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NSW Police Targeting Teslas?

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Ever since we bought a Tesla M3, we have noticed an increased likelihood of being noticed by the police.

Early morning on 25th of April we were followed by a police car. I would even characterise their approach as deliberate harassment. The driver (my wife) finally made a mistake and inadvertently changed lanes when turning right. We were stopped by the police who claimed that a collision with their car was avoided by them and they were in danger. Have a look at the footage and decide for yourself if that was an honest claim or a gross exaggeration (we were turning at a speed of about 20km/h, note the distance between the cars, also note how the police car speeds up just seconds before we turn right).


The officer was disappointed that my wife was below the legal limit and had to settle for giving us a fine for change of lanes. A week later we received two concurrent fines, in separate letters, for the same "offence" with a total of 5 demerit points:
1. Not give right change of direction signal with lights: 2 demerit points
2. Not give way (move from marked lane to another): 3 demerit points

I believe this is truly unfair and unnecessary. It is not about the police doing their job to make everyone safer on the road but rather looking for easy targets to fill up quotas and meet KPIs.

We plan to challenge the double-dipping in court and we are asking for the support of community to share this story in the hope that I will be picked up by the media.
 
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They looked well behind you at the start of the video, so I can't see any initial harassment.

That said after at least two left hand only road markings, your wife decided to make the move in the middle of an intersection.

I'd have though most cops would have given a ticket for that if it happened in front of them.

Agree giving two was a bit over the top.
 
I am not arguing that my wife did not make a mistake. Who hasn't? But losing almost half her license, being issued two separate fines for the same incident, and being followed by the police until she did make a mistake, come on!

I think it's worth retaining a traffic lawyer to make those arguments in court on your behalf. That is definitely a lot of points for a pretty minor infraction, but my opinion carries no weight.
 
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I am not arguing that my wife did not make a mistake. Who hasn't? But losing almost half her license, being issued two separate fines for the same incident, and being followed by the police until she did make a mistake, come on!
What does that even mean? Being followed by the police until she made a mistake?

How about she obeys the traffic laws no matter who is “following” her? Problem solved.
 
While I think two tickets is over the top, you’d have to admit the video shows poor lane discipline. And literally right in front of the HWP. There’s definitely justification for a ticket.

If you think you have a police car following you, trying to goad you into a mistake, there’s always the option to pull over and park legally. Wait for them to drive on and find another victim.
 
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Not sure the words in the title to this thread was a wise choice . Unfortunately from the video it shows poor driving skill and ticket or warning seems reasonable. This is only one side of the story too, and we don't know what words were exchanged and the candour of the encounter as well. Best just to cop it and move on.
 
There is zero evidence of police harassment. Their dashcam will be ample evidence that they thought the driver was a bit over the alcohol limit, so justified in following. Tesla’s are not being targetted, and all driving fines are optional. You can opt out by obeying road rules, especially in front of a police car.
In some respects this shows your wife needs to become more aware of her surrounds with better constant mirror use. This also save accidents as you can react before they occur. I had to train my wife in this after she got tired of multiple zero fault accidents. Hasn’t been involved in any for years now.
I cannot see your appeal going well, and the police will rightly argue that the fines are for two seperate events.
 
Mate it looked to me like she did a sudden illegal lane change in the corner and cut off a police car!
This is pretty dangerous driving, especially as she obviously wasn’t aware of the traffic behind her.
As for the offence getting two separate infringements that is probably a discretionary choice by the police, with the motivation being hard to guess. Probably just annoyed at being cut off.
 
I agree with some others that your wife did the wrong thing, she should have been in the right lane before turning left. I'm not implying that I havent done exactly that same move (particularly in unfamiliar areas), and its not clear whether she was indicating her intention before the sudden lane change. I do agree that the fines seem particularly harsh.
As far as your accusation of the police targeting Teslas goes, I dont see anything on that video to support you.
 
I have seen no evidence of "NSW Police Targeting Teslas" at least from my own experience. I have had HWP and regular police cars (even "unmarked" ones) beside me, in front of me, and behind me, and they never appeared to show the least bit of interest.

A few months ago I was driving through the road works on the M4 at The Northern Road early one weekend morning. The speed limit was 80km/h and I had the cruise control set to 90km/h. As I got near the end of the road works I saw a cop with a radar gun pointed straight at me (there were no other cars near me but there were a some a few hundred metres behind). I though for sure I'd been gotten and was ready to be pulled over. As I passed, he lowered the radar gun and watched me drive past. A short time later I noticed flashing lights in the far distance in the rear view mirror and again I was sure I was done. Turns out it wasn't for me but one of the cars that had been behind me. I would think if Teslas were being targeted he would have got me as I was actually speeding.