Pulled over driving Model S

[jerry33]

I think most cases would show the speed limit is usually extremely conservative. If you put a random sampling of drivers on most roads and took away the speed limit signs and told them to casually drive what they felt was safe and controllable on that road (without mentally thinking about speed or having anywhere important to go), almost every time, I believe, almost everyone would be naturally driving at a speed that is faster than the speed limit for that road.

Mainly because most folks have no idea of the physics behind the speed they are driving.

 

[Robert.Boston]

To put it even more succinctly: Driving is a team effort, not a competition.

Silly Californians! There was a wonderful Boston Globe article providing advice for driving in Boston to the current wave of incoming students. My favorite pointer was "Don't signal! That is giving information to the enemy."

Boston is one of the few old cities in the country that never had a major fire, and so never had the chance to recast its road system. We are very aggressive here, albeit at very low speeds.

 

[Gear]

Silly Californians! There was a wonderful Boston Globe article providing advice for driving in Boston to the current wave of incoming students. My favorite pointer was "Don't signal! That is giving information to the enemy."

Boston is one of the few old cities in the country that never had a major fire, and so never had the chance to recast its road system. We are very aggressive here, albeit at very low speeds.

And it shows with all the cars around town that have pretty significant dents in them!

 

[Jason S]

Actually we have one road over here that unless you speed you will get stuck at EVERY SINGLE LIGHT. They are so poorly timed. Like, even with speeding I am still just barely passing under it as it goes yellow. We are talking lights that are spaced out about 1 mile apart, and they go for a good 15 miles. If you don't want to get stopped at every single one (and only want to be stopped like 3 times total) you have to go about 8-10 over the speed limit. And they are NOT short lights... you will wait at each one about 1-2 minutes. This is not an insignificant amount of time that getting stuck at the lights impacts your trip.

Once you get through the first one (without it turning red) you can generally cut it back to about 5+ over the limit and sail on for a good ways. In fairness, just about everyone does 5-10 over on this stretch of road (for likely the same reasons).

This is pretty common around here too. Once stopped at one of them you need to go ~10 over the limit of 45mph to get to the next one in time then can slow down to 5 over and it is smooth sailing.

But it is extremely rare (never say never) to get a ticket when you are within 20% of the limit.

- - - Updated - - -

Today as I exited the freeway, I realized I had a CHP right behind me. I wasn't speeding, had signaled, plates current, so no reason. So I thought I was being paranoid. I signaled to turn right. Then he did. Next stop sign, I signaled to turn left. Then he did. Next stop sign, I signaled to turn right. Yep, he then signaled to turn right. Guy stayed right behind all the way to the private road back to my place. We're far from the freeway, back on country roads at this point. Definitely NOT a coincidence. And I felt a little intimidated, to tell you the truth. It's not the first time they've done that.

So later this afternoon I headed over to the CHP substation a few exits down the freeway, parked, and went to the desk. I told the guy on duty that I had my Roadster out front & "clearly it was of high interest to the guys on patrol since I was getting followed a lot". I told him about earlier today. I offered to come back at a time convenient (like say a shift change) so that everyone could see it, possibly drive it, ask all the questions they wanted to ask - because, again, I was getting followed a LOT and that never happened in my Jeep, so obviously there was curiosity. And it was bothering me.

Hahaha. Anyway, no I don't need to come back. He apologized that I was getting followed and felt it necessary to stop by for a show and tell. And it won't happen anymore. We'll see. But at least I felt better about it.

Bonnie is the very definition of proactive. Nicely done!

 

[chickensevil]

Mainly because most folks have no idea of the physics behind the speed they are driving.

I think it was either your state (Texas) or Arizona that recently upped their freeway speeds specifcally because of this. The speed limit used to be 70 and everyone drove and average of 82. They upped it to 80 and the average went up to like 83. There is a "reasonable" speed that people will choose to go based on the conditions, road quality, and level of straightness of the road.

Honestly the reason the roads in Northern Va were dropped to 55, was way back in the day, in the 70s during the oil crisis. People got better gas mileage at 55, so they did this to help burn less fuel. They threw in the first HOV system (yep, we were totally the first... explains why ours is the worst haha), and left that speed at 65, with the thought that if you have 3 people in your car, it is still less fuel per person being used. Plus a perk to get people to use the new roads. The speed around here at 55 has NOTHING to do with safety... and has everything to do with old laws, put in place for old reasons, and have nothing at all to do with safety... The people over here realize this... If the roads are not totally backed up (like you are going sub 40) then everyone flies at 65+ (sometimes a whole pack will be moving at 75+).

And the autobahn would also disagree with the sentiment that people don't know what speed is appropriate for them. They have far less accidents on that, than we do in many places here per capita. The world didn't lose their mind because they can drive whatever speed they wanted.

Speed limits started because cars were coming onto the roads around horses and they were afraid that the horses were going to have a heart attack and die... or something like that... and it has been a battle for higher speeds ever since.

