Drunk driving is certainly no laughing matter although it is laughable to think that this woman was so drunk she didn’t realize she had nowhere to run after striking a police vehicle, which was witnessed by at least two police officers.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 45-year-old Colleen Comfort, of Palm Coast, was drunk when she struck a stopped patrol car, then fled the scene without stopping. She was arrested after a breathalyzer showed she had twice the legal limit of alcohol in her system. Fortunately the police officer was unharmed in the collision.

Troopers said Comfort failed to stop for the accident, and Sapp, who was on the scene for the first traffic stop, pursued her until stopping her at the intersection of Collingwood Lane and Cottonwood Court.

Sapp told the trooper he saw Comfort’s vehicle approaching the traffic stop scene. He said the vehicle did not appear to be slowing before colliding with the patrol car door.

Comfort told troopers she thought she hit a mailbox. Troopers said she declined to submit to field sobriety tests and was transported to the Flagler County Inmate Facility. Troopers said a blood alcohol breat test was administered and Comfort registered a .252 on the initial test. The legal alcohol limit is .08.

The situation in Florida is so bad that last year Central Florida was named the most dangerous place in the world for pedestrians.

The problems arise from pedestrians crossing streets where they want (jaywalking) and cars failing to yield for pedestrians even when they do. To help curb these problems Central Florida police (specifically in Orlando, Florida0 have started handing out tickets to pedestrians who fail to use the crosswalk, or cross without checking the signal first. they are also cracking down on drivers who fail to slow or yield when pedestrians are in the area.

In the last ten years, 557 people have died during the past decade while trying to cross streets in Central Florida. Hopefully new efforts to curb this issue will result in fewer deaths and a better reputation for the area.

Last year Central Florida was named the most dangerous place in the country for pedestrians, based on the number of deaths.

That wasn’t news to people who depend each day on buses, bicycles or their own two feet. And it wasn’t a surprise to police officers and emergency-room docs.

They deal with the bloody chaos on our streets every day.

But when Transportation for America, a safety-advocacy group, labeled Central Florida the worst place to walk in the entire country, more people started to pay attention.

Nobody likes to be called the worst of anything. Just ask the Disney studio boss who quit over “John Carter.”

And it’s especially demoralizing when your deficiency is causing deaths that could be prevented.

We say, ‘stupidity contest’ because street racing is similar to taking your life and the life of everyone sharing the road with you into your hands and shaking them violently. If you are driving under the influence of alcohol or driving distracted you have something else occupying your attention. If you race in the street you are just plain stupid because although you are staring at the road ahead of you, you are pushing your vehicle to its utmost limits and trusting that a tire won’t blow, a child (dog, cat, raccoon or deer) won’t run into the street in front of you and that the universe will not conspire against you.

Street racers also modify their cars (often bypassing safety features) in order to achieve even higher, more unsafe speeds.

Norwalk Police Sgt. Lisa Cotto said the group was spotted at the top of the southbound Grist Mill on-ramp by a cruiser called to the scene by passersby just before 11:30 p.m. When the officer turned on his lights and siren, six cars sped away with their wheels spinning and burning out, causing blinding white smoke to billow behind them, Cotto said.

The officer followed the cars, some of which pulled off at New Canaan Avenue, but lost track of five of them, Cotto said.

The officer was able to keep up with a black 1999 Honda Civic and pulled the vehicle over shortly after it got off at the New Canaan Avenue exit of the connector, Cotto said.

Inside the vehicle, the officer saw that the passenger seat and rear seat had been taken out in order to lighten the vehicle and make it faster, Cotto said.

Central Florida roadways are some of the most heavily traveled roads in the United States. They are usually chock full of tourists plus the heavy congestion of any highly populated region; full of people going to work and on vacation.

This mix of people and cars creates a crisis for public safety officers whose job it is to keep both of these very different parties safe–usually from each other. To this end police in Florida have begun strictly enforcing existing jaywalking laws intended to keep pedestrians on sidewalks and crosswalks where they belong. The idea is to use existing laws as they were intended. If this means writing a few more citations than usual, in order to keep people safe, so be it.

They will also be cracking down on drivers who fail to properly yield to pedestrians, regardless of where they might be walking.

Authorities said 780 people a year are struck, with about 45 dying from their injuries.

Best Foot Forward wants to cut that number down over the next five years.

