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(CBS News) It's a code all drivers share: A flash of the high beams is a warning there's a speed trap ahead.

But when police in Florida saw one man doing it, he got slapped with a $115 speeding ticket.

His case was overturned, but in some states, it is illegal to warn other drivers there is a speed trap ahead. Arizona and Alaska forbid flashing of high beams, while the states of New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia allow it.

A German judge has shot to popularity after letting 42 speeding drivers off without charges in the last week because he thinks speed controls merely serve to fill the state's coffers rather than prevent accidents.
A spokesman for Herford court in northwestern Germany, said the judge, Helmut Knoener, believed speed controls were not conducted to ensure greater road safety, but rather to provide the cash-strapped state with an additional source of income.

A host of new laws—from making it a crime to sell a live animal on any street or in any parking lot, to honoring law enforcement officials killed in the line of duty with a special medal—become effective Jan. 1, 2012.

In 2011, all 50 states and territories met in regular session and enacted close to 40,000 new laws on issues across the board. Laws do not always become effective on Jan. 1, however. State constitutions or statutes usually establish when they go into effect, or sometimes, an effective date is written into the specific piece of legislation.

On Thursday, Washington became the first state to officially legalize marijuana, soon to be followed by Colorado as their new laws legalizing the drug for recreational use go into effect. A survey out Friday shows what Americans want the federal government to do about the states whose drug laws clash with national laws: Leave them alone. Fifty-one percent of Americans in the new HuffPost/YouGov poll said that in the two states that have legalized marijuana use for adults, the federal government should exempt any adults following state laws from federal drug law enforcement.

Paying drivers not to speed could be the next step in the war against the road toll, a US study has concluded. The study, undertaken by research company Udini and partly funded by the US Government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, found that speeding was virtually eliminated among a group of drivers who were offered US$25 ($25) a week not to exceed the speed limit. The report concluded there were "dramatic reductions in speeding" with even modest financial incentives.

McLEAN COUNTY -- The state's attorneys office is going public with a bold, new policy. It's no longer prosecuting offenders of some gun laws in Illinois.

The interim state's attorney says he's tired of Illinois not having "concealed-carry." So, now, prosecutors are considering several questions when deciding if they'll press charges.

They consider a person's intent, criminal history and whether the weapon was used recklessly. It only applies to those with a valid FOID card.

The state's attorney hopes his actions send a message to the state. The policy could be reversed this fall.

Anthony Graber, a Maryland Air National Guard staff sergeant, faces up to 16 years in prison. His crime? He videotaped his March encounter with a state trooper who pulled him over for speeding on a motorcycle. Then Graber put the video — which could put the officer in a bad light — up on YouTube. It doesn't sound like much. But Graber is not the only person being slapped down by the long arm of the law for the simple act of videotaping the police in a public place. Prosecutors across the U.S. claim the videotaping violates wiretap laws — a stretch, to put it mildly.

A Montgomery County police officer who hit and paralyzed a Clarksburg boy with his cruiser received a $185 speeding ticket and is now canvassing neighborhoods that show spikes in crime.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Luis Jovel Jr. is a quadriplegic with permanent brain damage who needs around-the-clock medical care for the smallest of tasks, including eating and getting dressed.

"He was driving an estimated 56 mph, nearly twice the speed limit...He was issued two citations: speeding and negligent driving. He pleaded guilty to the former, and a judge found him not guilty of the latter, saying there was no evidence of errant driving beyond speed. Cokinos was fined $160, and he went forward with his career on the force."