What do you think of radar detectors and any good ones out there?

[BillSears]

My current decision is that I'm going to continue to speed but I'll try to keep it reasonable. For the past 20 years my driving habits have been that I travel at least 10 MPH above the speed limit and I've only received one ticket. So I'll just keep doing what I'm doing, no real excessive speed and be very aware of the police presence around me. I am still willing to reconsider buying a radar detector though but for now I'm going to hold off. Heck I'm always willing to buy high tech gadgets, a boy always wants more toys and a man just wants more expensive toys.

It's been a few days now and the little boy in me kept asking the man who writes the checks for a new toy.... So I went out and bought the Beltronics Vector 995(V995) on sale at Circuit City for 179.99. I think I might take a drive tonight on the highway to test it out. Not speeding but looking for radar signals.

 

[manning]

I have found that I can drive about 80-85 on most roads. I just make sure I have a car right in front of me and right behid me. Nobody is behind me and I am south of MA, I pull over to the cruising lane until another group of fast drivers come along. I try not to stand out. I have 6 trips in the last few years, never a speeding ticket. The roads are so straight - hard not to go fast..

Janis

Don't be surprised if you get picked up if you do. The police have been know to pick the one in the middle of the pack or tail end charlie. I've seen it.

 

[boBQuincy]

On my last few trips down and back on I-95 (NC to FL) my radar detector picked up one peep , total! The police are not using radar much anymore, at least not when I travel. From what I hear they are not using the airplanes much either, too expensive.

Speeds have crept up too, on the last trip a couple weeks ago many people were running slightly above 80 and if they dropped it to just below 80 when they saw a patrol car there was no problem.

It sure cuts down on the travel time, Raleigh to Jacksonville in less than 7 hours, WDW in 9.

 

[HolliePoppins]

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My current decision is that I'm going to continue to speed but I'll try to keep it reasonable.

I hope the person you could possibly injure or kill some day can live with your decision.

 

[drogerstn]

It's illegal in canada and they have radar detectors detectors in there cars.

Like a radar gun the the detectors also put out a signal. This is what is used to detect a radar detector.

Most radar detectors are passive. Unless it is the type that emits a jamming signal, I don't see how it can be detected.

 

[manning]

Most radar detectors are passive. Unless it is the type that emits a jamming signal, I don't see how it can be detected.

Here's how it works: From an article

The basics of police "detector detectors" and detector unit immunity
In states and areas where radar detector use is illegal, law enforcement is looking to see if you're operating a detector unit. That's why they're using technology known as a detector detector, identified by brand name as VG-2 or spectre I/II/III.

These units scan for the small frequencies emitted by your radar detector's tuning oscillator. VG-2 Detector detectors, the first ones introduced, looked for a specific tuning frequency. Most all radar detectors have since moved their tuners outside the VG-2 detection range, making them immune to these units.

Continuing the cat & mouse game, spectre I was born, scanning a wider range and picking-up many detectors. As detector makers have upgraded their technology, Spectres II and III have been developed for police. As of yet, there's no fool-proof radar detector for beating these methods. The only true way to beat spectre detection is to turn your detector unit off.

Detector detecting is an inexact science at best. GPS units and satellite radios can trigger false alerts. Detector detectors also only detect the presence of a unit in the general area, and cannot pinpoint their use to a specific vehicle. If you receive a spectre alert, your best bet is to slow down to the speed limit and avoid being pulled over and/or searched (in radar-illegal areas).

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Here's the Virginia code against radar detectors, in its original legalese.

From the sounds of it, even if you have the radar detector off and unplugged, if you're caught with it in where it's accessible, the police can confiscate it as evidence but it will be returned to you after the court date.

Best thing when driving through VA -- keep the speed reasonable and your radar detectors in the trunk.

This thread made me think of something -- several years ago I had a portable CD player with the tape player adaptor that I often used in my car. One day it started skipping, even though the thing said "anti-skip". I thought it was a fluke, but another day it did it again. That time I noticed a police car pulled over using radar to catch speeders. Whenever it skipped, I would keep my eyes open, and sure enough I saw a police car somewhere around. My guess is that the radar caused it to skip. It's the only thing I can think of because I know I went over bumps and it didn't skip.

And no, I don't remember if it ever happened during "Radar Love" or "I Can't Drive 55", but I'm sure at some point it did.