You got caught speeding or making an illegal left turn in Florida, now what do you do?

The easiest, and usually smartest thing to do when you receive any type of Florida traffic ticket, is to take traffic school. What does that mean? We researched our Florida customer service database and pulled the top questions students asked about this topic. To make the process a little bit easier for you, we gathered the answers to those more-than-frequently-asked questions and printed them here:

Q: What is traffic school?

A: Traffic school in Florida, also known as a Basic Driver Improvement (BDI) course is a driver-related educational course one takes in lieu of receiving points on their driving record from a non-criminal moving violation.

Q: How long is FL traffic school?

A: Per the FL HSMV, traffic school is designed to be 4 hours long.
A: If you take it in a classroom setting, then you will be in there for FOUR HOURS.
A: If you take OUR ONLINE COURSE, you are only required to spend a minimum of 3 hours and 15 minutes in the course. You can complete it at your own pace.

Q: How does FL traffic school work?

A: Although every traffic school presents the FL HSMV Approved material in their own, unique way – FL traffic school basically works like this:
1. Student signs up and registers for traffic school
2. Student takes and completes the course
3. The traffic school reports the completion to the FL HSMV
4. The student submits the proof of Completion Certificate to their traffic court the DMV
5. Student’s traffic ticket is dropped and the points are eliminated
6. Student does not have to do anything else, but is encouraged to follow-up with the traffic court website to confirm their ticket was, “Dismissed By Traffic School.”

Q: How do I sign up for traffic school?

A: First, look here: http://www.flhsmv.gov/ddl/BDIS_providers.html to find an approved traffic school. We are listed under Traffic School by the Improv Comedy Club.
You can sign up for traffic school online, by phone (800-660-8908), by mail or in person. Make sure you pay the bail or fine from the ticket as well as the traffic school process fee.

Q. How do I request traffic school?

A. If you are eligible to take traffic school, you will see an option box on your ticket. By clicking that option box and paying the traffic school administrative fee, you are requesting/agreeing to take traffic school to dismiss your ticket.
You can do this by mail, phone or the court website.

Q: Am I eligible to take FL traffic school?

A: If your ticket and/or courtesy notice says that you are eligible to take traffic school AND you haven’t attended traffic school within 12 months AND have not taken it FIVE (5) TIMES within your lifetime (Florida’s Maximum amount of times you can take traffic school) – then you are eligible.

Q: Wait, how often can I take it?

A: You can take FL traffic school once every 12 months… but only 5 times maximum in your life.

Q: What do you do in traffic school?

A: FL traffic school is comprised of a combination of reading, listening and watching material about Florida traffic laws, defensive driving skills, car facts, traffic statistics and more. You will also take a final quiz at the end of the course.

Q: Can I fail the course?

A: Nope. This is a pass-only course. However, FL HSMV requires traffic schools to administer a 40 multiple-choice question final in which the student must get 32 out of 40 questions correct to pass. You are allowed unlimited attempts to pass.

Q: How do you take FL traffic school online?

A: You can take our MyImprov.com online course on any computer, phone or device that has internet access! It is mostly reading… therefore you will be scrolling down the screen for the most part and occasionally watch (optional-only) videos.

Q. Does traffic school erase the ticket and/or points

A. Beware of the words erased, disappeared, vanished and removed. Points and “The Ticket” are not “erased” from your FL HSMV record. Traffic school will prevent points from appearing on your public driving record, which prevents your insurance company, employer, or others inquiring into your driving background from seeing the violation.

Q: When is FL traffic school due?

A: FL traffic school due dates vary for each county. It ranges from 30-90 days from the date that the citation fine was paid. Check your courtesy notice to confirm!

Q: Do I have to pay for traffic school?

A: Yes. Yes, you do.

Q: But I already paid $7.00+ for traffic school when I paid my ticket!

A: That administrative fee was for the court, for the opportunity to take traffic school. You will pay the traffic school an additional amount.

Q: Ok, how much does it cost?

A: It depends on the traffic school, but did you know, you will get 4 FREE TICKETS to the IMPROV COMEDY CLUB upon completion of our traffic school 😉

If you are looking to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a BIG way, consider heading to one of these major celebrations. These are five cities that take the celebrating to new heights!

St. Patrick’s Day Eve in Boston

The parade begins at 1 p.m. and is about 2 ½ hours long. It is on Sunday, March 16th and you won’t be lonely. Attendance is somewhere between 600,000 and one million. The best place to see the parade is somewhere on Broadway. The parade begins at Broadway’s MBTA station and finishes at Andrews Square. Instead of driving, take the T’s Red Line and get off at Broadway or Andrews Stations. This is the biggest St. Patrick’s Day event in the Boston area every year.

Chicago St. Patrick’s Day

In Chicago, beginning at 10:45 a.m., you can witness the 45 lbs. of green vegetable dye being dropped into the river. This event has attracted thousands for many years. Around 400,000 people come dressed in their best green attire to watch. Make sure you attend at the beginning because the dye disappears after 5 hours. After the dyeing of the river, at noon, there is a parade that features everything Irish and goes on rain or shine.

St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah, Georgia

The festival has been compared to Mardi Gras and lasts for several days and ends with the parade. This event attracts 400,000 visitors and is the 2nd largest celebration in the US. It is also Savannah’s biggest yearly celebration. This year, the parade will be on Monday, March 17th, and they also have an annual “Greening of the Fountain” which is in Forsythe Park the Friday before St. Patrick’s Day. There are many other religious and cultural festivities.

St. Patrick’s Day in New Orleans

This has got to be one of the best ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. There are events planned for each day March 13th through March 23rd including six parades! When the largest of these take place, those in the derby hats not only throw beads they also throw ingredients so you can make your own Irish stew! Make sure you bring a heavy bag to carry cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onions and more!

St. Patrick’s Day in New York City

New York City has been celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a parade each year. They began this annual event in 1762 which makes it the oldest parade in the United States. It is the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the whole world! There are over 150,000 participants in the parade and the parade route is 1.5 miles long on Fifth Avenue, in Manhattan. It takes a whopping 5 hours for the entire procession to finish the route. The parade is on March 17th and begins at noon

Be sure to drive defensively if heading to one of this big celebrations and enjoy your St. Patrick’s Day safely!

