When a state trooper pulled over a driver on I-405 for an erratic lane change from the HOV lane on Tuesday, he discovered the passenger was actually a coat stuffed with clothes.

“Sir, I have no excuse,” the driver told the trooper when asked about the mannequin torso covered with dark clothing.

The trooper said he saw the Toyota pickup truck move out of the HOV lane near 160th St. so suddenly that it drew his attention.

It’s not the first time a driver has been caught cruising in the HOV lane on I-405 with a fake passenger. In December, a man was pulled over for speeding and the trooper noticed a doll in the passenger seat.

The man had buckled in his daughter’s Diego doll because he was running late for work and wanted to take advantage of the HOV lane.