It finally looks like hybrids with single drivers will be granted access to carpool lanes. The recently passed highway bill (Gristmill has some quick thoughts on it here) features a provision which allows states to provide hybrid drivers with permits to drive their cars in the carpool lane even when flying solo.

On the California front though, things aren’t going to be so simple. That state that usually leads with respect to pollution limits and other environmental regulations has decided that not all hybrids really deserve the single driver carpool lane permit. Of the seven hybrid models currently available for sale, the State Air Resources Board will only issue the permits to the three best performers by mileage: the Honda Insight, the Civic, and the Prius.

Obviously, owners of the “feel good” contingent of hybrids – which includes three hybrid SUVs – are pissed:

Raj Valluri said she feels left out.

"I think it's definitely unfair," said the 32-year-old Folsom software project manager, who has owned a Ford Escape since March. "If they pass some rule, it should be applicable to all hybrids."

You’ll note that Ms. Valluri doesn’t offer any particular reason why her car ought to be included, except the weak and [if I might say so] juvenile complaint that ‘it isn’t fair.’ I’m similarly unsympathetic for the equally whiny Ford Motor Company:

"The U.S. Congress determined the formula for hybrid vehicles in [carpool] lanes with single occupants, and in that law, the Ford Escape hybrid is equal to the Toyota Prius," said Mike Moran, a spokesman for Ford Motor Co. in Washington, D.C.

"It's not about picking certain cars and excluding others," he added.

Again, long on complaining and short or reasoning. I would argue that it’s more in keeping with the spirit of carpool lanes to allow single occupancy vehicles into the lane if they surpass a certain mileage per gallon of gasoline. And legally speaking, California reserves the right to make any environmental law passed by the Federal government more strict with the sole exception of those laws that directly regulate automotive emissions. I’m not a lawyer (though I know one who might have something to say if he sees this post), but I think it would be a stretch for a judge to rule that incentivizing lower emissions is the same as regulating emissions.

So to hybrid SUV owners (and the Accord too) with an overwhelming sense of entitlement, I say stop whining. If you cared that much you would have bought a more efficient vehicle in the first place; you were obviously able to afford it.