The New Year started with a bang and a blanket of snow for the Midwestern United States, as the entire Ohio Valley and points west saw a sudden and unexpected snow squall sweep through.

For anyone who has not successfully completed an online traffic school (preferably a comedy traffic school) this meant a dangerous morning commute followed by an equally dangerous drive home from work in the evening. The snow wasn’t deep, but it was unexpected, meaning road crews were having a hard time getting the roads clear in a timely basis.

Because weather forecasters had mostly failed to predict heavy snowfall for today, many road crew personnel were off for an extended holiday weekend, meaning there were few snow plows and salt trucks on the road when the snow began to pile up. Fortunately the snow started falling heavy early enough to give crews a chance to get started before the rush hour began, but many early risers took the brunt of the poor driving conditions.

The Ohio Department of Transportation was busy calling in drivers to handle the snow at 5 a.m. this morning, in an effort to get the highways clear, but despite these efforts nearly a dozen cars had gone off the road as a result of the snowy conditions by 9 a.m. Interstate 71 and Interstate 275 were both closed as a result of vehicle crashes caused by the snow.

In Indianapolis, dozens of weather related vehicle crashes were reported throughout the day and highways all around the city were closed as crews struggled to keep up with the changing, and worsening driving conditions.

There is no substitute for excellent defensive driving skills when the weather turns ugly. Highway crews do their best to keep the roads clear and safe, but even without snow piles the going is dangerous. Black ice is a common problem; when the ice on the road is dark colored and hardly visible to oncoming drivers, usually in areas where the wind is strongest across the roadway, presenting a dangerous slick spot when the drivers least expect it.

If you live in an area where unpredictable winter weather is, well, predictable, it is best to take precautions on your own. Be certain you have proper air pressure in your tires, and be certain to check the condition of your spare. Also keep a snow scraper and battery cables in your trunk, and don’t plan and getting any where in a hurry. It is always better to arrive at your destination safe and late, than to not arrive at all.

Image: dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If you’re like most people today, finding ways to save money is your #1 obsession. But if you have one or more traffic violations, your car insurance rates may be taking back every penny you work so hard to save.

If you’re feeling trapped in a traffic ticket pile up, here are three ways to dig yourself out of the unwelcome weight of higher insurance rates:

1. Shop around for a better rate. The first thing you should do is to compare quotes from various car insurance companies to see if you can find a lower rate.

According to an Insurance.com analysis of more than 32,000 insurance policies sold in 2010, drivers who bought a one-car, single-driver policy last year and had one violation in their driving history paid an average of 18 percent more for car insurance than drivers with no violations.

The numbers get worse as your offenses pile up. Drivers with two violations paid 34 percent more for insurance, and drivers with three violations tacked on a whopping 53 percent to their insurance costs when compared to drivers who were violation-free.

If you decide to shop around for a better deal, investigate new companies carefully to avoid any policy pitfalls.

2. Take a driver safety course. Some states reduce or expunge points from your driving record if you take a defensive driving class. Depending on where you live, your auto insurance company may be required to lower your car insurance premium after you complete the course.

For instance, New York offers a Point and Insurance Reduction Program (PIRP). If you are the principal operator of a motor vehicle registered in the state of New York, and you complete an approved PIRP course, you will receive a minimum 10% reduction in the base rate of your automobile and motorcycle liability and collision insurance premiums each year for three years.

To learn more about the driver safety courses and point and insurance reduction in New York, please visit: https://transact.dmv.ny.gov/pirp/#ipirp.

In many states, insurance companies have point systems that are different from their DMV driver violation point system. Contact your insurance company about their point system and find out how completing a driver safety course may reduce your rate.

3. Raise your deductible. Drivers who raise their collision and comprehensive deductibles from $250 to $500 or $1,000 will see their annual premium fall. However, before taking this route, make sure you have enough money in savings to cover the deductible should you have to make a claim.

Which violation hurts your rate the most?

Car insurance rates soar for drivers who have one moving violation and jump by more than 50 percent after three.

Some of the violations that hurt your car insurance rates the most include:

• Speeding tickets
• Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• Careless or reckless driving
• Running red lights
• Failure to yield or stop at a sign
• Fleeing from police
• Driving the wrong way down a divided highway
• Improper passing
• Unsafe U-turn
• Failure to use a child restraint

Obviously, a DUI is going to be one of the worst for rate increases. But each insurer calculates rates differently, so a specific type of violation may be priced higher by one insurer than by another.

Drivers with three or more violations worry about becoming uninsurable, but those fears may be unfounded. It’s just a matter of finding the right rate for that risk.

If an insurer raises your auto insurance rate after a violation, there are still ways to cut those costs. Following these three steps will help you stave off higher insurance rates – before they bury you.

The original article can be found at Insurance.com:
“Car insurance rates soar as tickets pile up”

ATTENTION CALIFORNIA DRIVERS

Traffic School Rule Change – Court Dismissal Changing to Conviction

Traffic School New Policy Effective July 1, 2011, California courts must report traffic safety violations as convictions. If the driver is eligible and completes a Traffic Violator School (TVS) course, the conviction will be masked on the driver record. The driver record will be checked to determine a driver’s eligibility to participate in a traffic school course.

A TVS conviction will not be masked if: • There is a prior TVS dismissal/conviction within the previous 18 months. • The conviction is a major (2 point) violation. • The driver holds a commercial driver license or was operating a commercial vehicle, at the time of the violation. A traffic school abstract of conviction will be the basis for assignment of negligent operator points on a person’s driving record.

Background The courts currently offer a driver cited for a traffic safety violation the option to attend a traffic school. When a driver completes the course, the court dismisses the violation and reports the dismissal to the DMV, preventing negligent operator points from being assigned, and the abstract from being the basis for suspension, revocation, or commercial disqualification actions.

