[Mr 5 0]

You're 16, drive a Mustang and probably have the same charming attitude that I had at 16. Cops hate guys like you are now and I used to be. They know you think they are scum and guess what? They think the exact same thing about you! I know this because a cop informed me of this fact a long time ago. I had no reason to doubt him as he was an inch from my face and had spittle coming out of his mouth as he screamed it at me. You see, I had been playing hide and seek with him for 30 minutes, careening around a suburban neighborhood as he tried to catch me and when he did, he was very, very annoyed.

The cops see what they consider to be a 16-year-old know-it-all with a Mustang and a girlfriend; now, part of them is probably jealous and part of them definitely hates your guts and knows, just knows you are going to kill someone any day now with that fast car that you can't really handle, even though you may think you're the reincarnation of Dale Earnhardt.

That's why, when you speed and get caught a lot, the 'word' spreads fast among the cop population in your area and you are 'known' - and targeted. It happened to me when I was a teenager. I eventually had my license revoked and had to go to another state to obtain one there, wait six months and then apply for a new license in my home state, take a drivers exam (written and driving) to get a new license (with no points on it). I did and although I still got the occasional ticket, I eventually moved away and was no longer a 'marked man'. However, I paid a lot of fines and had a lot of hassles between 16 and 22, mostly because I drove like an idiot. Hey, it's part of life.

Unless you can drive within the speed limits and refrain from doing anything illegal, you will probably get more tickets and have hassles because, as I said at the beginning, you are a 'marked man'. A 16-year-old driver with a Mustang and an 'attitude'. I suggest you play nice with the cops when they stop you - as they will - because they can have your car impounded (this once happened to me) and cost you a lot of time and money, just because you couldn't resist making that killa comment when they asked why you were speeding (or whatever). As they say: it ain't worth it.

I would also suggest you lay off the 125 mph rides because the next trooper may decide to hit you with a long list of charges, including reckless driving and a lot more for going that speed, no matter how deserted the road is. 125 is simply begging for big trouble and if another car ever did get in your way, a big accident and probable death, because at 125, you are simply hanging onto the wheel and have almost zero control of the car. I know this because I lost control once doing just over 100 mph and although we all got out alive and unhurt, it was pure dumb luck and had little to do with my driving abilities.

Good luck.