A CARDBOARD cutout of a head in a passenger seat definitely caught the attention of a Washington State Patrol trooper Tuesday morning.

    That’s because it wasn’t just any old cardboard head, but that of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

    A trooper stopped the motorist who was driving with the cardboard likeness in a carpool lane south of Seattle on Highway 167. The stunt netted the driver a US$136 ticket.

    Another trooper Tweeted a photo of the cardboard Trump head affixed to the passenger seat headrest.

    Washington State Patrol spokesman Rick Johnson says every now and then they get somebody trying to be funny and says they’ve seen everything from teddy bears to mannequins all sitting beside drivers.

    But Trump’s head? That was, to borrow a catchphrase — huge.

    In an earlier incident, a California driver was cited for using a mannequin — not the required human being — to drive in the carpool lane.

    The Orange County Register reports Brea police found the mannequin inside a truck on the congested 57 freeway last week.

    The truck veered out of the carpool lane close to an officer’s motorcycle. As the officer attempted to warn the driver to be careful, he noticed the passenger wasn’t a passenger.

    Police say the driver acknowledged using the mannequin in the carpool lane for some time. The driver told police that he would now accept that he needs to sit in traffic like everyone else.  (SD-Agencies)