What does it mean? – Many courts used to allow drivers to attend traffic school more than once every 18 month.  This option is now taken away from the courts and will be regulated by the DMV.   Courts also will not have an option to refer a defendant to traffic school for a more serious violation like DUI, Reckless Driving Etc.

New York Drivers pay some of the highest insurance rates in the country. However they are also fortunate to live in a state which is one of the very few in the nation that mandates insurance companies to reduce drivers premium.  There is a caveat: a driver must complete a NY DMV approved Defensive Driving Course.  The good news you don’t have to spend six hours in a class.  Courses like ours, Improv Defensive Driving Course, are available online and can be taken at your pace.  Below are a few common questions about the course:

Q.  After completing the Defensive Driving  Course (aka as PIRP – Point and Insurance Reduction Course), how do I receive the insurance reduction?

A.   Upon completion Improv’s Defensive Driving course, we will issue you certificate of completion.   If you present your certificate to your insurance company or agent within 90 days after course completion, your liability and collision premium reduction will begin immediately, retroactive to the date you completed the course. If you present your certificate more than 90 days after course completion, the insurer may issue the premium discount effective from the date presented.

Q.  Will the PIRP course prevent my insurance company from raising my premiums?

A.  No. Insurance reduction does not prevent general premium increases, or premium increases due to violations or accidents. However It provides a 10% reduction for three years, from the base rate of your current liability, no-fault and collision premiums.

Q.  What if more than one person named on a policy completes the PIRP course?

A.  The insurance premium reduction applies to all motor vehicles principally operated by the motorist who completes the course.  The reduction can be applied to only one driver for each covered vehicle.

Q.  If I complete a DMV approved motorcycle safety/accident prevention course, does the insurance reduction benefit extend to my automobile coverage?

A.  Yes. The reduction applies to the liability and collision insurance premiums for both your motorcycle and automobile.

Q.  Will young operators (under 18)  and drivers participating in assigned risk pool receive the insurance premium discount?

A.  Yes. Any insured driver who is the principal operator and completes a Point & Insurance Reduction Program course will receive the reduction.

Q.  If a youthful operator is already receiving a driver education reduction, will the PIRP discount also be applied?

A.  Check with your insurance company or agent to find out if both reductions will be given at the same time

We are always trying to save you money here at our online traffic school. The conventional wisdom that buying used cars is always the most frugal option may be tested by rising prices in the U.S. auto resale market.

Edmunds.com estimates the average price paid for a used, three-year old auto has risen $1,471 — or 8.5 percent — since last year, reaching $18,832.

The price you’ll pay for used SUVs like this Chevy Tahoe may have risen substantially. What’s behind the rise? Edmunds analysts believe it’s a combination of bargain-hunting consumers and the rise of certified pre-owned car sales at dealerships:

“Used cars are in great demand and relatively short supply, so their prices are remarkably high,” stated Edmunds.com Analyst Joe Spina. “Automakers understand that many traditional new car buyers are considering used cars, and in response are emphasizing their certified pre-owned car sales programs through which they can earn revenue on used car sales. This effort will keep used car prices high since CPO cars sell for a higher price than comparable noncertified used cars, raising the ceiling for the entire used car market.”
Indeed, Edmunds.com estimates the percentage of used cars sold as CPO rose from 13.8 percent to 18.5 percent.

This data is interesting, but it doesn’t look like every used car buyer is likely to encounter sharply higher used-car prices than they did last year. And when they do, I’m not sure it will be because of CPO and frugal consumers.

After all, a lot of the biggest price hikes seem to be focused in trucks and SUVs, and I’d be willing to bet that has more to do with gas prices than anything else.

After all, the resale values for trucks and SUVs, which generally get poor gas mileage fell sharply in response to the gasoline price spikes of 2008.

Due to the depressed global economy and the resulting lack of demand, gas prices have been fairly stable since then. People, as they are wont to do, have forgotten how painful those big gas bills were back in 2008, so they’re more willing to buy SUVs and trucks than they were when gas prices were high.

The other big movers were American brands, which I would wager have benefitted from improved brand perception as American car buyers have taken notice of their reliability and design upgrades.

On the other hand, if your preferred car is a Japanese sedan or station wagon, you might be in luck. The Edmunds.com value estimates have the Honda Accord and the Subaru Outback coming in at a lower than last year.

We had a lot of spirited discussion in the comment section a few months ago about whether buying a new car could be financially smart if it was close to or less than the price of a used model thanks to a generous rebate or other dealer incentive.

I think in the majority of cases, buying a low-mileage used car is probably the better decision. That said, rising used car prices and higher rates on used car loans are going to change the equation a little bit on some vehicles, and refusing to acknowledge that could leave you missing out on getting a new car for the price of a used one.

So what do you think? Is it time for the frugal to consider new cars? Why do you think used cars are getting pricier? leave your comments here on our defensive driving course blog!

• 1. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony drive an Aston Martin DB7 & Lotus Elise
• 2. Ryan Gosling – Drives a black Toyota Prius.
• 3. Pierce Brosnan – Owns an Aston Martin Vanquish.
• 4. Verne Troyer – Drives a custom Mercedes CLK.
• 5. Janet Jackson – Drives an Aston Martin Vanquish.
• 6. Simon Cowell drives a million dollar Bugatti Veyron.
• 7. 50 Cent – Drives a Rolls Royce Phantom.
• 8. Charlize Theron – Tools around town in a Range Rover.

• 9. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie drive a BMW Hydrogen 7.
• 10. Jessica Simpson – Drives a white Escalade.
• 11. Julia Roberts – Drives a Toyota Prius.
• 12. Kevin Costner drives an Audi Q7 and Audi S8.
• 13. Matthew McConaughey drives a Lincoln MKX
• 14. Amy Winehouse drives a BMW 7 Series.
• 15. Kristen Cavallari – Drives a BMW 3 Series Coupe.
• 16. America Ferrera – Drives a Toyota Prius.
• 17. Nicole Richie and Joel Madden have a Bentley Continental.
• 18. Xzibit Drives a Lamborghini Gallardo.

