Brandy Bottone, a 32-year-old, was pulled over on June 29 by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department in the HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lane. She was 34 weeks pregnant, which she claimed meant that there was a “second passenger” in her car. To be able to legally access the HOV lane, there must be at least one passenger on the vehicle.
Arguments
When the sheriff’s deputy of Dallas County told Bottone about the regulation, Bottone pointed at her stomach and said, “My baby girl is right here. She is a person.” The sheriff replied that the regulation applies to “two people outside of the body,” Bottone told NBC.
“And then I said, ‘Well [I’m] not trying to throw a political mix here, but with everything going on, this counts as a baby,” she continued. She also reported to The Morning News that the sheriff did not “want to deal with this” and demanded that the law for HOV lanes instruct that there have to be “two persons outside of the body” in the vehicle. Even though the penal code in Texas identifies a fetus as a human being, the state’s Transportation Department code contains no mention of a fetus being a person or a passenger.
Bottone fights back even though deputies say otherwise
Deputies advised the 32-year-old to not fight the ticket, due to the high risk that it will be dismissed. Bottone hopes to fight her ticket and $215 fine by arguing that her in-utero baby should be taken account to as a passenger. She told The Morning News, “This has my blood boiling. How could this be fair? According to the new law, this is a life. I know this may fall on deaf ears, but as a woman, this was shocking.”
Arguments
When the sheriff’s deputy of Dallas County told Bottone about the regulation, Bottone pointed at her stomach and said, “My baby girl is right here. She is a person.” The sheriff replied that the regulation applies to “two people outside of the body,” Bottone told NBC.
“And then I said, ‘Well [I’m] not trying to throw a political mix here, but with everything going on, this counts as a baby,” she continued. She also reported to The Morning News that the sheriff did not “want to deal with this” and demanded that the law for HOV lanes instruct that there have to be “two persons outside of the body” in the vehicle. Even though the penal code in Texas identifies a fetus as a human being, the state’s Transportation Department code contains no mention of a fetus being a person or a passenger.
Bottone fights back even though deputies say otherwise
Deputies advised the 32-year-old to not fight the ticket, due to the high risk that it will be dismissed. Bottone hopes to fight her ticket and $215 fine by arguing that her in-utero baby should be taken account to as a passenger. She told The Morning News, “This has my blood boiling. How could this be fair? According to the new law, this is a life. I know this may fall on deaf ears, but as a woman, this was shocking.”