Officials will pay close attention to Orlando’s three deadliest streets, which include Semoran Boulevard in  Baldwin Park, Edgewater Drive in Fairview Shores and Oak Ridge Road near Pine Castle.

Drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians crossing in a crosswalk will receive a $164 ticket, and three points will be added to the driver’s license.

“We are we are going to issue tickets, uniform crime tickets, to jaywalkers as well,” said Sheriff Jerry Demings.

This way of alerting oncoming drivers of the police which might be waiting just around the corner from them is a little secret drivers use to look out for each other. Police on the other hand do not appreciate it and will often write tickets to people they doing it. Drivers who get ticketed for this type of behavior are usually left with no recourse, however one Florida driver decided to fight the ticket in court, and won.

Now that a judge has found in favor of this behavior you can bet more drivers will be warning their fellow drivers of waiting speed traps. Of course police are nothing if not creative when it comes to writing tickets so you can bet if they want to find a way to punish you for it they probably will.

Of course you could also take them to court and cross your fingers.

The deputy saw what Kintner was up to and issued two tickets: one for running a stop sign, and another for flashing his headlights. The officer’s rationale for ticket #2 was based on Florida’s state law that prohibits motorists from flashing after-market emergency lights, even though it’s not clear that the lights Kintner used were after-market.

Ultimately, Kintner sued, arguing that the Florida law was misapplied in his case and that the Sheriff’s Office was violating his civil rights.

Judge Alan Dickey agreed with the plaintiff, saying that Florida’s law didn’t apply to people who, like Kintner, used their headlights to communicate. Earlier this week, Dickey amended and broadened that ruling, stating that using headlights to communicate is free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Kintner has also filed suit against Florida Highway Patrol and hopes for a similar ruling in that case. In the meantime, both the Seminole County Sheriff’s Department and the Florida Highway Patrol have stopped writing tickets for headlight-flashing.

• For More Information On Red Light Ticket in New York, Click : How much is a Red Light Ticket in New York?

In fact, that number is up almost 2 percent from the number of South Florida drivers who hit the road last Memorial Day weekend. It might have something to do with the slightly improved economy, or perhaps it has more to do with the fact that gas prices there have dropped nearly 50 cents in the past week or so, but whatever the reason South Florida drivers will be out in force this coming weekend.

And so will police.

There is a nationwide Click It or Ticket campaign planned for the holiday weekend with police in many states, including Florida, starting their increased seat belt enforcement earlier than Friday. That means all those South Florida drivers who hit the road to enjoy some fun in their own sun better be buckled up when they do it. Police around the country see more than their fair share of deadly automobile accidents which could have been averted if one or more of the vehicle occupants had decided to wear their seat belt instead of sit on it.

Don’t let your Memorial Day weekend be spoiled by tragedy or even a seat belt violation. Be smart and buckle up. You might just save a life-like your own.

The distracted driving simulator is sponsored by AT&T and part of their “Textng & Driving…It Can Wait” program designed to help convince teenagers to put their handheld devices down when they get behind the wheel.

The AT&T distracted driving simulator will be criss-crossing the country, making stops at high schools along the way and exposing hundreds of teenagers to the dangers of distracted driving in the safest possible way.

Teenage drivers represent the demographic most at risk of the dangers of distracted driving because they are also the most likely to use a handheld device in general.

With the 100 deadliest days for teens to be on the road about to begin, the timing couldn’t be more critical.

The simulator is part of AT&T’s aggressive Textng & Driving…It Can Wait is a program to educate drivers about the dangers of texting while driving.

A new survey conducted by the company found that while 97 percent of teens know its dangerous, almost half admit to doing sending texts when behind the wheel.

Today, AT&T’s simulator will be available to students at Stanton Prep. The company hopes the interactive simulator will deter teens from picking up the phone while driving.

Jacksonville is just one of multiple cities where the simulator will be making a life-saving stop around the country.

In all, 31 state troopers received warnings for excessive speed and are being made to attend a four-hour ethics course as a result of the findings.

The Sun Sentinel discovered the speeding officers after an investigation into toll records. The tool booths record the speed and license plate of vehicles which pass by, regardless of whether or not they pay the toll. The newspaper used these toll records to identify 5,100 instances of officers from a dozen different South Florida police agencies driving above 90 mph during a 13-month period. Many times the officers were not only speeding while off duty but also while outside their jurisdictions.