• 19. Jerry Seinfeld owns a whole bunch of Porches.
• 20. JaRule – Drives a lime green Lamborghini Murcielago and Maserati Spyder.
• 21. Samuel Jackson drives a Maybach 57 S
• 22. Leonardo DiCaprio – Owns a Toyota Prius.
• 23. Mary Kate Olsen drives a Porsche Cayenne.
• 24. Paris Hilton – Owns a Mercedes Benz SLR
• 25. Colin Farrell – Drives a black Ford Bronco.
• 26. Kirsten Dunst – Drives a trendy Toyota Prius.

• 27. Justin Timberlake – Drives a white Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.
• 28. Kate Moss – Drives around London in her vintage MG.
• 29. Ice-T– Drives a red Bentley convertible.
• 30. Ryan Seacrest – Drives around in an Aston Martin.
• 31. Shaquille O’Neal – Owns an H2 and Rolls Royce Phantom among others.
• 32. Missy Elliott – Drives several cars including an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, Rolls Royce Phantom and Lamborghini Gallardo.
• 33. Jeremy Piven – Drives a Ford Bronco.

• 34. David Beckham – Drives a Cadillac Escalade.
• 35. Jim Carey – Drives a Mercedes S-Class.
• 36. Wyclef Jean – Drives a $350,000 Pagani Zonda C12-S, a Ferrari 360 Spyder, an F1 McLaren and a Mercedes G-500.
• 37. Josh Duhamel – Drives a Chrysler 300C SRT-8.
• 38. Seal drives a Ferrari.
• 39. Fergie – Owns an H2.

• 40. Madonna – Drives a Maybach 57.
• 41. Tom Cruise – Drives a Porsche 911.
• 42. Benji Madden – Owns a 1950 Ford Shoebox.
• 43. Tyra Banks – Drives a Lexus SC.
• 44. Kate Walsh – Drives a Range Rover Sport.
• 45. Britney Spears – Drives a Mercedes SLR McLaren and a CLK.
• 46. Pete Wentz – Drives a Range Rover.
• 47. Matthew Perry – Drives a Porsche convertible.
• 48. George Clooney – Drive the two seater electric Tango 600.
• 49. Kim Kardashian – Drives a Black Bentley Continental GTC.
• 50. Sienna Miller – Drives an Audi TT

Bonus List: Homage to Jay Leno

Jay Leno is perhaps the most thoroughly car-loving celebrity there’s ever been. Below we’ve included a collection of just some of his greatest vehicles:

Jay Leno’s Ariel Atom

Jay Leno’s Bentley Speed Six

Jay Leno’s Jaguar XK120M

Leno’s 2009 Nissan GTR (This is #1 on our 2008 most lustable list.)

Jay Leno’s Stutz Bearcat

Jay Leno’s Tesla Roadster

At Improv Comedy Traffic School we see people from all walks of life… but even celebrities and their cars not immune to an occasional online traffic school sentence.   We all can benefit from a little defensive driving refresher, especially if you are a driving 600 hp monster

When you consider total cost of ownership like special financing programs, repairs, fuel efficiency, wear and tear…, purchasing a new car can make more sense than buying used. If you’re looking for practical and affordable, we got good news for you: you can still buy a good new car under $15,000. If you have a good credit and put some money down, you can be rolling in low budget style for less than the cost of breakfast and lunch out every day.

We included some choices on the list that include sedans, hatchbacks and coups. The prices are the sticker price for the cheapest version of the model, so you may be prepared to drive a stick shift and may forgo some luxuries like air conditioning.

Ranked in order of cheapest (don’t confuse with Best Value) to most expensive, the winners are:

1. 2010 Hyundai Accent Blue Coupe, $10,690.00

2. 2010 Nissan Versa 1.6 Base Sedan, $10,730.00

3. 2010 Kia Rio Base Sedan, $12,390.00

4. 2010 Chevy Aveo LS Sedan, $12,685.00

5. 2010 Chevy Aveo5 LS Hatchback, $12,835

6. 2010 Toyota Yaris 3 Door Hatchback, $13,365.00

7. 2010 Toyota Yaris 5 Door Hatchback, $13,665.00

8. 2010 Kia Soul Base, $13,995.00

10. 2010 Suzuki SX-4 Base Sedan, $14,094.00

The Suzuki SX-4 is one of the better looking cars on the list that also commands great reviews. But no air conditioning would be a deal breaker for us (considering our Defensive Driving Course Headquarters are in Los Angeles… where it hit 115F this summer).

Operating a traffic school, gives us an access to many experts and individuals with automotive expertise. A quick research has confirmed that if we were handing out the award for best value on the list, it would go the new Ford Fiesta S (which is the only 2011 model on the list). Ford packed a lot of extra goodies into the Fiesta, including power mirrors, capless gas filler, aux in / USB jacks and A/C, yet has managed to keep the price reasonable for the entry level model. Surprisingly it also offers a sportiest ride on the list. If you enjoy getting your freak on with a twisty road, this is where you should begin shopping.

Word of caution: it isn’t easy to find base models on dealer lots, since they take up as much room as loaded models, have less margin and can be hard to move. If you have to special order one, expect to pay full sticker price instead of haggling over invoice plus $500. On the other hand, sometimes a dealer can be very motivated to sell a year old entry level car, even if it’s in a higher trim level. It may take some time (and travel) to find exactly what you’re looking for, but we always thought that the hunt is half the fun.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Anyone driving the twists of Highway 1 between San Francisco and Los Angeles recently may have glimpsed a Toyota Prius with a curious funnel-like cylinder on the roof. Harder to notice was that the person at the wheel was not actually driving.

The car is a project of Google, which has been working in secret but in plain view on vehicles that can drive themselves, using artificial-intelligence software that can sense anything near the car and mimic the decisions made by a human driver.

With someone behind the wheel to take control if something goes awry and a technician in the passenger seat to monitor the navigation system, seven test cars have driven 1,000 miles without human intervention and more than 140,000 miles with only occasional human control. One even drove itself down Lombard Street in San Francisco, one of the steepest and curviest streets in the nation. The only accident, engineers said, was when one Google car was rear-ended while stopped at a traffic light. I wonder  who took the blame there? I wonder if the driver could argue with a judge that they did not have to take an online traffic school but the car computer should.

