Ron Artest News: Cited for Driving Race Car on LA Streets
Sure, Ron Artest is a good basketball player for a top team, but the Lakers forward makes just as many (or more) headlines off the court than he does on it. The latest Ron Artest news is no exception. Artest was recently pulled over for driving a small race car through the busy streets of Los Angeles, according the CBS Sports.
The cherry red ride is an Eagle Roadster -- a two seat car designed to look and drive like an Indy car. The roadster can reach speeds of 152 miles per hour, and certainly stands out on a city street. But then again, so does Artest. Although Artest was wearing his helmet, he did forget one important requirement for keeping within the traffic code of conduct: renewing the car's registration. That's correct, although zooming through the streets in a flashy race car, Artest was actually cited for driving with an expired registration.
The Roadster, which is actually registered to a man in Tennessee, may not look like every other vehicle on the road, but that does not mean it is exempt from basic driving requirements. Driving with an expired registration is usually treated with a citation for the first infraction, in which the driver is given a fine and told to renew the registration.
The purpose behind traffic tickets is to keep the streets safe by deterring bad driving habits, and hopefully the ordeal will encourage the offender to reform his or her illegal behavior. When it comes to registration, in addition to generating revenue for the state, requiring drives to keep current registration helps to ensure that there are also safe cars on the road. There are many requirements and rules to follow when driving, which is why a license is a privilege and not a right.
Related Resources:
- Artest pulled over in Indy-style car (Fox Sports)
- State Vehicle Registration Information (FindLaw)
- Driving Without Valid Vehicle Registration (FindLaw)