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Florida Highway Patrolman seen watching YouTube in traffic

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating allegations of a trooper watching YouTube videos on his official in-car laptop while driving. Lee County Florida resident James Peebles caught the alleged offender during his morning commute in early April, NBC2 reported. After exiting I-75, Peebles said that the FHP cruiser rolled up next to him at a stop light where he could clearly see the trooper inside watching a car race on Youtube on an official FHP laptop. Peebles put his car in park and snapped a picture of the cruiser before continuing to work. Later that day, he posted the photo to Facebook where it quickly went viral. "It blew my mind," Peebles told NBC2. "Everybody's human though, so I do know that we all make mistakes." NBC2 contacted the FHP for a statement after speaking to Peebles. An FHP spokesperson told the station that troopers are allowed to use their laptops while driving squad cars when carrying out official duties such as "simple inquiries" and "reviewing the nature of incoming messages". Other Florida motorists, like Jim Kosmerick who was interviewed by NBC2 for this story, don't consider watching an old race on YouTube to be official FHP business. "It's not official business, there's no way you can convince me otherwise," said Kosmerick. The FHP says that they are now aware of this fast moving viral image, and that they are taking the issue very seriously. They state that an investigation into the matter is underway, and that troopers are expected to abide by department policy and lead by example. Related Video News Source: NBC2 Government/Legal Weird Car News Dodge Driving Safety Police/Emergency Videos Sedan distracted driving Dodge Charger Pursuit

2021 Dodge Durango lineup gets price increases

The 2021 Dodge Durango is another example of Dodge's profitable specialty — minor exterior visual changes that bring outsized improvements, easily identifiable interior updates that elevate the cabin experience, and a whopping chungus engine at the top of the lineup. For 2021, the Durango wears Charger Widebody cues outside plus a new rear hatch spoiler, a new Tow N Go package for the Durango R/T, and a redesigned, driver-focused interior with an 8.4-inch or 10.1-inch touchscreen. Prices go up across the lineup. Next year's Durango SXT RWD starts at $33,260, after the $1,495 destination charge, which is $970 more than in 2020. At the top end, the limited-run Durango SRT Hellcat starts at $80,995, an $18,000 jump over the current top of the line, the Hellcat-less SRT that picks up a "392" badge to signify its new position. Below those two are nine more models in rear- and all-wheel drive. Price for the whole range with the differences to 2020 are: Durango SXT RWD $33,260 ($970) Durango SXT AWD $35,860 ($970) Durango GT RWD $37,460 ($970) Durango GT AWD $40,060 ($970) Durango R/T RWD $46,800 ($910) Durango R/T AWD $49,400 ($910) Durango R/T AWD Tow N Go $54,395 Durango Citadel RWD $49,300 ($1,535)  Durango Citadel AWD $51,900 ($1,535) Durango SRT 392 AWD $64,490 (No Change) Durango SRT Hellcat AWD $82,490 If the Citadel price raises eyebrows, it's because Dodge reworked the model to stand out as the clear luxury buy above the R/T. It appears Dodge eliminated the Citadel trim currently priced below the R/T, which is $4,810 less than the 2021 Durango Citadel. The carmaker rebranded this year's Citadel Anodized Platinum, priced above the R/T, as the Citadel. The higher price pays for driver and front passenger seats that add leather and standard ventilation to the heating function, a suede headliner, the 10.1-inch touchscreen with Uconnect 5 as standard with TomTom navigation, and driver assistance and safety features like adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, forward collision warning with active braking, and lane departure warning as standard. Those latter two features and some others can't be had on this year's model. Dodge has also thrown in the Trailer-Tow Group IV, a $1,195 option presently. The group installs an integrated trailer brake switch, heavy-duty engine oil cooler, Class IV hitch receiver, rear load-leveling shocks, full-size spare tire with the Class IV trailer receiver, and integrated brake controller.

Defiance Dodge Charger, saving Earth from aliens isn't clean work [w/video]

You'll be forgiven for not having heard about the TV show Defiance - it actually hasn't aired its first episode yet. The new science fiction show about an alien war against Earth in the near future seems like a perfect fit for the SyFy channel, and, apparently one that Dodge saw as a slick marketing opportunity for its Charger sedan.
Here in Chicago, Dodge has given a large corner of its show stand to the Defiance Charger, a car that won't be skipped by any Mad Max fans in attendance at this year's show. The Charger boasts one hell of a gnarly patina under a confusingly welded cage of tube steel, as well as window bars, a grille guard in front, and big, knobby truck tires. There aren't any obvious guns or turrets on the outside of the vehicle, so we can only hope that the characters driving it go well-armed.
Look for the Charger to make its star turn in Defiance when the series premieres on SyFy on April 15 at 9:00 PM EST. Also, there's said to be a Defiance video game in the works, too, so you may get a chance to steer the burly Dodge for yourself. Find a trailer for the show, below, as well.