I got a speeding ticket in Tampa driving a rental car a couple of months ago. My first in 28 years of driving. Please forgive ... but the trooper was a rude a-hole.

I was on my way from my Mom's house in Brandon, up 75 to 4, to the airport to drop my wife off for a business trip. Speed limit was 65 and I was doing around 70, until the end of the entrance ramp.

Traffic down there has gotten ridiculous. I was trying to merge onto 4 and the two right lanes were packed with trucks. I had a choice of slamming on the brakes, with dozens of cars right on my tail, or speeding up momentarily. I sped up to about 85 for 15 0r 20 seconds to cut across into the left lanes beyond the heavy truck traffic. Behind the ramp and tall concrete barrier was a statey witha laser and I got a $160 fine.

When he was done being a pr#ck to me he simply backed up to his previous position. Almost everybody has to speed up to merge at that point. On my way back from the airport he had another car pulled over at the same place. I figure they do that day in day out.

I'm not an unsafe driver and consider Florida (which I love and is my second home) to be kind of a joke when it comes to any kind of serious safety concerns.

This is a state where you kind buy beer along an interstate at a gas station quickmart (just blows mw away the insanity of it). They have so much alcohol at these convenience stores that you cannot find a decent flavored bottle of ice tea down there. Most places almost the entire cooler is taken up with beer, only a couple doors worth of ice tea and soda.

As far as I know most of florida does not even have state auto safety inspections once a year. Seems like every pawn shop (which there are probably thousands) has a big sign that says "guns for sale!" And it is rare to see a motorcyclist wearing a helmit.

I love Florida though. But I don't have a warm fuzzy feeling about the cops down there.