 

[rjcbox]

We are very aggressive here, albeit at very low speeds.

worse than Manhattan?

 

[brianman]

It is a traffic infraction to drive continuously in the left lane of a multilane roadway when it impedes the flow of other traffic.

Note it says "impedes the flow" and not "maintain the prevailing speed limit." This means someome camped out in the left lane doing the speed limit holding up other cars is subject to a ticket. Doesn't matter that the other cars being blocked want to speed and could be subject to a ticket themselves down the road.

These laws recognize that while speeding can be dangerous, forcing cars to pass on the right can be even more dangerous.

I wonder if submitting my dashcam footage can be used to lodge some tickets against offenders. I'd be happy to do my part recording lots of footage on obstacle vehicles in the left lane.

 

[Jack_L]

Boston is one of the few old cities in the country that never had a major fire, and so never had the chance to recast its road system. QUOTE]

We actually had a huge fire (one of the costiest in property losses in American history) that burned about 65 acres of downtown Boston. Some of the roads were recast and widened, but of course carried horses back then!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Boston_Fire_of_1872

 

[Nubo]

Silly Californians! There was a wonderful Boston Globe article providing advice for driving in Boston to the current wave of incoming students. My favorite pointer was "Don't signal! That is giving information to the enemy."

Boston is one of the few old cities in the country that never had a major fire, and so never had the chance to recast its road system. We are very aggressive here, albeit at very low speeds.

I can vouch for that. Until I was in Boston I'd never had the joy of being part of 5 lanes of traffic on a 3-lane street. The only advice from my Bostonian navigator: "Whatever you do, hold your ground AND DON'T TOUCH THE BRAKES!"

worse than Manhattan?

Imho, Manhattan is almost park-like in comparison.

 

[DrGuest]

I just love my Tesla Model S 85. I also love Photography and take my own Landscape Images. I have a Friend named Rein who prints all of my Photo enlargements. He has shown me images of cars that he takes and says he loves high performance cars and has owned a few. I told him that when I got delivery of My Model S, he would be one of the first I would take for a test drive, so he could take it for a spin. We had just come from test driving it on a 5 mile stretch of community road that has no speed limit signs posted at all anywhere along it’s length. We tried the car out at various speeds if you know what I mean. wink. It is fast. Period.


On the way back to town, We were cruising at 55 mph behind Chevy blue smoking Suburban. We were just hanging back, far away from his exhaust, enjoying the crisp dry sunny beautiful two lane asphalt road in the rural countryside of Montana.
The speed limit was 70mph.
After hanging back going 55 in a 70, Rein said he was going to pass at the next break in the solid double yellow line.


I was just going to agree with him however to also say, Just don’t punch it and then he punched down the accelerator to the floor .


The Car leaped forward instantly with no ramping up of noise or any other indication of the amazing acceleration that was actually taking place, except that we had totally closed the gap between the Suburban and us and if he did not go around it immediately and pass we would rearend it.


He did smoothly zip around it. I told him he just blew thru the 80’s and was approaching 93! That’s immediately when the Trooper lit up his lights having seen it all as we approached him at high speed just before Rein pulled into the right lane having passed the Suburban.


The Trooper pulled a U turn and pulled up behind us as we both pulled over to the side of the road, where the Trooper had to wait for the Suburban to pass before exiting his vehicle and joining me at my open passenger window.


He looked at Me and then at Rein who was at the Wheel.
He said, Rein
and Rein said, Trooper?
The Trooper Said, Is this your car?
Rein said no, it’s Dr. Guest’s, and I did let it get away from me.
The Trooper said, I clocked that Suburban at 55 in a 70 so I know why you passed . However you could have passed at 70 instead of 93!
Rein said, I know, it was a test drive and I let it get away from me, it’s super quick I found out!.
I nodded my head in agreement.
He said it was going to be a very expensive ticket for the driver and a very large increase in his insurance rates, but he was going to give us a break instead, considering the circumstances.


Then, of course, it turned into 3 guys hanging out, getting all the car’s stat’s, before he smiled and walked away wishing us a Great Afternoon and to keep Her under control for Everyones Safety! Whew!!!


We were speechless for about 10 seconds and then both erupted into hoots and hollers of Gratitude and Appreciation for One Of Montana’s Finest State Highway Patrolman had connected the dots and let there be justice served by letting us go with a warning and of course, some, Tesla Conversation Time (TCT).


Rein’s 50th Birthday was the very next day and it could have been the Rudist Monday morning courtroom appearance with the Beginning of his 50th Birthday year with the highest car insurance rates he had ever seen and a ticket of equally memorable proportions! Of Course none of that happened!


Instead we giggled like high schoolers the whole way back to Reins business parking lot and said good byes’s platitudes of gratefulness and also Birthday wishes. The next day I sent him an email that said,


Rein Happy 50th Birthday! I am so Happy and Grateful how everything turned out exactly the way it did , yesterday! Once again Happy 50th!


