High-occupancy vehicles shall be understood to be those vehicles intended exclusively for the transport of people, whose maximum authorised mass does not exceed 3,500 kilograms, which are occupied by the number of people set for each section of the road network in accordance with the provisions of paragraph d) of this section. The use of lanes for high-occupancy vehicles (HOV) shall be subject to the following:

a) The use of the HOV lane is limited to motorcycles, passenger cars and adaptable mixed vehicles, and is therefore prohibited to all other vehicles and combinations of vehicles, including passenger cars with trailers, as well as to pedestrians, cycles, mopeds, personal mobility vehicles, animal-drawn vehicles and animals.

HOV lanes may be used by vehicles authorised in accordance with the previous paragraph, even when only the driver is occupying them, if the vehicle displays the V-15 sign, and by buses with a maximum authorised mass exceeding 3,500 kilograms and articulated buses, regardless of their number of occupants, under the same traffic conditions established for HOVs, simultaneously if so indicated in the list of sections referred to in paragraph d).

b) The enabling or reserving of one or more lanes for HOV traffic may be permanent or temporary, with a fixed schedule or depending on the state of traffic, as established by the autonomous body Central Traffic Headquarters or, where appropriate, the autonomous or local authority responsible for traffic regulation, who, in unusual circumstances and for reasons of road safety or traffic flow, may allow, recommend or order other vehicles to use the lane reserved for them, all without prejudice to the powers of the bodies that own the roads and, where appropriate, the concession companies thereof.

c) Police, firefighting, civil protection and rescue and emergency healthcare vehicles, as well as road infrastructure and facility maintenance equipment, may use the reserved lanes.

d) The autonomous body, the Central Traffic Headquarters, or, where appropriate, the autonomous or local authority responsible for traffic regulation, following a binding report from the body that owns the road, shall determine the sections of the road network in which HOV lanes will operate, set the conditions of use and publish, in the manner provided for in Article 39.4, the list of sections of the road network in which said lanes are enabled.