im thinking of gettin one as i like to put her to the floor, anyay are they worth it? do they really work good? will it prevent me from getting a ticket for sure?

 

I have been told by several people that have them that it all depends where you are driving and how fast. Most say it won't prevent the ticket, but it gets them to a slow enough speed that they won't get a big one. They also say they are useless in town or a city.

 

I would have to say that I love mine. It is a really fancy one though. It detects Laser and every other band from a really long ways away. If you're going really really fast you can pretty much bet that once it detects a cop, the cop has already gotten you though. If and when you do get pulled over, take it out of your window. It shows an intent to speed and you're less likely to get away with a warning. For most other situations, though, they are ideal. Mine has a feature for city driving that reduces false alarms from auto-doors and microwaves from grocery stores and the like. It will make you a constant speeder, though, and you come to rely on it a lot. Just my .02

 

I think on the highway that the best defence (other than not speeding) is a cb radio. I used to have one in my old car and you always knew their position before you were ever close.

 

I agree with 1970f2504x4 I goto Indianapolis twice a year (Indy 500 & Brickyard 400 ) The truckers are always warning other truckers about cops.

 

I have to honestly admit that there was a time when I "thought" I needed one, and for ahwile even used one, till it dang near got me killed.

South Dakota's speed limits are plenty high enough for me.

County rds 55mph
State rds 65 mph
Interstate 75 mph

Not to mention that my truck gets horible milage at 75 mph +.

Yes, we have wide open spaces, but when it gets dark out here, no one drives very much above the speed limit (unless they are crazy), unless they would like a new furry hood ornament.

my $.02

 

Save yourself the money and don't speed.

 

Dude, taking it off your dash while you are pulled over isn't much of a good idea. Most likely the cop will see you remove it because they are normally watching for people to hide things while they are getting pulled over. That would suck if he knew you were trying to hide something and when you lie about not hiding something, you will only make him mad!

The detector in my wife's car doesn't even go off when we pass by a cop watching for speeders. Either the radar gun wasn't on, the darn detector doesn't work, or the cops have outsmarted them (that I find highly unlikely). When we do go by a speed sign that tells you your speed, the detector goes off like crazy, so it must work if it picks up the sign. However, having it prevent you from getting a ticket is a possibility, but unlikely. Some cops just peel out after you and then follow you before clocking you if they think your going fast. I've seen that before, these cops can be tricky.

 

I ran one for several years and it saved me alot of money.
About 5 years ago the thing quit picking up our Hiway patrol so I stopped using it and I have slowed down alot.
I don't drive as much as I used to either.
The roads are getting more crowded and we don't need to drive as fast. I still drive the speed limit but not as fast as I used to.

 

I have gotten 2 radar tickets in my life. Both times were before I got a radar detector in 1986. Both were where you would not see a police officer lurking in ambush.

While I won't say going over the limit is legal or absolutely safe, most of us do go 5 or 10 over. A detector is meant to warn you when you are not paying attention and going mildly over the limit. If you are goin 85 in a 55mph zone, the officer doesn't need radar to tag you.

My typical scenario is one of the following...

1) Long rural highway with hiding places like curves, big rocks, bridges, rest stop trees etc. Going 5-10 over. Long drives can make you less attentive. The detector will pick up radar from a couple miles away, well before detection and identification range.

2) Driving in mixed traffic with some open stretches like a merge ramp and open traffic after the merge. the temptation is sometimes great to get ahead of the pack. Police may be in usual hiding places. Detector might warn you of a trap in the mid to near distance in time for you to cool it.

3) Ambush trap, like officer waiting on on ramp or bridge waitng to shoot you from behind. A radar detector won't help much if you are the target. BUT, it may help if the officer targets some one in front of you, you will catch the reflection.

Like I said, I have never gotten a radar ticket since 1986, knock on wood. But then I also don't normally drive in a manner that attracts attention. For example, two cars both going 10 maybe 15 over the limit. The car that weaves in and out of traffic, makes sudden bursts of speed, tailgates, or just acts plain stupid will usually get the ticket.

The problem with radar now a days is that there are so many "flavors" and there is a lot of interference in the city. The detectors are very good but with all the kinds of signals you will get, you need to learn what is normal for your area. A work commute is ideal since the noise profile is fairly well known, ie the detectors "always beeps at the bank". Any signal that you normally don't get at a certain location is reason to slow down and be alert.

Laser is usually bad news, but even though I have been painted a few times, I guess I was lucky. What you are hoping with laser is that the beam will "splash" from another targeted vehicle giving you time to slow down.

In my opinion, a radar detector does not make you immune. BUT it does make you more alert, and in my opinion an alert speeder is safer than a dozing commuter droid going 55 stay alive.

I find the detector most useful on long open freeway drives and getting out of rush hour traffic onto an open road like the one that is 3 miles long to my home. The freeway may be going 10mph, but soon as I am on the side road it's almost always free flowing and maybe going 60-65 on a 55.

I prefer led bar graphs and sound alerts. I do not like the voice or text alerts since the voice is usually crummy and hard to hear and the text takes too much attention away from your job, driving.

Some vehicles have a metalic windhshield, you can't see it but it is there and the radar gets cut down a lot. On GMs it is called SunGuard. On Fords, I am not sure of the name but I think it is only used in Lincolns and such.

I would recommend a detector to prevent tickets due to inattention on long trips and to keep you more involved and alert in your driving and to avoid ambushes. A detector is not a ticket to speed in an outrageous manner. It just helps keep you from trouble when you are in the grey zone. If you are going 90 in a 55, lifesabeach and you need to get busted once in awhile.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

I suggest not speeding.............figure the time for a 100-mile trip
at 65 = 1.53 hours
at 75 = 1.33 hours
at 80 = 1.25, at 80 is it worth the risk of
a wreck, a ticket, possible bodily injury, and the insurance cost after any of these, your young!
Lets bump it to 85 = 1.17 so 36 minutes in a 100 mile trip, worth possibly changing your life significantly and maybe some other family also………probably not.

 

I am in agreement with everything you said, superrangerman2002. I make bad enough mileage the way it is, and it gets much worse past 75 mph.

The most that I speed is 80 mph on the interstate and 70 mph on a state highway. At these speeds, a detector is probably not worth the money. Cops will generally ignore people going 5 mph over the limit here in SD, especially on the interstate. I know someone who got picked up for a bad headlight when going about 80. The cop mentioned that he clocked him at 80, but that it was not a big deal.

 

speed and use a valentine one.

 

Its interesting that this thread was going today... I bought a "good" Cobra detector about two months ago - sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't... But today was the last straw. I was going down a long stretch of road where the speed limit was 45 and I was going that, but I saw the cop - no alert, as I got closer it finally said 2/5, but never exceeded that. The detector is always giving false alarms anyways, and I don't speed much, so I took it out of my truck! I'll just go back to what I always did and watch that gauge...

 

In N. Carolina, when your detector goes off it means that you just won a prize, courtesy of the highway patrol. They run some newer technology that doesn't give off radar till they pull the trigger. They also run whats called VASCAR. It is used to time you from one point to another, and of course a radar detector doesn't do sqaut for thaty one either.
Forget the radar detectors, THEY DON"T WORK! Go with the CB, and monitor CH.19. The truckers will let you know when a smokey is close by.