Rein responded- “Thanks Doc, it’s a Great Birthday and thank you so much for Yesterday, It was amazing and a most memorable day! We ought to get quite a bit of mileage out of this story, Thanks Again!
The next day I delivered a color printed paper copy of the official Tesla Motors First Responders Guide in order to show my appreciation for having such a very wonderful first experience of Being Pulled over going 93 by the Montana State Highway Patrol Trooper!


First Responder Information | Tesla Motors


It explains how to immediately shut down all high voltage and where and how to stabilize the car, In various scenarios. Tesla also makes a great first Responder video that painfully shows a beautiful, gorgeous, Tesla Model S P85 getting torn apart by the jaws of life and other life saving equipment.
It's slow and thorough 37 min. The tearing apart is in the second half.


Tesla EV Safety Training - YouTube

I am so grateful for everything about my Grey Tesla Model S 85. It just keeps getting better!

 

[Atebit]

The speed around here at 55 has NOTHING to do with safety...

Well you can say that, but quantitatively you can't deny that stopping distances increase at higher speed, while reaction time is decreased. Factoring in other this generation's propensity to tailgate, treat stop signs like roll-through signs and turbo-boosting through yellow lights qualitatively ups the ante.

I frequently drive rive those mind-numbing and time-sapping 55 MPH sections of I95 in NOVA. Should that speed limit be a little higher? Probably. There are adjacent stretches at 70 MPH, but the traffic volume is lower & the exits are more spaced out in those areas.

So yes, while I remember the days of odd/even gas rationing, I suspect that there are safety concerns as well in this case.

 

[yobigd20]

55mph? 70mph? slowwwwwww. shoot me. 93mph? now that's more like my average speed over 46k miles, hahaha. I just had my car's 48k mile service last week and they fixed some wind noise coming from hte side windows and now 93mph is practically completely silent except for the constant electric whine. 93mph feels like driving only 50mph.

 

[Chipper]

I never ceased to be amazed at people who tout their willingness to break the law and think it is funny to put others in danger by doing so.

 

[yobigd20]

I never ceased to be amazed at people who tout their willingness to break the law and think it is funny to put others in danger by doing so.

well at least I'm not dumb enough to take a self-shot video while driving 100+mph and then post it on youtube.

 

[DirectAndCurrent]

I admittedly haven't read through all 38 pages of this thread, so sorry if it's a repeat, but for the folks concerned about speed limit violations this video produced in B.C. is thought-provoking: Speed Kills Your Pocketbook.

It's worth noting that this does not account for/attempt to justify overtaking slower traffic at excessive speeds, but is a cogent argument for setting higher speed limits in general.

 

[dsm363]

Thanks for the link. That video has been posted somewhere before but it is a good one and makes great points. They should revisit this in BC.

 

[chickensevil]

Well you can say that, but quantitatively you can't deny that stopping distances increase at higher speed, while reaction time is decreased. Factoring in other this generation's propensity to tailgate, treat stop signs like roll-through signs and turbo-boosting through yellow lights qualitatively ups the ante.

I frequently drive rive those mind-numbing and time-sapping 55 MPH sections of I95 in NOVA. Should that speed limit be a little higher? Probably. There are adjacent stretches at 70 MPH, but the traffic volume is lower & the exits are more spaced out in those areas.

So yes, while I remember the days of odd/even gas rationing, I suspect that there are safety concerns as well in this case.

Tailgating is only a problem if you have to come to a sudden stop... Most people tailgate even closer at lower speeds than higher, and wouldn't tailgate at all if the people weren't in their way... That is... Going faster. And stop signs have nothing to do with driving on the interstate.

you have 3+ lanes of traffic, the only one that would have to normally worry about the exits is the far right, and if they have appropriate distances on the on and off ramps like they are supposed to, none of that would be an issue. You are supposed to stay going highway speeds until you get into the exit, and speed up to highway speeds before merging off the on ramp. If you are not doing that, then you are part of the problem, and it isn't the speed limit's fault.

 

[Atebit]

My point about stop signs & traffic signals is that it speaks to the "get out of my way" mentality of drivers today. Most people wouldn't knock others down on an escalator to get to the end, but many have no problems bobbing. & weaving through traffic, tailgating, etc. just to shave five minutes off of their trip.

In NC we have plenty of 55 MPH roads featuring traffic signals.

 

[tliving]

I find myself driving slower in the model S than I used to drive in my Acura. While I know the wind drag affects both (and the Model S less so due to better aerodynamics) I feel the urge to get better range. Plus the faster I drive the less time I get in the car. I do get up to speed limits quickly tho.

 

[1101011]

Thanks to policeman

Yes, on my first full day of ownership, I was pulled over, going 43 in a 25 mph zone.

Apparently, he was actually more interested in the car than anything else. Had to crawl around and look at everything.

No ticket!