You can drive in a Texas HOV lane while pregnant, but no statute, court ruling, or agency rule says your pregnancy counts as a second occupant, so expect a citation if an officer sees you alone. One Dallas-area driver got her ticket thrown out using the personhood argument, but that dismissal binds no other judge, and bills meant to settle the question have repeatedly failed in the Legislature.
Why Drivers Think Pregnancy Should Count
The argument rests on a single sentence in the Texas Penal Code. Section 1.07(a)(26) defines “individual” as “a human being who is alive, including an unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth.”1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code PENAL 1.07 – Definitions If an unborn child is an individual under Texas law, the reasoning goes, then a pregnant driver has two individuals in the car and qualifies for the HOV lane.
The problem is that definitions in one code don’t automatically travel to another. The Penal Code language was written to let prosecutors charge criminal violence against unborn children, not to define carpool occupancy. The Transportation Code, which actually governs HOV lanes, never defines “occupant” to include a fetus. Texas law has no single, unified definition of “person” that spans every statute. Making the personhood argument work in traffic court requires a judge to import a criminal-law definition into a context where it was never meant to apply.
Federal Guidance Says a Fetus Doesn’t Count
The Federal Highway Administration has answered the occupancy question directly. In its guidance on HOV lanes built with federal highway funds, FHWA states that “fetuses in the womb do not constitute an occupant in the vehicle.”2Federal Highway Administration. Federal-Aid Highway Program Guidance on High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes – Glossary Texas receives federal funding for its highway system, so this guidance carries real weight even though it doesn’t override state statute. It also reflects the underlying purpose of HOV lanes, which is to move more people in fewer cars. A pregnant driver is still one trip in one vehicle.
Born children, including infants in car seats, do count as passengers. Every state with HOV facilities treats them that way, and Texas is no exception.3VIA Metropolitan Transit. HOV Lanes The line Texas draws, in practice, is at birth.
The Brandy Bottone Case and What It Does Not Mean
In 2022, Brandy Bottone of Plano was pulled over by a Dallas County sheriff’s deputy for driving alone in an HOV lane while pregnant. She told the deputy her unborn child counted as the second passenger under Texas law. She received a citation, challenged it in court, and the ticket was dismissed.4Texas Legislature Online. 88(R) HB 1744 – Committee Report She was ticketed a second time in July 2022 for the same thing. The outcome of that second citation isn’t clear from the public record, and she gave birth shortly after, which ended the question for her.
That dismissal does not protect you. A traffic court ruling in one county binds no other judge anywhere in Texas. The dismissal might reflect agreement with the personhood argument, prosecutorial discretion, or a decision not to spend resources on the case. Another pregnant driver, in another courtroom, in front of another judge, can and may get a different answer.
What to Expect If You Get Pulled Over
Enforcement is visual. An officer scanning the HOV lane looks for a visible second person, and a pregnant driver sitting alone looks like a single-occupancy car. If you’re stopped, telling the officer you’re pregnant may or may not persuade them. They can issue a warning, but most will apply the standard reading of the Transportation Code and write the citation.
Fines for a first-time HOV violation generally run between $100 and $200, depending on the roadway and the authority operating it. For transit authority lanes, Transportation Code Section 452.0613 caps the administrative penalty at $100, and ignoring that penalty for more than 30 days escalates the violation to a Class C misdemeanor.5State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code TRANSP 452.0613 – Enforcement of High Occupancy Vehicle Lane Usage; Penalties Municipal courts may impose higher fines under their own schedules; Houston’s schedule lists HOV violations at $170.6City of Houston. Schedule of Fines Court costs are usually added on top.
Texas eliminated its driver’s license point system in 2019, so an HOV ticket won’t add points. The citation can still appear on your driving record, and insurance companies may treat it as a moving violation when they recalculate your premium. Some national studies have found HOV tickets raise insurance rates by roughly 18 percent, though the actual change depends on the insurer.
If you plan to fight the ticket, the Bottone precedent is available to cite, but a judge is free to disregard it. Budget for the possibility of paying the fine plus court costs and spending the time either way.
Bills That Would Change the Answer
After the Bottone case, Representative Jeff Leach filed HB 1744 during the 88th Legislature in 2023 to explicitly allow pregnant drivers to use HOV lanes. The bill cleared committee but never reached a floor vote and did not become law.7Texas Legislature Online. History for 88(R) HB 1744 Lawmakers tried again in the 89th session in 2025 with at least two bills on the same subject, HB 427 and HB 3539. Neither has been signed into law. Until one of them passes, the practical answer stays what it is now: pregnancy alone does not legally qualify you for the carpool lane in Texas, and using it anyway means accepting the risk of a ticket you may or may not be able to beat.