In one instance an officer was caught speeding at more than 100 mph while en route to his off-duty job.

Adding to the furor over this report are the facts about crashes caused by speeding officers which were also collected by The Sun Sentinel staff. Since 2004, speeding cops in Florida have caused at least 320 crashes and 19 deaths. So this is more than a public relations nightmare for the Florida Highway Patrol, it is also a matter of public safety.

Many drivers don’t realize that police and emergency vehicles are required to follow the same traffic laws they are. A police cannot exceed the posted speed limit unless it is an emergency situation. And going to their off-duty job or heading home for lunch do not constitute emergency situations.

Police officers are also required to pass rigorous driving tests and meet very specific requirements for the privilege of enforcing the law. While three dozen police officers are now facing the music for speeding, hundreds more have been doing their job properly and maintaining a safe speed at all times.

By wrestle, I mean wrangled-got it off the road and stowed away safely so it could be transported back into the wild where it belongs.

Wild animals pose a driving hazard to just about anyone using the roads any where. It might be a deer or a opossum, or even an alligator. It all depends on where you live and what lives near where you drive.

Aggressive driving simply does not make sense no matter how you look at it. First, you use more gas when you drive aggressively than when you drive defensively. With gas prices hovering at their highest levels in forever, calming down behind the wheel will save you a few bucks for sure.

Also, aggressive drivers are more likely to take risks like speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, inciting other drivers into personal confrontations. None of this is good for your heart, or your pocketbook if a cop spots you doing it. It is also more likely to lead to a vehicle crash, which in turn means more money out-of-pocket to pay your insurance.

Do yourself a favor if you’re driving in Florida, or any where: Calm down, take it easy and enjoy the ride. Your life might just depend on it.

State troopers are on the hunt this week for the all-too-common South Florida driver: one who speeds, tailgates and weaves dangerously in and out of lanes.

This week, the Florida Highway Patrol has stepped up ticketing of aggressive car and truck drivers on Florida highways. The enforcement campaign lasts through Friday.

The week-long enforcement aims to reduce the number of fatal crashes involving cars and commercial trucks, the Highway Patrol said. In 88 percent of those crashes, both the truck driver and car driver were at fault, the agency said.

A recent study by J.D. Power and Associates shows that 20 percent of new car buyers would buy an autonomous car right now if one were available. That could put more than a million driver-less cars on the roads in the first year they became available. All that is left is to find enough states which will make it legal to operate one on their roads. So far, just two states, Nevada and California, have passed laws allowing autonomous cars to operate legally on their roads. Both states hope to first see commercial uses for the vehicles before they begin seeing individual buyers picking them up, and that is indeed the way the technology is leading.

Eventually, however, it looks as if there will be more driver-less cars on the roads than cars with drivers.

Like you would expect, people want the self-driving capabilities for “boring” driving times – like rush hour traffic, going to and from work, and running errands. Most respondents said that they would want the ability to turn it off and drive manually for pleasure, when the mood arose.

We’re probably not that far away from driverless technology becoming a reality. With multiple companies testing it and some being in talks with automakers, then last hurdle is on the legislative level. States have to approve the self-driving cars for road use. Nevada took the first step last year by legalizing autonomous cars, and earlier this month we heard that the state is in the process of developing regulations for said cars.

The driverless movement has now spread to California, where a state Senator has proposed similar legislation. Other states like Hawaii, Florida, and Oklahoma are also currently considering self-driving car legislation.

Teens often use these two events as an excuse to acquire alcohol and have a party. Unfortunately, not only is it illegal for a teenager to drink alcohol in the United States, but this type of behavior often leads to a fatal collision later that night when they try to make it home before curfew.

The United Way of Broward Commission on Substance Abuse is emphasizing the dangers of this type of behavior by coordinating efforts with other groups to stage mock accident scenes at high schools around the state. These crash re-enactments have been happening at Florida schools for the past two decades and their impact is no less poignant today than it was back then.

A wrecked car is pried apart with a jaws of life. Injured students are rescued and treated. Some may be driven away in a hearse. In Palm Beach County, sometimes the Health Care District of Palm Beach County’s Trauma Hawk helicopter is used.

Police give a field sobriety test and arrest the offending driver. In some cases, a trial is held for the impaired driver.

