Hybrid Honda Insight & Civic Vehicles Delayed in Use of California Car Pool Lanes

The California State Department of Motor Vehicles has confirmed drivers of the Honda hybrid Civic and Honda Insight are still unable to use California highway car-pool lanes due to a pending waiver from the federal government.

The new law will allow for the cleanest, most-fuel-efficient class of hybrids, of which only the Hybrid Honda Civic, Honda Insight and Toyota Prius currently qualify, to apply for a car-pool lane permit.

A California DMV spokesman, however, said they are currently unable to issue the permit due to a pending waiver by the federal government after congress legislated that states need a waiver to change car-pool lane rules because the lanes are funded by the federal portion of the gas tax. Complicating matters further, the DMV stated, was the fact that Ford and other American carmakers, whose hybrid car models don't currently meet the California law's 45 miles per gallon and near-zero emission standards, began lobbying to block or weaken the standards.

The number of California hybrid drivers that currently qualify for the special permits is estimated at 20,000 and is expected to reach 75,000 in the next three years.