Concerning my attempt, I was just quite ill. When I was younger, I did it to feel alive and occassionally I did it to show off. But I mostly did dangerous things when I was all by myself. In the case of speeding (not the ticket-that was in the desert), I would drive at night after work through treacherous mountain roads. Each night I would see how much farther I could push up the needle on the speedometor. If an elk or something had jumped across the road--I would have been toast. The more tired I was, the faster I drove. I would tell myself it was "safer" because it would keep me from falling asleep!