Autonomous cars are years from mass production, but technologists who have long dreamed of them believe that they can transform society as profoundly as the Internet has.
Robot drivers react faster than humans, have 360-degree perception and do not get distracted, sleepy or intoxicated, the engineers argue. They speak in terms of lives saved and injuries avoided — more than 37,000 people died in car accidents in the United States in 2008. The engineers say the technology could double the capacity of roads by allowing cars to drive more safely while closer together. Because the robot cars would eventually be less likely to crash, they could be built lighter, reducing fuel consumption. But of course, to be truly safer, the cars must be far more reliable than, say, today’s personal computers, which crash on occasion and are frequently infected.

The Google research program using artificial intelligence to revolutionize the automobile is proof that the company’s ambitions reach beyond the search engine business. The program is also a departure from the mainstream of innovation in Silicon Valley, which has veered toward social networks and Hollywood-style digital media.

During a half-hour drive beginning on Google’s campus 35 miles south of San Francisco last Wednesday, a Prius equipped with a variety of sensors and following a route programmed into the GPS navigation system nimbly accelerated in the entrance lane and merged into fast-moving traffic on Highway 101, the freeway through Silicon Valley.

It drove at the speed limit, which it knew because the limit for every road is included in its database, and left the freeway several exits later. The device atop the car produced a detailed map of the environment.

The car then drove in city traffic through Mountain View, stopping for lights and stop signs, as well as making announcements like “approaching a crosswalk” (to warn the human at the wheel) or “turn ahead” in a pleasant female voice. This same pleasant voice would, engineers said, alert the driver if a master control system detected anything amiss with the various sensors.

The car can be programmed for different driving personalities — from cautious, in which it is more likely to yield to another car, to aggressive, where it is more likely to go first.
Christopher Urmson, a Carnegie Mellon University robotics scientist, was behind the wheel but not using it. To gain control of the car he has to do one of three things: hit a red button near his right hand, touch the brake or turn the steering wheel. He did so twice, once when a bicyclist ran a red light and again when a car in front stopped and began to back into a parking space. But the car seemed likely to have prevented an accident itself.
When he returned to automated “cruise” mode, the car gave a little “whir” meant to evoke going into warp drive on “Star Trek,” and Dr. Urmson was able to rest his hands by his sides or gesticulate when talking to a passenger in the back seat. He said the cars did attract attention, but people seem to think they are just the next generation of the Street View cars that Google uses to take photographs and collect data for its maps.

The project is the brainchild of Sebastian Thrun, the 43-year-old director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, a Google engineer and the co-inventor of the Street View mapping service.

In 2005, he led a team of Stanford students and faculty members in designing the Stanley robot car, winning the second Grand Challenge of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a $2 million Pentagon prize for driving autonomously over 132 miles in the desert.
Besides the team of 15 engineers working on the current project, Google hired more than a dozen people, each with a spotless driving record, to sit in the driver’s seat, paying $15 an hour or more. Google is using six Priuses and an Audi TT in the project.

The Google researchers said the company did not yet have a clear plan to create a business from the experiments. Dr. Thrun is known as a passionate promoter of the potential to use robotic vehicles to make highways safer and lower the nation’s energy costs. It is a commitment shared by Larry Page, Google’s co-founder, according to several people familiar with the project.

The self-driving car initiative is an example of Google’s willingness to gamble on technology that may not pay off for years, Dr. Thrun said. Even the most optimistic predictions put the deployment of the technology more than eight years away.

One way Google might be able to profit is to provide information and navigation services for makers of autonomous vehicles. Or, it might sell or give away the navigation technology itself, much as it offers its Android smart phone system to cellphone companies.
But the advent of autonomous vehicles poses thorny legal issues, the Google researchers acknowledged. Under current law, a human must be in control of a car at all times, but what does that mean if the human is not really paying attention as the car crosses through, say, a school zone, figuring that the robot is driving more safely than he would?

And in the event of an accident, who would be liable — the person behind the wheel or the maker of the software?

“The technology is ahead of the law in many areas,” said Bernard Lu, senior staff counsel for the California Department of Motor Vehicles. “If you look at the vehicle code, there are dozens of laws pertaining to the driver of a vehicle, and they all presume to have a human being operating the vehicle.”

The Google researchers said they had carefully examined California’s motor vehicle regulations and determined that because a human driver can override any error, the experimental cars are legal. Mr. Lu agreed.

Scientists and engineers have been designing autonomous vehicles since the mid-1960s, but crucial innovation happened in 2004 when the Pentagon’s research arm began its Grand Challenge.

The first contest ended in failure, but in 2005, Dr. Thrun’s Stanford team built the car that won a race with a rival vehicle built by a team from Carnegie Mellon University. Less than two years later, another event proved that autonomous vehicles could drive safely in urban settings.

Advances have been so encouraging that Dr. Thrun sounds like an evangelist when he speaks of robot cars. There is their potential to reduce fuel consumption by eliminating heavy-footed stop-and-go drivers and, given the reduced possibility of accidents, to ultimately build more lightweight vehicles.

There is even the farther-off prospect of cars that do not need anyone behind the wheel. That would allow the cars to be summoned electronically, so that people could share them. Fewer cars would then be needed, reducing the need for parking spaces, which consume valuable land.

And, of course, the cars could save humans from themselves. “Can we text twice as much while driving, without the guilt?” Dr. Thrun said in a recent talk. “Yes, we can, if only cars will drive themselves.”

I wonder if in the future your car will have to go to traffic school?

He may not actually be funny himself, but for the past two decades, Dr. Steven Sultanoff has been an evangelist for therapeutic humor. The clinical psychologist, who leans more toward clever than hilarious, teaches the value of jokes, and the belly shaking that comes with them, to medical professionals and therapists at Pepperdine University and at workshops statewide.

Over the years, Sultanoff has come up with his own model for helping people through applied wit and whimsy. He calls it Humor Matters. But it’s far more than fun and games—his approach to levity has a purpose. “It’s not like you sit down and I tell you jokes. You talk about something, then maybe I exaggerate something, and you laugh at it. And the reason I might have exaggerated it was to help you shift your thinking about whatever it was,” he says.

