This Guy Thought He Could Cheat the Carpool Lane by Riding With 'The Most Interesting Man in the World'

Police in Washington state recently encountered a most interesting use of the carpool lane.

Washington State Patrol trooper Guy Gill pulled over a driver with a cardboard cutout of actor Jonathan Goldsmith — otherwise known as the “Most Interesting Man in the World” from the Dos Equis beer commercials — in his passenger seat so that he could use the carpool lane along Interstate 5 near Tacoma, Wash.

“He’s my best friend,” said the driver, who got a $124 fine and Twitter shamed by Washington State Patrol:

I don't always violate the HOV lane law...but when I do, I get a $124 ticket! We'll give him an A for creativity! 👮👍 pic.twitter.com/hNbQDuBWfc

— Trooper Robert Reyer (@wspd1pio) March 24, 2015

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Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com.