“You could see the kids on the edge of their seats,” said Division Chief Al Diliello of Pembroke Pines Fire-Rescue, which recently participated in a crash reenactment at Flanagan High School. “They realize there is a finality to it. You can get hurt and can get killed.”

That is what makes a new safe driver book written by students for other students such a wonderful gift.

The book, which promotes safe driving among teens without resorting to gimmicky scare tactics, is being written by journalism students at South Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida. The idea is that information being promoted students is more likely to be taken to heart by students. It is like peer pressure for positive effect and the hope is they will see real results.

The students are producing the book with funding and support which came through a grant provided by State Farm Insurance and is administered through the “I Care!” program, created by the Humanity Project, a non-profit group based in Dania Beach

The students are aiming to produce a 30-bage book full of advice, suggestions, helpful reminders of the advantages of safe driving and even a small section for parents. Rather than a strict book of guidelines and driving skills advice, the book will be full of comic strips, poems, rap songs, quizzes, games, and even a smattering of quotes about friendship.

The journalism students are serious about wanting to help their fellow students, their “friends” and it shows in their dedication. They work during school, meet once a week after school on the project and even take their work on the book home with them. It is hoped the book will be finished before the end of the current school year.

Once complete, State Farm Insurance will distribute the book for free throughout South Florida and also make it available online for free. If there is one surety it’s that the book will eventually make it into the hands of at least one student driver. Hopefully they will hear its message loud and clear and take action; become a safe, defensive driver.

To handle this annual infux of senior citizens, the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles has instituted a policy designed to keep these senior drivers, and everyone who shares the road with them, safe. Specifically, Florida law requires drivers who are 80 or over must renew their driving license every six years and pass a vision test. This regular renewal is meant to help drivers adjust to their changing physical abilities.

Often as we age our motor skills become diminished. We can no longer move or react as fast as we once did. this change is very gradual and most people tend not to notice it until too late, especially when applied to their ability to drive.

There is no reason senior drivers should have their driving privileges removed without due course, But for some Americans, especially those who suffer from severely diminished motor skills, putting aside the car keys is the best way for them to drive defensively.

This great news for anyone who owns a former NASCAR and wants to cruise around the neighborhood, impress people they pass on the street or just show off for their adoring fans. They must obey the traffic laws, or else they may receive a traffic ticket and have to take FL Traffic School to dismiss it.

In Tampa, Florida, Ed James of Nicodemus, Inc. uses his vehicle to help local charities by allowing folks to come by and check out the car. They can even go for a ride in the NASCAR if they are willing to donate to the charity:

“Nicodemus Inc. is a Florida based, non-profit corporation, founded by Ed James, a United States Marine Corp veteran. Ed founded his charitable organization in January 2009. Our mission is to help churches, schools, charities and foundations achieve their goals, of helping others in need. The ultimate goal for Nicodemus, is to become a family crisis charity.”

The state enacted the personal injury protection law in 1971 to make certain that anyone hurt in a car accident would get money as soon as possible to treat their injuries and cover other costs. Every driver’s insurance company is now required to pay up to $10,000, regardless of who is at fault.

Critics claim the law is now used to play the system,providing money for unneeded medical treatment so the maximum $10,000 can be billed for care.

There is an entire cottage industry around the PIP insurance law as it now stands with acupuncturists, chiropractors and therapists of all sorts getting involved in the game. Not to mention lawyers and their fees.

The new bill just approved by the legislature states that a car accident victim must receive treatment within 14 days in an ambulance or hospital, or from a physician, osteopathic physician, chiropractic physician or dentist. No referrals from acupuncturists or massage therapists allowed. Follow-up care requires referral from a physician, osteopath, chiropractor or dentist.

The injured person can get the $10,000 medical benefit only if a physician, osteopathic physician, dentist, supervised physician’s assistant or advanced registered nurse practitioner finds that they have an emergency medical condition. If not, the PIP medical benefit is limited to $2,500.

If an injury is discovered after the 14-day window, many drivers will still be covered by health insurance, Medicaid or Medicare.

Although approved by the Florida legislature the PIP reform bill still needs the signature of the governor before it becomes law. In the meantime defensive drivers can rest easy knowing the odds are still in their favor when it comes to avoiding a crash. And if they do have a crash in Florida at least they know they won’t get reamed by fraudsters.