Sultanoff had the aha moment that would shape his career during a training session for cognitive therapy. He realized everything he was trying to accomplish—managing our thoughts, behavior, feelings and even biochemistry—could be effected with humor. He developed a three-component model: laughter, mirth and wit.

“When you laugh,” Sultanoff says, “it affects you physiologically; when you experience mirth, it affects you emotionally; and when you exercise your wit, it affects you cognitively.” He has been known to don a clown nose to change the mood during a session, and he often instructs his clients who suffer from phobias to visualize a time when they laughed so hard it literally brought tears to their eyes.

Sultanoff sees proof daily that the emotional shifts stimulated by this are a beneficial physical aid. “You feel less stressed, and it seems to increase the tolerance to pain.”

Recently, there has been much media fanfare over a growing community that believes in pairing a hearty guffaw with breathing exercises—known as laughter yoga.

Dr. Madan Kataria, a medical doctor from Mumbai, founded Laughter Yoga Clubs back in 1995. He and Sultanoff have appeared together on panels, and though their approach is different, their goal is shared. “In laughter yoga, anyone can laugh without comedy,” Kataria says. “You start by fake laughing, and then once you lose inhibitions, it becomes real—and contagious.”

It should come as no surprise that California is home to the most laughter clubs in the nation. “The last time I was in Los Angeles, I suggested they start calling it Laugh Angeles,” Kataria says, punctuating his sentence with booming ha-ha’s. Celebrities Goldie Hawn and Oprah have endorsed the shift to laughter therapies. Former ballerina and Playboy model Cynthia Toussaint is a believer as well. She founded For Grace, a nonprofit for women in pain, and selected Sultanoff to speak at the group’s third conference, Gender Matters. After decades of enduring complex regional pain syndrome—sometimes known as the suicide disease because of the constant pain—she says developing a more jestful nature has helped her weather years of suffering.

“There are many options for pain, and we need all of them,” Toussaint says. “Plus, you get to have fun.”

Medical practitioners agree humor is a welcome distraction and valuable therapeutic tool, though even Sultanoff acknowledges additional research is needed to determine if fits of giggles can ever be considered an actual cure.

Laughter being the best medicine will have to remain a cliché—for at least a little while longer.

As a side note. The Improv Traffic School offers thier online traffic school in a fun and simple way. We all know traffic school can be a bore but they make it fun and funny!

Contrary to popular belief, drivers in red cars don’t get ticketed more often than their less-flashy comrades. Middle-aged males with a thing for foreign brands, on the other hand, had better watch out.

Men who drive a Volkswagen GTI or Mercedes-Benz CLS-63 AMG are twice as likely to get a ticket than the average driver. If they’re in a Hummer, they might as well plan on it–drivers of the Hummer H2 face more than triple the chances of a citation.

“It’s the combination of the male driver driving the big old Hummer and a mid-life kind of person feeling good,” says Bob U’Ren, senior vice president at Quality Planning, a San Francisco-based company that validates policyholder information for auto insurers. “That’s the magical combination that drives some of these things.

To determine the cars most likely to get a ticket, Quality Planning’s analysts looked at traffic violation data from February 2009 through February 2010, counting the number of violations racked up by different car models. To account for the difference in number of cars on the road, they averaged the violation count per 100,000 miles driven. Vehicles that have been discontinued for more than 10 years were not included in the analysis.

The most-ticketed car on the road, the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class, is a two-door luxury convertible–suggested retail price for a SL550 Roadster is $102,600. Drivers of these cars are four times more likely to get a ticket than the average person.

Luxury coupes and sedans dominate our list: Only one SUV (the Hummer H2) and two hatchbacks (the Scion xB and Volkswagen GTI) appear on the top 10, and no minivans or wagons.

In fact, according to Quality Planning data, 8 of the 10 least-ticketed cars are SUVs and minivans. U’Ren says that’s because drivers who carry multiple passengers–especially young passengers in car seats–significantly alter the way they drive. (For example, it’s likely many drivers of No. 3, the Scion tC coupe, aren’t toting kids.)

Our list of the cars most likely to get a ticket includes only two autos manufactured by Detroit’s Big Three, both of them discontinued: the Hummer H2 and the Pontiac Grand Prix. Drivers of GM’s discontinued sedan are almost twice as likely than the average commuter to be ticketed behind the wheel.

Another standout on the list: the Toyota Camry. Not known for its glamor or luxury (or looks, performance, style, etc…) it makes the list for reasons having little to do with its mainstream popularity. U’Ren says there’s a large segment of Camry drivers who are proportionally disposed for violations: older women, who are less likely to be driving with kids. It’s also important to remember that this segment includes the Solara coupe–a sportier version than the ho-hum Camry sedan. “Sixty percent of those drivers are female, and they’re a little bit older–50 years old on average,” U’Ren says. “That’s the profile of the type of person that would buy and drive a Camry and Solara–and drive it quickly.”

So, what to do if you do get pulled over for speeding? Don’t automatically admit guilt. Don’t assume you’ll have to pay the full amount of the fine. And make sure you’ve done research about what your options are when you speak with the police officer. Many states allow discovery requests, which let drivers get police department information about their particular traffic violation–details like officer credentials, the device they used to monitor speed, traffic flow status, etc. If certain discrepancies come up, they could help reduce or remove the ticket fee, says Bonnie Sesolak, the development director for the National Motorists Association.

“Pay attention to what’s going on around you when the officer pulls you over,” Sesolak says. “Certainly be respectful. You can answer his questions, but you only need to answer the questions that are pertinent to why he pulled you over.”

Or try chalking it up to the proverbial mid-life crisis.

If you happen to get a traffic ticket, chances are an online traffic school will help you with your insurance. Depending on the state a traffic school can even erase a point from your record.

