OCALA, FL — A Marion County man pulled over Wednesday morning for driving 97 mph in a 55 mph zone informed a state trooper that he had already signed a “morally binding” agreement to police himself, making the traffic stop unnecessary.
“I’m seeing tremendous self-policing here,” said Dale Throttleman, 46, quoting the president from memory as he handed Florida Highway Patrol Cpl. Brenda Radarski a single sheet of notebook paper signed by himself and his brother-in-law. “I understand that I have to self-police. It’s almost like a constitution.”
Throttleman said he modeled the pledge on the accord that President Donald Trump signed at the White House on Tuesday with the heads of six artificial intelligence companies, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and xAI CEO Elon Musk. That one-page document asks the companies to set up internal controls, check their own work, hire an outside auditor of their choosing, and report to their own boards. It contains no deadlines, penalties, or disclosure requirements. Trump called it “morally binding.”
“Mine has the same four layers,” Throttleman explained. “Layer one is internal controls. Every so often I look down at the speedometer and feel something. Layer two is my internal safety team, which is my wife, Cheryl, who says ‘Dale’ in a certain voice.”
Layer three, the independent outside auditor, is Throttleman’s brother-in-law, Randy Pickens, 44, who was riding in the back seat. “I have reviewed Dale’s driving thoroughly and found that everything is operating as intended,” Pickens said, adding that Throttleman had selected him “totally independently.”
Layer four is a board committee made up of Throttleman’s Thursday night bowling league, which will receive a full report “at some point.”
Radarski, a 19-year veteran of the patrol, said she has heard every excuse. “Usually it’s ‘I have to use the bathroom’ or ‘my speedometer is broken,’” she said. “This is the first time someone asked me to wait while he consulted his board.” When she asked when he planned to slow down, Throttleman said the agreement intentionally avoids “arbitrary deadlines.”
Dr. Harold Wiggleroom, a legal ethicist at the Central Florida Institute of Pinky Promises, said the defense has some merit. “Morally binding is a real category,” Wiggleroom said. “It sits just above ‘cross my heart’ and just below ‘I’ll try.’”
As of press time, Radarski had written Throttleman a $281 ticket, which Pickens independently reviewed and determined was “more of a suggestion.”
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