Radar detector

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: JLee


Some stretches of interstate use aircraft to monitor speed- if you see white lines painted across the road, watch out!

I don't think they do that aerially in MD. They're getting away from VASCAR in general. I don't see the stripes nearly as much as I used to. Any agency that wastes aircraft fuel for speeding tickets needs a serious overhaul. They need to fire everybody at the top, and start anew.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: JLee


Some stretches of interstate use aircraft to monitor speed- if you see white lines painted across the road, watch out!

I don't think they do that aerially in MD. They're getting away from VASCAR in general. I don't see the stripes nearly as much as I used to. Any agency that wastes aircraft fuel for speeding tickets needs a serious overhaul. They need to fire everybody at the top, and start anew.

I don't think they do it here in NH, either. I drove from FL to NH a couple of weeks ago and IIRC I did see some of those "speed monitored by aircraft" signs..at least one, anyway. I have no idea if they still use them, though.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: dbk
Not allowed in VA
but with all the traffic in NOVA - don't need it.. heh

I live in Manassas and it seems that the cops mix up their routine enough to make a detector worthwhile for people who love to speed.
But it seems like most of them know better and pick angles and tight passages so as to minimize the effectiveness of your detector. By the time you know its happening he's already clocked you. I've seen plenty of times where he parks his car in the trees and steps out. He'll stand there with the gun pointed at the ground, waiting for someone who looks like they are speeding and then point the gun at them.

Since I dont speed I dont have to worry about it. I just wish the cops would go looking for real crime (of which there is plenty).

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: shortylickens

Originally posted by: dbk
Not allowed in VA
but with all the traffic in NOVA - don't need it.. heh

I live in Manassas and it seems that the cops mix up their routine enough to make a detector worthwhile for people who love to speed.
But it seems like most of them know better and pick angles and tight passages so as to minimize the effectiveness of your detector. By the time you know its happening he's already clocked you. I've seen plenty of times where he parks his car in the trees and steps out. He'll stand there with the gun pointed at the ground, waiting for someone who looks like they are speeding and then point the gun at them.

Since I dont speed I dont have to worry about it. I just wish the cops would go looking for real crime (of which there is plenty).

And how else, pray tell, do you think we're going to find "real crime"? "Hi Mr. Person, are you a criminal? No? Ok!"

Now, compare that to a few dozen traffic stops- when you can run across wanted persons, suspended licenses...or maybe Timothy McVeigh.

Then again, maybe you have loads of experience and research that contradicts what I'm saying. Who knows.

 

[shortylickens]

Am glad you considered it instead of assuming.
I did security work on a Naval base in california. We had actual cops on base (not rent-a-cops) and they took care of police work as opposed to Master-At-Arms. We sometimes rode with them. It was actually a very good learning experience overall. Taught me that I would never want to be a policeman in the outside world.

Anyway, in Manassas we have an assload of illegal aliens. I'd like to think the cops nail so many people because they are trying to catch the illegals and send them home. But they dont. They just issue a ticket and thats it. About half of them are never paid. The cops never go looking for them afterwards.

Its a nice notion that if you pull over someone for speeding you may also find a serious criminal, but it doesnt actually seem to happen around here that often. They dont do shit about the illegal aliens and never find drug dealers or serial murderers. Also, given that they only have one officer per car, I dont know if they would be able to deal with a serious situation arising from a routine stop.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
Am glad you considered it instead of assuming.
I did security work on a Naval base in california. We had actual cops on base (not rent-a-cops) and they took care of police work as opposed to Master-At-Arms. We sometimes rode with them. It was actually a very good learning experience overall. Taught me that I would never want to be a policeman in the outside world.

Anyway, in Manassas we have an assload of illegal aliens. I'd like to think the cops nail so many people because they are trying to catch the illegals and send them home. But they dont. They just issue a ticket and thats it. About half of them are never paid. The cops never go looking for them afterwards.

Its a nice notion that if you pull over someone for speeding you may also find a serious criminal, but it doesnt actually seem to happen around here that often. They dont do shit about the illegal aliens and never find drug dealers or serial murderers. Also, given that they only have one officer per car, I dont know if they would be able to deal with a serious situation arising from a routine stop.

The inability to "appropriately" handle illegal aliens is not the fault of the police department. We call Border Patrol - if they don't want to come, there's not really much we can do.

