Your taillight is burned out.

Such a simple thing to fix, really. Two dollars and ninety-five cents at the local NAPA, and your problem is solved.

I guess that I should be thankful that so many criminals overlook this very simple resolution. It seems like several times a week I read about a criminal who was captured due to a broken taillight. I think that it would be interesting to see what percentage of wanted people are captured after taillight-related traffic stops; my guess is that it’s a high number.

A quick search of Google News turns up a bunch of such stories. The folly isn’t limited to cars; just ask the kids who got busted for having a party in the back of a U-Haul truck thanks to a burned-out light.

On a almost totally unrelated note, did you know that, thanks to something called the Dimler amendment, you can do 65 mph in a 55 mph zone in Minnesota and not have the infraction appear on your driver’s license? It’s true. The state house of representatives even passed an amendment to the amendment that would exempt 70 mph in a 60 mph zone in the same manner, but the bill died before it could become law.

Sadly, I know of no such law in Wisconsin.