HOV Lanes are to encourage shared-trips. Thus, vehicles are reduced in number on Interstate-15, to reduce air-pollution and traffic congestion. Another purpose is toll revenue. Meanwhile, vehicle safety is a priority.

From the above premises, our concerns are the safety related to the start-and-stop congested traffic, and the staled exhaust-gas sucked into a car-cabin, from the crowded vehicles. Riding on general-purpose (GP) lanes during rush hours, drivers are stressful, because of the above safety concerns. As pregnancy is considered as a stress medically, pregnant drivers are more vulnerable than general drivers. Keeping pregnant drivers safe, by minimizing the above challenge, fulfills the purposes and priority of HOV Lanes.

Reducing the number of pregnant drivers idling in congestion shall reduce their stress during pregnancy. This enhances their embryos’ health and safety. It reduces the chance of abnormality (thus, special education needs) and that of social deviance (thus, social rehabilitation needs). This reduction of unfortunate chances can save public money.

This enhancement is important family needs, to benefit our future generations, who deserve our use of public resources. As families can eat up their money when expecting, are we willing to earn their money, asking them to buy Express Passes, by saying nays to HB256?

To answer your doubts as follows:

1. Federal funding is not at risk, based on US-DOT, Question 23 “Yes, HOV lanes can be put to other uses” https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freewaymgmt/faq.htm

2. UHP can understand a physician certificate of pregnancy, being possible to “try and enforce”.

3. “Pro-life” is on our heart, not on our mouth.

Please do not think a pregnant person is two persons.

Please think pregnancy is a vulnerable stress, deserving neither hanging in start-and-stop congestion, nor breathing the exhaust-gas among crowded vehicles.

William Ng, Orem

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