Police Palaver

[Fernand]

I stopped it from hitting other vehicles at least 10 times in 1000 miles.

At least 10 times? REALLY? Pictures or it didn't happen
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[NOLADriver]

Stop complaining.

You misspelled "you are right, you never said that. Sorry for making things up to fit my point."

Understood. Thanks.

 

[NOLADriver]

Huh? We sure get quickly polarized these days, it's inhuman. Results on the road are purdy darned good, considering the inevitability of human errors. If people chilled a little, and didn't start clawing from their corners, things would be better.

It was an unfortunate coincidence, nothing more. The ticket probably wasn't yet written while the OP was being stopped. IMHO it was the predictable result of the whole roadside interaction, once they were angry, had wasted resources, and had no DUI or other grounds.

A conciliatory tone gives everyone a little room not to lose face. Remember you're not dealing with very well-balanced individuals. I think that's the tack to take, even at this late date. Show the video, act surprised and contrite. Me cautious shy Senior is good. I don't think I'd mention anything about "Tesla NOA Autopilot", or masks, that's adding Elite 1% fuel to the fire.

In many countries a $100 bill in the insurance papers helps. But sometimes they get offended. $100 doesn't buy as much as it once did.
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Gotta agree with ya there. There are a lot of posters in this topic that are far from well balanced individuals. And they have drivers licenses.

 

[Michelle_eriw]

This thread has gotten too acrimonious, and I apologize for my involvement in that. I'm out of the thread as soon as I post this reply.

 

[DopeGhoti]

Is it safe enough to get out of a traffic ticket or a road rage?

I have seen people do road ragey things at the slightest nonprovocation. Such as not instantly being at speed the millisecond a traffic signal turns green. Or actually coming to a complete stop at a stop sign. Or yielding to pedestrians at intersections. Or not violating the speed limit enough. Or any number of things that would not cause a rational person to decide "You know what I need to do in response to this slight against my person? I need to unsafely pass the vehicle before me, and stop in front of them. I may or may not exit the car to shout at and/or bang my tiny wrothful fists upon their window. That'll show them."

Nothing will "get you out of a road rage" incident other than not being the target of an irrational person's ire.

 

[Michelle_eriw]

First, bad driving should never be condoned on a automotive enthusiast site.
Second, if the OP checked his right side mirror, he would know how far away the car was, and would not have said he didn't know. If I had to guess, I'd say if he checked his right side mirror, he would not have been pulled over.
Third, if the OP checked his mirrors, he probably would not have gotten pulled over.
Fourth, just because he didn't kill someone today, doesn't mean he's not a serious threat to others.
Fifth, you cannot judge distances or even grossly approximate them using the cameras Tesla installed aft. Don't take my word for it. Test it yourself.
Six, my anger is at all the Tesla 'drivers' who encourage his driving style, not just him.

The AP/FSD/NoA system is the best compromise at our level of tech today. But it is far from safe unless used by an attentive driver. Which the OP admits he's not one of, yet he uses the system anyways.

Many years ago, I was driving in the right lane of a major street (two lanes in each direction with a left turn lane between directions). I needed to get into the left lane in preparation to get into the turn lane. I checked my left mirror and saw that I had enough room to change lanes safely, so I turned on my left turn signal, waited for a few blinks, and changed lanes. I got pulled over by the police officer in the car behind me for making an unsafe lane change.

I pled not guilty at the initial hearing, and the officer withdrew the ticket; I guess he didn't want to waste time in court.