PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Starting Wednesday, Oct. 1, you’ll no longer be allowed to drive solo in the HOV lane if you drive an electric vehicle.

The change affects drivers nationwide and comes because a federal law has officially expired. It gave EV drivers special access to the lane and was enacted back in 2005 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

It’s unclear how this could impact traffic patterns and your daily commute, but there are more than 8 million registered cars in Arizona, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), and there are 128,798 electric vehicles and about 170,000 alternative fuel vehicles in the state.

“Enforcement itself is the same,” said Sgt. Kameron Lee with the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS). “We’ll be looking at is an opportunity to

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