Drug investigation and serial-murderer-hunting is outside the scope of a patrol-level officer's duties. We handle immediate situations - priority calls, non-priority calls, bull**** calls, etc...but rarely will you find a street cop working a serial murder investigation.

There is probably a lot that goes on that you're not aware of - working security on a Naval base is not going to give you the 'in' on the city police department. Then again, I've never worked security on a Naval base, so perhaps I'm mistaken.

Most of us have one-man cars. Two would be nice, but it's expensive...not easy to sell to John Q. Public!

:beer:

 

[Tommouse]

I have a 8500x50 and love it. I bought it when I was in college out in Western NY, and making many trips to see the gf in Albany, and or home to Maine. Seeing as the NY Thruway is mobbed with troopers it seemed like a good decision. And it was. I was able to up my cruising speed 10mph. The troopers in NY run Ka and leave it on all the time. So it's easy to pick up. Although they did hit me with lidar a few times, luckily I slowed down due to traffic when I was ...

Since you're in the area I'll give ya what I've noticed around here, maybe some other locals can chime in and help.

MA - I rarely pick up anything from them, and see them even less. They're mostly MIA on 93/95 north (at least on my stretch). But when I drive 90 I normally see them pacing people.
NH - I rarely pick them up, not sure what they're using. I've seen them pacing people as well. They also will use aircraft to clock ya. I generally don't speed to heavily in NH, those buggers are tricky... that and the damn 55mph zone ...
ME - Normally don't see them too often either, but when you do they're usually sitting in the center with their gun left on, the 8500 has no trouble letting me know ahead of time.

But to echo what Mugs said, a radar detector is not a silver bullet. If you're driving like an idiot there is nothing it can do. I personally don't drive crazy, just quickly, so it works out well for me. I don't know how Spidey gets away with 90mph plus, even with a detector that's fast, as I'm pretty sure the troopers would notice me lighting up the brakes to get down to legal limits, as coasting down from those speeds takes forever. It obviously depends on how strong the reading is and how fast I'm going, but I normally don't like to take that chance.

My radar detector has paid for itself though. Now I use it just because I'm used to it. You can also hardwire it in, makes for a much cleaner look.

 

[MotF Bane]

@ Tommouse - that's actually really helpful. I'm out in Rochester NY for college, and at home, I spend a lot of time on I-93 from Boston through the NH Lakes Region.

 

[MotF Bane]

It looks like the Escort 9500 has some significant detection improvements over the 8500, and half the time, it ties with the Valentine One. The other half of the time, the V1 dominates the testing. Information pulled from Guys of LIDAR. Radar detection only.

 

[Tommouse]

Roch eh? I'm gonna take a stab and say you're an RITer as well. Regardless, the thruway is mobbed with troopers and will give your new radar detector a workout.

 

[MotF Bane]

Originally posted by: Tommouse
Roch eh? I'm gonna take a stab and say you're an RITer as well. Regardless, the thruway is mobbed with troopers and will give your new radar detector a workout.

RIT, indeed.

 

[imported_Lothar]

Originally posted by: mugs
Anyone who has a RADAR detector is going to tell you that it's worth it, because everyone wants to feel like they didn't make a bad purchase. They think that any time the RADAR detector beeps and they slow down, that was an avoided ticket. The reality is, you can drive past dozens of cops while speeding and not get any tickets. Cops don't pull over every speeder.

Some things to consider -

1. In my experience, there are things that make you more likely to get pulled over. Don't do anything to draw attention to yourself. Speeding doesn't draw attention to you - everyone speeds. I drive ~80-85 on the interstate and don't ever get pulled over. Driving significantly faster than surrounding traffic draws attention to you. Frequent and abrupt lane changes draw attention to you. Following closely draws attention to you. Having a car with flashy external modifications draws attention to you. Having out of state plates draws attention to you, because you're less likely to contest the ticket.
2. Cops don't have to keep their RADAR on. They can turn it on when they see you speeding, and by the time your RADAR detector warns you, they already have your speed. Maybe you get lucky and your detector picks up the RADAR when he's checking someone else's speed, maybe he doesn't. Just realize that your RADAR detector is useless when there is no RADAR to detect, and the absence of RADAR does not mean you're not going to get a ticket.

To me, a RADAR detector is a waste of money. If I had a riced out car and drove like a jackass, it'd probably be a worthwhile expense. But all I do is speed (within reason), and I don't get tickets for it.

Aapparently common sense is not so common. :thumbsup:

 

[holden j caufield]

How does the 8500 work in California, especially southern california.