Decide Whether the Ticket Is Worth Fighting First off, decide whether it’s worth your time to fight a ticket.   If a ticket means thousands of dollars in increased insurance premiums, risk of license suspension, or other serious penalties it may be worth the hassle…  however, fighting tickets is not simple  it may  not be always worth it. Below are some basic guidelines that can help you decide Understand the Law You Are Alleged to Have Violated Most police officers don’t really know the letter of the law – after all that’s what attorneys are for. An easy first step in fighting traffic tickets is to read the exact law you’re alleged to have violated, and break it down into elements. Once you’ve broken the law down into its components, if you can show that your behavior didn’t meet the exact prohibitions contained in the law, then you’ve gone a good ways towards showing that you haven’t violated the law at all. Here’s an actual stop sign law, with brackets to separate different elements of the law: “[A person] [operating a human-powered vehicle] [approaching a stop sign shall slow down] and, [if required for safety, stop before entering the intersection]. After slowing to a reasonable speed or stopping, [the person shall yield the right-of-way to] [any vehicle] [in the intersection] or [approaching on another highway so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time the person is moving across] or [within the intersection or junction of highways], [except that a person after slowing to a reasonable speed and yielding the right-of-way if required, may cautiously make a turn or proceed through the intersection without stopping].” Some elements you can’t really challenge (you are a person after all), but notice that stopping isn’t actually required! It’s only necessary if it is “required for safety” and the law explicitly allows you to “cautiously make a turn or proceed through the intersection without stopping”. Chances are good that the police officer wrote down something like “rolled through intersection without a complete stop”. You can easily go into court, lay out the law, and demonstrate that you never violated the law in the first place. Will a judge accept this? Absolutely. This is precisely what lawyers do, they break down laws into elements and try to prove that some element wasn’t met. Remember, you’re innocent until proven guilty. Don’t Pay the Ticket, It’s Often an Admission of Guilt When you first get your ticket, do not pay it. In almost all jurisdictions, paying the fine is an admission of guilt. Instead, find out how you can get your day in court. Consider Traffic School Many jurisdictions offer an option to attend traffic school. In return, your charges will be dismissed or reduced and points masked from  your driving record. Explore this option by researching the law in your state. If you find that an online traffic school is a good option, request it from the prosecutor or judge.  Most of the jurisdictions that accept traffic school (sometimes referred to as a Defensive Driving Course) will also allow you to complete it Online.   Traffic School requirements range from 4-12 hours , which is still much better than some other alternatives. Common Defenses to a Traffic Ticket There are several typical defenses used when fighting traffic tickets. Many of the defenses below are based on your constitutional right to question the accuser . The Officer Doesn’t Show UpThe easiest way to win is to have the police officer not show up. Because you have a constitutional right to question the accuser, if the officer doesn’t show, you will typically automatically win. How can you increase your chances of getting a no show?

• Postponing the court date can significantly increase the odds that the officer will not be present during the trial.
• Never go with the date on your ticket. That’s usually a “gang date” for the officer, where the officer has scheduled all of his or her court dates at once. If you schedule for an extension that falls on a different day, chances are they aren’t going to come in on their day off just for you.
• Try to choose a court date that is closer to the holidays or summer vacation days – this might increase the odds of your officer being out on vacation.

Camera Tickets and Hearsay People often think that there’s little they can do with a camera based ticket, but they’re amazingly easy to beat. Here are some tips:

• Courthouses will rarely go through the trouble of bringing the video or picture to court, usually resulting in an automatic dismissal of the ticket.
• Even if they do, there is no human subject to question other than the officer who viewed the tape. The second the officer opens his mouth, you just object “hearsay”. Hearsay is the equivalent of “so and so told me”, which courts consider unreliable evidence. After all, the officer didn’t actually see you do anything, rather the officer is relying on the observations of someone/something else. As a result, the officer can’t testify as to what you did wrong and obviously neither can the camera. It takes courage to do this, but it can work.

Trial by Declaration In many states, you are entitled to a trial by mail. You submit your claim as to why you are innocent in a letter, and the officer must do the same. While officers will often show up for court because it is an overtime opportunity, trial by mail is pure paperwork, and they will often not bother to submit their side of the story. When this happens, you win by default. Should you lose by mail, you have lost nothing: you can still request an in-person trial, request traffic school, or pay your fine. The Sixth Amendment Requires a Speedy and Public Trial The sixth amendment guarantees you a speedy and public trial, and this can be an easy basis to avoid a ticket. For example, in California, a speedy trial is defined as 45 days from the time of the infraction. In many jurisdictions you must go to the courthouse in person to get a court date. Among those legal documents you are asked to sign, will be one in which you waive your right to a speedy trial. Do not sign this document. You cannot be legally forced to waive this right. What this means is that if the court system cannot fit you in, within those 45 days, (times for your state may vary) then your case must be dismissed. Tickets Based on Radar Guns Most radar guns need to be recalibrated every 30-60 days, and due to ignorance, lack of funding, or laziness, they rarely are. One solid argument for your case is to prove that the measurement device is faulty. In some states the officer must check the calibration after issuing the ticket – usually by using two tuning forks held in front of the radar, which vibrate at the frequencies for 35 mph and 55 mph. Verify whether this was done and documented. Check Your Ticket for Errors While courts will often excuse minor errors on a ticket ? a misspelled name or whether your car color is maroon or dark red ? if the officer cites the wrong law on the ticket, or grossly misidentifies the highway or your make of car, you may to get your ticket dismissed. Defenses That Don’t Work The following is a short list of common defenses people often make when fighting traffic tickets that just don’t work:

• You claim ignorance of the law. It doesn’t matter how honestly you misunderstood what was required, it won’t work.
• You argue that no one was hurt. The no-harm-no-foul rule doesn’t apply in court. The only exception is whether safety is part of the law itself, and you can argue that obviously you operated your vehicle safely because no one was hurt.
• You complain that the officer selected you alone out of a dozen other potential violators. Admitting that you were in fact guilty, but that there were other guilty people present doesn’t help you. You can win a “selective enforcement” defense, but it’s very hard to do and requires that you demonstrate the officer had a specific and improper motive to pick on you. For instance if you filed a report against the officer and he just happened to pull you over the next day with a dozen other violators nearby, you may win.
• You give the judge a sad story. It doesn’t work, judges hear this all day long and may doubt your honesty. At best this will slightly reduce your fine.
• You claim the officer is lying. Between you and the police officer, the judge is more likely to believe the officer. Unless you have specific proof, it won’t work.

