A man has been given a $150 infringement notice for driving down a T2 lane (a New Zealand road reserved for vehicles with at least two occupants) whilst pretending a mannequin was the front seat passenger.

Police officers spotted the dummy whilst running a checkpoint to monitor T2 lanes being used unlawfully. The car was pulled over to reveal a "rather sheepish" driver and his mannequin - disguised with bandaged head and sunglasses. Given the attire of the mannequin, presumably the first reaction of the officers was to hide their disappointment that they hadn't tracked down Dr Griffin, the Invisible Man. Senior Sergeant Brett Henshaw of the Waitemata Police said that the driver apologised saying it was his first time doing this sort of thing, which probably came as no surprise given the weak effort on display.

On a positive note, the mannequin was obeying car safety by wearing a seat belt.

Senior Sergeant Henshaw commented that the police are cracking down on the illegal use of T2 lanes because officers are struggling to keep themselves busy in a sleepy area the type of drivers using the lanes often "engage in high-risk behaviour" and so it can be a lead to tracking down suspended drivers and stolen cars.