Can you Afford a $363 Ticket?

Today's stupid driver is Tonya from Tallahassee. Tonya is a college student who somehow managed to go 25 MPH over the speed limit in a school zone in Tallahassee. Tallahassee is in Leon County Florida and is the Capital of the state.


Tonya's biggest worry is that she cannot actually afford the fine, which is $363.50 according to the Leon County Clerk of Court. She decided to take a traffic school course online, which saves here little on the fine. It goes down to $317. Florida lets you take a 4 hour class for tickets 5 times in your life. By taking the class called "Basic Driver Improvement" you get no points on your drivers license and your insurance cannot go up because of the ticket.



What's really frightening is that Tonya had no clue she was in a school zone and had no clue she was going 25 MPH over the speed limit. She was going 60 MPH in a 35. Not sure what she was thinking but the only place you can go 60 MPH in Florida legally is on a highway like I95 or the Turnpike.

In Florida, speeding fines are doubled in school zones and construction zones.

This seems to prove that there is no connection between basic intelligence and getting a drivers license, or even getting into college. But now Tonya knows the reason they post those school zone signs - it's not to make it easy to find your local elementary school

Hit and Run in Port St Lucie Florida

This story comes from Gary of Indian Town, Florida.

Gary and his wife were out cruising on his 1997 Yamaha Virago motorcycle in Port St Lucie, FL when they were hit by a driver with no insurance and no license.

The Stupid Driver
This stupid driver was driving a pickup and was apparently annoyed by traffic. So he took to the right lane to get past a line of car and then made a LEFT TURN FROM THE RIGHT LANE. Unfortunately Gary and his wife were coming the opposite direction when this moron cut in from of them causing a collision.

The idiot then took off. The police did catch the guy and arrested him.

The Victim
Gary has a cast on his left foot, stitches in his right arm, and was intensive car for several days. His wife has a broken arm and cuts and bruises.

The Motorcycle is OK
According to Gary the motorcycle need some repairs but wil be OK. The problem is that his wife is now scared to ride on it.

Attacked by an Aggressive Driver in Miami

If you haven’t heard Miami has won the award for the worst aggressive driving problem in the country for two years running. I know a little about it I grew up in Miami and still drive through once in a while. And my younger sister lives there.

Occasionally she calls me from her car and more often than not our calls are interrupted with her cursing out some driver that cut her off. Come to think of it maybe she is part of the problem in Miami.

My brother in law drives about an hour to work each way in Miami. He’s a calm guy that minds his own business. Last week he is driving home and suddenly has a guy chasing him. I mean this lunatic is swerving in and out of traffic trying to ram his car. Apparently the guy felt like my brother in law cut him off.

As the traffic slowed down the guy actually slams his car into the back of my brother in laws car and gets out of the car. He runs up to his window and starts screaming at him using language I can’t repeat. So my bother in law calls 911. He lowers his window down just a few inches and holds up the phone so the dispatcher can here this nut screaming.

Amazingly the guy sticks around until the police arrive. They immediately arrest him and it turns out he has outstanding warrants for a variety of traffic offenses. So one less maniac is off the street in Miami.

This is not to pick on Miami but I guess I am picking on Miami. There’s a big problem down there. You can feel your blood pressure go up as you head south into the Miami area. The pace of traffic picks up, the traffic gets worse and it’s not unusual to see cars swerving in and out of traffic.

What is Considered Aggressive Driving by the National Highway Transportation Safey Administration.

• Tailgating


• Weaving in and out of traffic


• Threatening other drivers verbally or with gestures

When Confronted by Aggressive Drivers

• Get out of their Way


• Wear your seat belt – it will protect you in case they ram your car


• Avoid eye contact


• Call 911

And my favorite suggestion: If an aggressive driver is involved in a crash down the road, stop a safe distance from the crash scene, wait for the police to arrive and report the bad behavior. Just once I’d like to see one of these maniacs get a ticket.