An intelligent traffic system can now make future predictions of which route will be the best way for you take to avoid congested roads. In urban areas especially, this traffic system is going to be wildly useful.

While there are many routes a driver can take, it is not easy to predict which one will be the fastest. Researchers have developed an intelligent traffic system which displays information real-time about the best route to take, thereby helping drivers make the best choice on the road. Until recently, traffic information was displayed in the immediate past. The intelligent traffic system has gone one step further and will make real-time future predictions for drivers.

The researchers of a combination of universities such as the Institute of Technology in Georgia and University for Science and Technology of Shanghai have reported results obtained by using the intelligent traffic system. This is known as prediction feedback strategy (PFS). Researchers have shown demonstrations using the PFS and how it controls the flow of traffic. Even if a handful of drivers opt to use this information the traffic congestion will improve considerably. The most significant change that PFS brings about is the data provided on how to prevent traffic congestion in the future.

While feedback from the intelligent traffic system has been applied to systems with a two way route, researchers have attempted at applying it to a three way route, a more complex scenario. According to the model, drivers are given three route options to choose from. In the simulation model, the strategies are based on the overall time taken by the previous vehicle which is determined at the end of travel and the average number of vehicles on a particular road. This is then calculated with vehicles transmitting their location using a GPS to the control centre.

The newest strategy introduced by researchers, the PFS is able to predict road congestion in the future based on road congestion in the present. Compared to the two way strategy or using the model that makes predictions based on the immediate past, the PFS can overcome these other strategies and accommodate increased vehicle capacity. In earlier strategies the driver reported the road condition ahead of him based at the end of the two way route. This strategy will work well as long as there are no vehicles jammed behind the driver. PFS on the other hand, can make future predictions and effects of the route at the end of the traffic system.

As a person who works for an online traffic school I can’t even fathom how much this system can help congested areas I would suspect it would even decrease the amount of car crashes! Stay tuned to the Improv Traffic School blog for more updates on this type of technology.

You cannot escape the inevitability of certain things in life: death, taxes and, if you live in a major city, being caught in a traffic jam. Traffic jams are something you just cannot avoid. When you think of traffic jams, what images come into your head? Images of hot days and dusty road congested with an endless queue of vehicles glinting against the warm sunlight. So here’s what you can do. You can either rant and rave and sulk the entire time bellowing unprintable words, or you can find some interesting things to do which will not only give you a couple of hours of entertainment, but the surrounding cars in the vicinity as well.  Being part of an online traffic school I advise you to choose the ladder. Once you’ve decided on the option here are some interesting tips to follow. Give yourself a complete makeover (if you are a woman). Take your makeup kit and start from the beginning; reapply foundation, eye mascara, liner, lipstick and blush on. Experiment freely, while ignoring the jokes and jibes coming from nearby cars.

Make a call to your boss or mum-in-law informing them of your predicament and mention that you will be running late. Flip out your mobile phone and text message as much as you like. There won’t be traffic patrol to pull you over this time around. Receive jokes and hear all the gossip until your battery goes dead.

Play all the games your mobile phone has to offer and set up world records that no one can come close to breaking. Become reacquainted with long lost family members and friends. Call up Aunty Jane and ask how Uncle Ernie’s ulcer is doing or listen to Aunty Emilia complain about heart palpitations. This is a good way to regain popularity with family members and learn more about medical diagnosis.

Begin a conversation with the old lady sitting in the next vehicle. She may be as bored as you. Get household tips and ask for recipes. You can jot down whatever she may be saying and publish these under your name. This might even make you famous on the primetime cooking channel!

Alternatively look out for a bored girl in a nearby car and begin a conversation about makeup, entertainment and soap operas. Get the latest gossip on love affairs, domestic battles and heartbreaks in the television world. Learn about the latest fashion, hairdos, newest hunks and villains, wedding ceremonies and funeral rituals.

Clean the glove compartment you have been putting off doing for a while now. Sort out your receipts, lottery tickets, chewing gum packs, tissue packs, various papers and parking tickets. If you have got hunger pangs, order a burger or pizza delivery. Give the location of where you are stuck at. Explain that the highway has become your second home now, at least during rush hours.

If you are still bored, improve your mathematical skills by memorizing number plates of vehicle plates in the vicinity, multiply these numbers and total them. Exercise your brain well!

Finally, when the traffic starts back up, don’t speed! If you do and get caught chances are a traffic school will help you with your insurance but JUST DON’T DO IT!

Scientists have made a new discovery with a protein that is supposed to help brain cells direct traffic from within the brain. This protein is called MEC-17. Working for an online traffic school I call the MEC-17 your brains traffic cop. Scientists are hoping that this protein will play a part in their much research of various diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington. Scientists are already aware of the fact that degeneration inside the brain takes place due to the changes to microtubules which are tiny tubes situated inside brain cells. The role microtubules play is the ensuring of nutrients, proteins and waste being transported to its rightful destinations. These tiny tubes also help with cell growth and in signaling that arises between brain cells.

If a drug can have an impact on microtubules along its transport, this can lead to degenerative research of diseases. Scientists have now found that MEC-17 displays certain marks on microtubules. Marks created on these tiny tubes direct it where it should transport proteins and so on to which part of the brain and in what direction. Depending on whether it is a sending signal or receiving signal, microtubules showed more marks in some cases.

MEC-17 was first discovered during the study of human cancer cells and other organism’s nerve cells in zebrafish and C. elegans, a nematode worm. For instance, in research done on zebrafish, neuromuscular defects were noticed with the depletion of MEC-17 and in nematode worm, its sensation touch was affected. Now that scientists understand the use of MEC-17 a little better, it is hoped that research can lead to a drug being developed to block or to enhance it. I wonder if scientist will be able to develop a traffic school for our cells? LOL!