Ride sharing or carpooling can often be very beneficial to commuters, especially if high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes are in operation - lanes that are only open to vehicles with multiple passengers.

Naturally this can help drivers avoid traffic related headaches, but it's also a system that people have attempted to take advantage of. A driver in Long Island in the US, for example, had a particularly interesting method of bypassing the requirement of actually having multiple passengers.

After pulling 56-year-old James Campbell over earlier this week, Suffolk County police officers discovered that the passenger was fake. In fact, it was a 'wooden man' dressed in a hoodie.

Police said Mr Campbell was driving to a new job and did not want to be late for it.

The driver, for his part, seemed to see the fun in it all despite having been issued summonses. As reported by CBS, he told reporters that he even intended giving it a shot again - although maybe with an improved outfit for the passenger.

You can watch the CBS report below: