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islandbayy
Active Member
Talked to a few of my cop friends. They said they don't even bother with Tesla's any more unless they can catch the plate number BEFORE they need to pursue. Reason being, they said once the Tesla realizes that they (the cops) pulled out to pursue, they accelerate so quickly away that they (the cops) cannot catch up quick enough before the Tesla is either miles and miles ahead or has exited the freeway and lost in city traffic. Exception are speed traps where another cop is waiting a few miles down the freeway on a on-ramp ready to nab em.
smorgasbord
Active Member
Your story just made me realize that we can't simply let off the throttle to slow down without illuminating the highway with our brake lights at night when we see a police officer. I'm going to miss that. Officers in the extended family say they often look for cars that brake or noticeably nose-down (weight transfer to front wheels) when approaching them.
You can ease up enough so that you're not regen'ing; that's equivalent to coasting, which will slowly slow you down like in a normal car. Also, your brakes don't light up if you ease off a little; I forget when they light up, but someone measured this.
I've always been suspicious of this "cops ticket people who brake." Don't they ticket people who speed? Pretending you didn't see the cop (i.e., not braking) doesn't make you more innocent, and anyway, it's not about innocence, is it? Seeing a cop makes many people check their speed and sometimes they didn't realize just how fast they were going. Why would a cop be more likely to ticket someone who realizes "woah, I didn't realize how fast I was going, better slow down"--they're surely more likely to take it easy after that point than someone who didn't slow down.
(That said, I haven't surveyed cops to see what they do, nor why they do it.)
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P.S. My second sentence isn't clear; my point is, you can get into regen braking a little and your brakes won't light up instantly.
bareyb
Active Member
I usually go about 71 mph. I call it the "butter zone". Faster than the speed limit, but not quite fast enough to get pulled over for.
There's already another thread on this but the TL;DR version is: "Yes, you can."
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I thought the "85" in "P85" was meant as a speed recommendation. Seems to be for the folks that got the "S60".
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Yes. This is why I wear 3 condoms and a raincoat even if it's sunny out.
lolachampcar
Well-Known Member
Steve,
I drive like an old lady
The biggie for me is the MS spedo is dead nuts on.... There is no 4-5% over reporting margin you have with most ICE so I try to pay strict attention.
I drive like an old lady
The biggie for me is the MS spedo is dead nuts on.... There is no 4-5% over reporting margin you have with most ICE so I try to pay strict attention.
caddieo
Member
I've had pretty good luck for almost 20 years staying 5-10 mph (only on Interstates) over the limit - preferably on cruise control- and exceeding 10 only when I have to overtake a slowpoke. With the S's acceleration, your exposure during this maneuver is much shorter than the same thing in an ICE, but even so, I try to make sure the coast is clear up ahead. I am more cautious on local roads and non-interstates. The last time I was nailed in the 90's was for doing 60 in a 45.
NigelM
Recovering Member
I think everyone drives over the speed limit but within reason (standard speed on FL Freeways is closer to 80 than the signposted 70mph) but doing 89 in a 65 limit, or 75 in a 55 limit is just crazy. Model S may the safest car on the planet if you're inside it, but there's all sorts of things that can cause an accident and getting hit by a Model S at that speed would not be pretty.
Is the thrill of speeding >20mph over the limit worth playing Russian roulette with your insurance rates? License suspended? Vehicular homicide? Personal bankruptcy?
Is the thrill of speeding >20mph over the limit worth playing Russian roulette with your insurance rates? License suspended? Vehicular homicide? Personal bankruptcy?
Years ago a friend of mine - a very conservative driver - was coasting down a hill on a highway, and figured he was getting too fast so he tapped the brakes. A cop immediately chased him down.
The officer comes up and says, "okay, hand it over." Baffled expression. "Hand what over?". "The radar detector." "I don't have one." "Look, I hit you with the radar and you immediately flashed your brake lights. You definitely have a detector. Hand it over." "I don't have a detector. I just noticed I was getting a little too much speed on the down hill and slowed down a bit." "Okay, look, hand it over now or I'll have your car towed to the station and we'll take it apart until we find it." "Well if you have to do that go right ahead, but you're not going to find anything because I don't have a radar detector." "I saw you tap your brakes when I hit you with the radar." "Like I said, I was coasting down hill and my speed was increasing so I tapped the brakes to slow down." "Okay then, but in the future keep a better eye on your speed. Have a good day."
I have found the same here.
There are two "Your Speed is XX" signs within 3 blocks of my house, and both usually show 1 mph less than what my speedometer is showing.
Both are in 25 mph zones, so I am not sure if the difference is the same at higher speeds.
Wow, I'm amazed at the "you shouldn't speed" contingent here. If it's safe (meaning not swerving in and out of traffic, appropriate road contours and surface, weather, etc) then I really don't care much how fast people choose to drive. We haven't heard much from the Midwest or Plains States folks. Growing up in Michigan, if you went below 70 you had your doors blown off (and this was in the days of 55 everywhere). Now with 70 mph speed limits there if you're below 80 you should camp in the right lane. Same thing on the MA Pike, 75-80 is the faster flow of traffic with many going faster than that.
Driving down 95 in southern VA, NC and SC, 85 mph is reasonable on the long stretches and I don't blink an eye at cars who pass me when I'm going that speed. Is there a risk? Of course there is. I could hit a pothole, blow a tire and die. But the odds are vastly in my favor and I'm willing to take that risk.
Driving down 95 in southern VA, NC and SC, 85 mph is reasonable on the long stretches and I don't blink an eye at cars who pass me when I'm going that speed. Is there a risk? Of course there is. I could hit a pothole, blow a tire and die. But the odds are vastly in my favor and I'm willing to take that risk.
Gizmotoy
Active Member
It was explained to me by the highway patrolmen in the extended family that they're almost all willing to give you some leeway with the posted speed. If your brake lights are on when they hit you with the radar/laser and you're still 5MPH over or whatever their threshold is, then you're getting a ticket because they know you were going faster than that. A car registering the exact same speed with no brake lights or nose dive was probably already going that speed, and will get a pass.
Again, small sample size, but that's the theory.
Good tips on avoiding the brake light illumination in this thread. I imagine I'll just have to train my right foot. It's just really easy to completely lift off the gas. If I turn down the regen every time I get on the highway, I'll always forget to turn it back up. Maybe useful for long trips.
Traffic and weather matters. In the wee hours, I've been at least 1/4 mile from any other vehicle for 30min stretches on some highways and freeways.
It might be crazy from a financial perspective (tickets), but not from a safety perspective in such cases.
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Sounds like a good opportunity to have a lawyer on speed dial. That's a pretty threatening tone the officer took based on an intuition rather than fact.
NigelM
Recovering Member
You have highways and freeways with 55mph speed limits? You're in WA right?
If it's urban roads I stand by my comment that doing 75 in a 55 limit is crazy.
DuncanWatson
Member
Speeding is an addiction and those who do it don't just do it "safely". The safely line is just a load of BS anyway. I have been passed on my bike when going downhill in the rain on a twisty 2-lane road at 50mph (radar sign) in the dark (5am). In fact it is rare when I ride that route that anyone stays behind me, regardless of the speed limit.
I understand the impulse, especially on road trips where looking at 3 hours of driving ahead of you is just painful after a long day. But 89mph in a 65 is dangerous for everyone, heck 89 is dangerous period. Set the cruise control and manage your expectations.
I understand the impulse, especially on road trips where looking at 3 hours of driving ahead of you is just painful after a long day. But 89mph in a 65 is dangerous for everyone, heck 89 is dangerous period. Set the cruise control and manage your expectations.
