Radar Detector...really worth it?

[Jubei]

I havent used one in about 5 yrs but since then I was never really driving anything worth speeding in if you know what I mean. Now that Im a new owner of a Lightning I'm considering getting one. The last one I had I didnt feel like it was all that great....I bought the Escort. Dont get me wrong I dont intend on speeding with every intention of getting away from the cops, all because I have a radar detector. But I can assure you though if some guy and his ricer is taunting me that I just may need the extra protection.

What do you use? What hasnt worked for you or what maybe pro and cons of a particular brand? Any recommendations other than saying dont speed at all?

 

[SVT_driv3r]

valentine 1 with laser and radar detector... best muh ni99a fo sho

 

[zen]

i have the passport 8500 and definitely think its worth the money. Just don't rely on it 100%

 

[6spd]

yea i hear valentine 1 is the best u can get.

but i also have a question instead of starting a new thread since its pretty much the same topic. do radar detectors just save u from speed traps? or do they detect cruisers driving around aswell?

 

[Rickabod]

radar dectors don't save you at all, they're just a security blanket. if you're in a big group of cars on a 5 lane highway, or going in a straight line with 4-5 cars doing 25mph over, it's not gonna matter if the cop is using it, cause he can't pin point who's speeding and probably won't stop anyone. if you're by yourself, and it goes off, you've already been hit and there's no saving you. depending on distance though, if it's got good range, it can protect you. mine will pick them up from about 1-2 miles away so you usually have enough time to slow down before they can acutally detect you, depending on the enviroment around you and cars around. i still recommend them, i've always used them, but i've got 2 speeding tickets while having one, and one was 135 in a 70, i heard it go off, but by that time, i was already on his gun, and it was no use.

 

[Jubei]

Wow going that fast in some states will get the cuffs thrown on you. What detector are you using? Anyone else with a Valentine One can give us a bit more info on how well it worked...

 

[zen]

the passport 8500x50, v1, and BEL Pro RX65 are all going to have around the same detection range with v1 a little better detecting k and 8500 a little better in ka, but nothing major. Unless you want to pay an extra $100 for arrows stick with the passport.

 

[Lawman85]

Originally posted by 6spd
yea i hear valentine 1 is the best u can get.

but i also have a question instead of starting a new thread since its pretty much the same topic. do radar detectors just save u from speed traps? or do they detect cruisers driving around aswell?

No, they don't detect cruisers riding around. I'm a radar and laser instructor and from what I've seen and the tests we have done, a detector is a waist of money. I write tickets all the time to people with detectors. We have instant on radars. If an officer with a laser is a good enough aim he can strike your car and never set off your detector. I've tested it and can shoot a car in the headlights for front grill and never set off the detector.
Another bit of info. A typical laser gun can fire it's pulse, receive it, and display the speed 1/5 of a second faster than a detector can receive the pulse, decipher it, and set off the alarm. Basically, when your detector goes off, the officer is already setting the laser down and putting his car in gear to get you.
Nothing can beat smart driving. Rickabod nailed all the points about driving "invisible".

 

[zen]

Originally posted by Lawman85
I'm a radar and laser instructor and from what I've seen and the tests we have done, a detector is a waist of money.

definitely disagree. A detector is not a waste of money if your smart about it. I have had mine going on 3 years now and have never gotten one ticket. In the area where i live there is a ridicuolous amount of cops who hide everywhere, use laser, instant on ect.. I know for a fact I would have gotten at least 20 tickets by now. Anything that can help you from not getting a ticket is not a waste. Sure its not foolproof but if it saves you from one ticket, which it probably would on the first day you have it, it's already paid for itself. Funny thing is that I tend to speed more when I'm driving without one. When I have it i constantly look at my speed more.

 

[momo stallion]

Originally posted by zen
definitely disagree. A detector is not a waste of money if your smart about it. I have had mine going on 3 years now and have never gotten one ticket. In the area where i live there is a ridicuolous amount of cops who hide everywhere, use laser, instant on ect.. I know for a fact I would have gotten at least 20 tickets by now. Anything that can help you from not getting a ticket is not a waste. Sure its not foolproof but if it saves you from one ticket, which it probably would on the first day you have it, it's already paid for itself. Funny thing is that I tend to speed more when I'm driving without one. When I have it i constantly look at my speed more.

i agree, i've had one since i was 18 and ive only gotten 1 speeding ticket, but only b/c i was lasered. i have the bel 985 now and its pretty damn good. i know coming around corner or over a hill if there is a clocking officer coming or if there is one well behind me. not a waste of money what so ever.

 

[GoNSyco]

I've had the V1 for about 4 days, and it's already saved me once.

 

[philip]

i have a cobra detector and love it.

 

[Lawman85]

I love writing tickets to owners of radar and laser detectors.

 

[bsmith9165]

A radar detector is only as good as the user. I have had a V1 for many years and I love it but I did invest in the escort ZR-1 shifter because laser is just too fast for you to react too

 

[jean]

That right. for laser you need a shifter ,got the detector x50 1 month ago and save my insurance premium all ready 2 times.
And for instance radar ,i try to follow another car with a distance of 1/4 of mile,if the front car get pop, my x50 will buzz me.
And remember laser have to be still on the side of the road,you
have to look for it.If your are stop,remove your detector ,under the seat is the best way.And put your detector as low you can on the wind shield.

