This might be news to some people, but having a passenger in the car doesn’t force people to drive in the HOV lane. This is especially problematic when there’s heavy traffic, and the only thing holding up the HOV lane is a snowbird who’s absolutely scared to death. With a dozen cars behind them, and nothing in front of them but open road, they’ll drive at 50 mph. Again, there’s nothing in front of them, but they continue to punch the brakes due to a fear of what’s going on in other lanes. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.