DEFEND YOUR RIDE: Elmira At I-70 Eastern Terminus Park

Q: Welcome to Defend your Ride Baltimore. What are you up to here today?

A: I'm waiting for a friend to get dropped off by her son. She's coming over for dinner, but doesn't drive. We agreed to meet in the Park and Ride.

Q: Do you mind having to do that?

A: Not at all! Driving is nice. I like driving around. It's a good chance to listen to the radio, or speak to someone on the Bluetooth. Plus, I love my car.

Q: What do you love about it?

A: I love Toyotas. They're nice cars and my family's had a few of them. The third family car we had was a Corolla. My daughter has a Camry. Now I have this Corolla. They're great cars.

Q: So owning Toyotas is a family thing?

A: Not only Toyotas, but black Toyotas. All the family cars are black. Me and my husband think black just makes your car look luxe. It makes it look slicker, more elegant.

Q: What's your favorite regular trip to take in your luxe Toyota?

A: I don't know about favorite, but the most regular trip is driving to the grocery store to buy food for my family. My husband's a picky eater. He always has something to say about what I buy and cook. But he never comes to do groceries or offers any suggestions. One time he did come with me to this place we go in Baltimore. He told me to take a shortcut into a road. We ended up lost, of course, and I was nervous and got distracted. I ended up doing 60 in a 30 and got a huge ticket.

Q: Was that your first ticket?

A: No. A couple years ago, I was with a friend of mine. The one I'm waiting for, actually. I went to pick her up for lunch at my house. While I was driving in her neighborhood, she put the music on really loud, kicked her feet up on the dashboard and started doing this weird dance. The speed limit was 40 and I was going 55. Next thing I know, I see a cop car with lights behind me. My friend said, "Keep going. Keep going. He's probably after someone else." You should know that she doesn't drive. Also, keep in mind that no other cars were on the road. It was an early Saturday afternoon in the middle of Elkridge. Anyway, the cop got to my car and I couldn't get out of the ticket.

Q: What happened?

A: I went to court and told the judge my friend distracted me with loud music and singing and dancing. They let me off with a $40 fine, which I was happy with.

Q: Sounds like you've gotten a lot of tickets driving people around.

A: I know! I need to stop being so quick to offer rides. I'm going to make everyone start meeting me here.