 

[pwnt04]

The Escort Passport 8500 X50 outscored all other detectors in the 2004 SpeedLabs detector shootout. I personally own one, and it kicks ass. For the full test, information, charts, and other usefull information, go to www.speedzones.com.

Originally posted by Lawman85
I love writing tickets to owners of radar and laser detectors.

I love SLAMMING on my brakes when I'm hit with radar, especially when I pick him up a few miles away and know he's there before he can even see my vehicle... even when I'm going the speed limit. It just shows that his "Instant On" isn't as effective as he thinks. Especially when I pick it up 5 miles away.

On that same note.... I love it when a police car is in the lane next to me shooting the oncoming traffic, so I flash my brights at every oncoming car to let them know he's only a few car lengths behind me. There's nothing like ruining his fun.

But enough of that...

About Pop Mode radar:
"Although one detector manufacturer has dismissed the reliability of POP mode as a technological impossibility (Valentine 1), we'd have to say that our testing confirms the manufacturer's claims. Not that we like POP much--and MPH's fellow radar manufacturers have privately criticized it as well.

That's because POP mode doesn't meet the requirements of radar case law, legal guidelines established over several decades that define how radar must perform and how it must be used. A basic tenet of radar case law is that the officer must establish something called tracking history. He does this by first visually estimating the target's speed, then activating his radar. Particularly if other traffic is present, he should then monitor the target speed and listen to the target-speed audio Doppler for a few seconds--its pitch is proportional to target speed-- to verify that both he and the radar are looking at the same vehicle. At that point he can lock the speed--although in many states this isn't required--and take enforcement action.

With POP mode, he simply hits the transmit button once and a speed instantly appears in the target speed window. There's no audio Doppler and the speed disappears in a few seconds; it can't be locked. MPH cautions in a prominent disclaimer in the operator manual that no enforcement action is to be taken with a POP reading alone. Instead, the officer is instructed to hit the transmit button a second time, placing the radar in continuous-transmit mode, and conduct the normal tracking history ritual. And that's the problem.

MPH BEE III Just as some officers routinely skip Step One: a visual estimate of target speed, before triggering the radar, many also shut off the audio Doppler. No question that the high-pitched screeching is annoying--it sounds a lot like fingernails on a chalkboard--but the rules say he should be listening to it. Still, the officer knows full well that if he testifies in court that he followed the rules, the defendant will have a tough time proving otherwise.

With POP mode, the potential for abuse is obvious: hit a speeder with POP, hand him the ticket and let him try to convince the judge that the officer was cheating. For that matter, it's inconceivable that most officers would even volunteer that they'd used POP mode. Why buy trouble? Net effect: bad tickets will be written. Not many, probably, but eventually a smart defense attorney is going to find out that not only is the engineering concept behind POP just shaky enough to raise a reasonable doubt, but the feature has never been tested for accuracy by the Federal Communications Commission, the bureau that approves all such equipment, or the IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police), the organization that sanctions its use." -www.radartest.com

 

[mswaim]

"I love SLAMMING on my brakes when I'm hit with radar, especially when I pick him up a few miles away and know he's there before he can even see my vehicle... even when I'm going the speed limit. It just shows that his "Instant On" isn't as effective as he thinks. Especially when I pick it up 5 miles away."

"On that same note.... I love it when a police car is in the lane next to me shooting the oncoming traffic, so I flash my brights at every oncoming car to let them know he's only a few car lengths behind me. There's nothing like ruining his fun."


I guess I missed that part of driver's training where we were instructed to equate the flashing of high beams to the presence of a police officer working radar...........

 

[Jubei]

Let me just say I asked a simple question....lets not turn this into a pissing contest between fast drivers and law enforcement officers. These forums may not support illegal street racing or fast/wreckless driving but they do promote FAST cars. As a police officer you maybe one to say "take it to the track", well to own such a vehicle and not have the enjoyment to drive it fast whenever conditions may deem suitable/safe, I find it a complete waste. If you own a SVT and your attacking other SVT owners besure to define the meaning hypocrite. And if you've never drivin your SVT fast, well my "personal opinion" is that you have just wasted your money. They dont put superchargers on these engines because they sound cool....you do the math. And if you think everyone should drive to the likes of Miss. Daisy well your in the wrong atmosphere.

 

[pwnt04]

Originally posted by mswaim
I guess I missed that part of driver's training where we were instructed to equate the flashing of high beams to the presence of a police officer working radar...........

Around where I live it's pretty much a standard. If someone flashes their brights at you, it's almost always because:

A)Your brights are on and you're blinding them

B)There's a cop ahead shooting radar

When someone flashes their brights at me 9 times out of 10 I run across a police vehicle parked on the side of the road with the lights off taking radar. I already knew he was there before I was flashed (courtesy of Passport 8500 X50), but it's what people do where I live.

 

[Lawman85]

Originally posted by Jubei
Let me just say I asked a simple question....lets not turn this into a pissing contest between fast drivers and law enforcement officers. These forums may not support illegal street racing or fast/wreckless driving but they do promote FAST cars. As a police officer you maybe one to say "take it to the track", well to own such a vehicle and not have the enjoyment to drive it fast whenever conditions may deem suitable/safe, I find it a complete waste. If you own a SVT and your attacking other SVT owners besure to define the meaning hypocrite. And if you've never drivin your SVT fast, well my "personal opinion" is that you have just wasted your money. They dont put superchargers on these engines because they sound cool....you do the math. And if you think everyone should drive to the likes of Miss. Daisy well your in the wrong atmosphere.

Take it to the track.