Gen III wearing CA HOV Stickers

Just dropped off some dry cleaning & right next door is a Schlotzsky's sandwich joint ... blue Gen III parked in front & it's got solo HOV stickers on the back (only). You'd think a Prius owner wouldn't be so STUPID, that they'd believe the Highway Patrol wouldn't know how long ago they stopped issuing them. Boy, was I wrong.

IF their previous car had stickers and was totaled, then it might be legal, I think ... but with only one sticker, who knows?

One possible solution......

Perfectly legal if your previous HOV-stickered hybrid was totaled.

Effective January 1, 2009, DMV may issue new Clean Air Stickers to ORIGINAL owners of qualifying hybrids purchased to replace hybrids that have been subsequently declared total/loss salvage. Applications for replacement must be filed within six months of the date of total loss/salvage.
(California)

In fact, I saw a Gen III wearing HOV stickers back in September.

Others have noted why it might be legal, though by only putting them on the back it is still illegal for them to drive in the HOV lane solo, whether they legally got stickers for the car or not. Part of being allowed in the lane solo is putting the stickers on the car correctly.

I have seen the stickers but only in pictures. Are there any numbers on them? What is preventing people from stealing them for their own use on Hybrids? Here in AZ we have a special plate for the HOV lane and they only issued out 10k of them and it was for any vehicle converted to CNG, CNG Civic, Prius, Insight and Civic Hybrid. I hope they don't put the program on the cutting block like they are in CA.

The stickers have numbers, and the number is tied to the specific vehicle that they were issued to. And here in CA it isn't so much that the program is getting cut as it was passed with a sunset programmed in. The initial sunset was the start of 2008 I believe, but that was extended to the start of 2011.

A guy at work did not want to mar his finished so he taped his on the inside windows of his car. I don't know that he really uses them as we do not really need HOV access in SD area. There is also a registration card that goes along with the stickers that you would need to produce if you were questioned about the stickers.

Here:

Just print this and glue it to right rear bumper.

Well, if you're going to fake it, you should at least put them in all four appropriate places to reduce the chance that you'll get pulled over and have them looked at closely...

OK, so stick 'em wherever they should be...stuck.

Now, back in MY day, when the carpool fiasco was first introduced in California, we'd have people who needed rides standing at freeway onramps with signs, volunteering to pimp themselves as an "occupant", so they'd get a ride, and the driver would get the carpool lane!