The stickers were available at 8 a.m. at Utah Department of Transportation sales offices and on the Internet, said agency spokesman Nile Easton. Motorists lunged for their computers and bought 400 permits by 8:15 a.m. By 9:22, they were sold out. By 10 a.m., the Web site had received 7,000 individual hits.
UDOT officials weren't particularly surprised by the public's quick response. "We had quite a bit of interest in the last couple of weeks," Easton said.
The decals displayed on the front and back of vehicles will allow unlimited access to the the interstate's high-occupancy lanes, now also known as high-occupancy toll lanes. The permits go into effect Sept. 1. Until then, the HOV/HOT lanes remain reserved for buses and vehicles carrying two or more people.
To keep motorists from causing hazards as they cross four lanes of traffic to get in and out of the HOV/HOT lanes, UDOT has repainted the lane stripes in Salt Lake County to allow entry and exit at specific 1,500-foot-long spots.
By early September, there will be 15 entry-exit pockets along the 40-mile stretch of I-15 between 600 North in Salt Lake City and University Parkway in Orem.
UDOT has bought two Utah Highway Patrol cruisers and employed full-time UHP troopers to enforce the rules.
On Monday, entry-exit rules enforcement began in Salt Lake County. UHP spokesman Trooper Jeff Nigbur said that first day, 75 drivers were pulled over for HOV lane violations. Troopers gave them leaflets explaining the new rules but didn't cite them, Nigbur said.
"Monday was an education effort," Nigbur said. "When the double lines are put in Utah County, we'll have another educational blitz."
About the HOT program
The HOT program is a two- to three-year experimental prelude to electronic tolling, an option legislators and highway planners are considering for future projects as a way to offset costs and reduce congestion.
UDOT has started a Web site waiting list for HOT lane permits at https://secure.utah.gov/expresslanes/action/public/index for people interested in buying stickers as they become available.
