Early Sunday morning, around 1:30 a.m., a Florida Highway Patrol trooper noticed a potential problem on Interstate 4 near Tampa. A black Ford Mustang was speeding eastbound, traveling well over 95 mph despite wet conditions.

The driver of the car, a 19-year-old male from Plant City, Florida, was weaving in and out of traffic, passing vehicles on both sides, and changing lanes without using his signal. After spotting the Mustang, the trooper, who was driving a Ford Mustang GT of his own, activated his lights and sirens and gave chase.

Rather than slowing down, the teen driver of the Ford Mustang hit the gas. Speeds reportedly reached an astonishing 154 mph. Fortunately, the teenager eventually pulled onto the shoulder of the road, and there was no accident, nor injuries.

The officers cuffed the speedster on the spot and took him to the Hillsborough County Jail. He was charged with reckless driving and driving at dangerous speeds. There was no mention of the excuse he may have given or whether he was driving under the influence.

Drivers excessively speeding in sports cars is nothing new

A stunt like this is not uncommon. Just last week, the California Highway Patrol arrested another Ford Mustang driver in Modesto, California, for going 139 mph, just one hour after buying the car.

In the Tampa Bay area, highways such as I-4 are far too often sites of high-speed crashes, especially late at night. Wet pavement conditions exponentially increase the risk. Florida is extremely tough on such matters; after a change called “Super Speeder,” anything over 100 mph, or 50 mph over the limit, is now a criminal misdemeanor and will result in a prison sentence for a first offender.

Make one wrong move at 154 mph, and you are not just in danger of breaking your own neck – everyone around you is in the crosshairs. The open road is not a racetrack. The fact that this incident in Florida had a peaceful resolution, with an arrest, is a wake-up call.