Radar Detectors- Worth it or Not?

[twiggy]

Just wanted get your opinons on if it is worth it to buy a radar detector. I know they have their limitations against instant on radar guns unless you can catch the signal of someone being targeted ahead of me. With all these cities facing budget problems I’m starting to see speed traps in real stupid places and people are now getting tickets for going 5 over in my town. I just want some kind of defense against this BS. I also considered that if I do get pulled over, the cop won’t give me a break of he sees that I have a detector, but I’ve never ever been given a break in my life anyways from a cop so thaht arguement is mute to me.

Just curious as to your thoughts. Thanks!

Topic

[Grayfox]

I would not use one, as it may be illegal and fines may be 2 to 3x more than the ticket.
Plus the cost for a good one will be high.
The answer is K.I.S.S(Keep it simple silly)
Just stay under the limit cause is it really that hard not to press the accelerator that hard?

[3SheetsDiesel]

The only places where radar detectors are illegal is Washington DC and Virginia. I had one when I was living in Maryland, and it kept me out of a couple of speeding tickets. That said, I still got pulled over other times while it was active. They work, but don’t expect them to make you “cop proof”. The one I had would also register false positives sometimes, depending on where I was. The McDonalds in Glen Burnie, MD would inexplicably register on my radar detector as laser, which was a problem because it was the most annoying tone out of all the noises it would make.

If you’re going to get one, get a good one. From what I understand the Valentine V1 is the best available, but I have no personal experience with that one. I had an Escort, which was ok at best. Given that I live in Virginia now, and the speed limits on the roads that I spend most of my time driving on are artificially low, I use my cruise control a lot and let the computer take care of monitoring my speed. It has made me forget what driving fast is like though. I used to drive 80+ on the highways in the middle of the night when I had a night job, or was traveling. Now, I’ve forgotten what it feels like to go much more than 60. Often times, I don’t even go that fast, partly due to the traffic that I’m forced to drive in, and partly because most of my driving is done in Fairfax VA in a Subaru with a “loud” and therefore illegal, exhaust system. I could go off on a rant about the stupid things I’ve gotten pulled over for, but this isn’t the place.

[Tony01013]

Just to add my 2 cents. Most of the police departments are switching to LIDAR. This is basically a laser range finder with the capability to determine speed. The problem with LIDAR is that is it a laser and doesn’t have the same characteristics of RADAR. The beam is very narrow and doesn’t deflect stray signals, so by the time a detector picks up the signal it’s already too late. Normally when a RADAR detector goes off, you are picking up stray signals from another vehicle, not your own. LIDAR is so narrow that most of the time you won’t be able to pick up stray signals and when it does go off it’s because the cop is targeting your vehicle and has got your speed, after that it’s pretty much over. The cop has recorded your speed and there is no time to slow down.

IMHO, just slow down. I did my thesis paper in psychology about the psychology of automobile driving. I forget the math exactly, but it you only drive like 20 miles to work and speed 20 mph over the speed limit, you’re only saving like 5 minutes off your travel time. And some people speed because they have and unfulfilled need for: Fun,Control, Belonging, Assertiveness. Let me point out, that I’m not singling you out. I’m just saying why most people speed.

[twiggy]

Thanks 3sheets for your excellent reply. There is a stretch of limited access highway where the speed varies form 45-55-65 for no apparent reason. Theres even a stretch where it’s 55 if your going southbound but the same stretch going northbound its 45. I try to maintain reasonable speed but find it hard to keep track of what the limit. Here in the Boston/Providence metro area, when you actually do the speed limit, you piss off a lot of people and get tailgated, flipped off, you name it. But screw them I don’t care.

[Grayfox]

Cost of a very good one vs the fine you may get when you get booked of speeding or having one(if illegal for your state)

Just slow down.

[jbone]

This post is about radar detectors, and after i read the post i see an ad for radar detectors..Odd..who puts these ads up? or is it just spam or adware…Makes me wonder if someone is spamming…..Someone explain this to me, coincidence or intentional….Oh by the way i had good luck with uniden wideband

I think i got it, anytime someone googles a topic, googles adsense kicks in and puts up ads on the site

[JgS]

Driving under the limit is the bast way to avoid a ticket. With that said if you are going to speed skip the radar detector and find yourself a good traffic lawyer. Those detectors only work part of the time and you may make you feel confident to speed more but a good lawyer will keep the ticket off your record most of the time.

[JDM_Hatch99]

They’re pointless if you’re buying one to avoid speeding tickets.

[Shaun_300]

I know if you get caught with one here in Ontario you’re in big crap. A lot worse than a big speeding ticket. Must say the police are pretty lenient for speeding up here. Pretty safe going 15mph over the speed limit without having to worry. 30mph+ though you’re charged with stunt driving with 7 demerit points, $1000+ fine, vehicle impound on the spot and drivers licence suspension.

[jdmfreak92]

I personally have a valentine 1. It’s saved me a few times. It’s probably paid for itself in tickets I saved. But my advice is if you’re going to get one get a good one.

[ALLWRLD]

definitely worth it…ive been using radar detectors for years, like 9 yrs or so now……never been caught except for once and i was really burning the roads and was not scanning ahead of myself. you just need to know how to use one effectively then its a no brainer…and i drive interstate almost 60% of the time im going somewhere

[dirtbikeridermat]

I don’t remember what the brand is, but I remember reading about some sort of scanner radar about a year ago that scans all police broadcasting channels within 1.5 miles and alerts you if anything is found. I remember that the radar costs about $500 but there were tons of great reviews, and the way I see it if you know that there’s a cop 1.5 miles down the road then theres no way they can catch you before you know that they’re there. A quick Google search should be able to shed some light on this.

[twiggy]

Thanks for your responses guys. I still haven’t bought one yet or know for sure I will although I am leaning towards getting one. Slowing down is one option I guess but the speed limits are so inconsistent around here and not so well marked that I find that I’m speeding anyways. Before my original post above I had gotten my first ticket in over 20 years as I just wasn’t paying attention. This highway I travel daily is 65mph for most of its length but this short section has a 45mph limit. Luckily RI has a good driving law that lets you drop a ticket if you haven’t gotten one in 3 years so I should hopefully be in good shape at my court date,

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