A state task force created in May to crack down on HOV lane violators issued a long list of recommendations this week designed to improve the flow of traffic in HOV lanes. Issuing higher fines and points on driver's licenses to motorists who use the lanes without the two or three required occupants would free up space for law-abiding drivers, the task force wrote.
But the group also recommended that the state no longer allow hybrid drivers to use HOV lanes without the required number of occupants.
The state created the exemption for hybrids in the mid-1990s to encourage sales of the fuel-efficient cars and to promote use of the HOV lanes, which were underutilized at the time, said Lon Anderson, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic who is a member of the task force.
"This may be an incentive that's worked too well," said Anderson, who said the HOV lanes are growing too crowded. "You know, it comes down to we're running out of space in the HOV lanes, and we want to keep the HOV lanes moving. If the HOV lanes become clogged, they're no better than the other lanes, and we lose the incentive for carpooling."
Problem is, plenty of Virginians--including several hundred in the Fredericksburg region--have purchased hybrid cars in recent years largely because the state guaranteed HOV access.
"I'd be a little reluctant to tell them, 'Hey, I'm sorry. We told you you could use the HOV lanes and in reliance on that you went and bought a car, and now you can't use them,'" said House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford.
The General Assembly has to renew that guarantee every few years, and this year, lawmakers extended it to July 1, 2006. The HOV task force recommends they merely let that law expire at that time.
But the Federal Highway Administration, which has jurisdiction over the HOV lanes since they're part of the U.S. highway system, could nullify that state law before then if it feels that it violates federal rules.
Roberto Fonseca-Martinez, the Virginia Division administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, wrote in an April 9 letter to the state that under federal law, cars classified as "inherently low-emission vehicles"--essentially, those that don't use gasoline--can use the HOV lanes without the required number of occupants.
But hybrid vehicles run on a combination of gas and electricity and therefore don't qualify for unbridled HOV access, Fonseca-Martinez wrote.
"If current Federal law remains unchanged, we anticipate writing a letter indicating that Virginia State law and policies are counter to Federal law, and request that Virginia discontinue its current practice of allowing clean fuel vehicles, especially hybrid vehicles, to use HOV lanes," he wrote to the Virginia Department of Transportation. "The State will then be subject to Federal sanctions if the current practice continues."
Congress is considering legislation that would allow states to grant HOV access to hybrids, and Fonseca-Martinez said his office would delay any action in Virginia until U.S. lawmakers had addressed the matter.
Chris Connelly, the spokesman for U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Davis--and himself the owner of a Honda Civic Hybrid--said the 1st District congresswoman would keep an eye on that legislation.
Auto dealers probably will be watching it, too. Two Northern Virginia dealerships--Koons Toyota and Rosenthal Honda--led the nation in hybrid sales, The Associated Press reported in March.
Frank Pohanka, president of Pohanka Automotive Group, said many of his customers are long-distance commuters who buy hybrids for the HOV access.
"We've got a lot of professionals driving these cars to Northern Virginia," he said. "Once Congress realizes this, that loophole will be expanded to cover these vehicles."
Ledoux, a lobbyist for Norfolk Southern Railroad, said his options narrow if hybrid cars are no longer allowed in HOV lanes.
"I would probably have to move," he said.
To read the full report from the HOV Task Force, visit virginiadot .org on the Web.
To reach EDIE GROSS: 540/374-5428 egross@freelancestar.com