CA HOV Sticker Placement Issue

When I put the stickers on both my Priuses, I noticed the instructions called for the small stickers to go on the right side of the bumper, front and rear. I just assumed the right side of the car was the passenger side and the instructions seemed clear to me that both front and rear stickers should go on the passenger side.

I noticed the small figure showed the front sticker on the driver's side, but I assumed the figure must have been reversed, because the words were very clear to me.

I first noticed another Prius in the neighborhood with the sticker on the driver's side, and thought, "What a dummy, can't follow directions." Then I saw a couple of more cars with the stickers on the driver's side, and thought about the figure in the instructions. I suddenly realized that when looking at the car from the front, consistent with the figure, the right side was the driver's side. With horror, I decided that I was the dummy.

I called the DMV group that issues the stickers to ask about this, expecting to apply for replacement sets. I was told that the people there were not involved with the drafting of the language and that I should contact CHP. The CHP officer I spoke with told me the question had come up and that the figure was incorrect. I did correctly put the sticker on the passenger side. I did not ask if cars with the sticker on the driver's side could be cited.

The only remaining thing I have to obsess about is I put the rear sticker 2-3" in from the edge instead of on the edge. I guess that is ok, but it does annoy me.

 

It would be interesting to see if other CHP offices give the same info.