Radar detectors.

[kirbanmanaburn]

So I haven't been pulled over in about five years until recently when I bought my Porsche. I've only been driving it with regularity for a little over a month now and I've already been pulled over twice (no ticket either time). It seems like the cops find my new car a little more interesting than my old beaters.

So I'm thinking about getting a radar detector. Anyone use these? Have recommendations about what features to look for? Feelings about whether they're worth the money?

 

[tinytim]

radar detectors are nothing more than a alert to ck your speed, regardless of what they say all they do is alert you when a radar gun is in use in your general direction. a radar detector is like the non educated people towards macroquest, Oh you use MQ, you must be a GKer.
a lot of cops have been trained to spot speeding cars without using a radar gun and only use the gun to verify your actual speed. i would get a radar detector as a alert to check your speed, when you speed expect to get caught. just make sure they are legal in the state you are driving in. just because you bought them in that state does not make them legal to have in that state.

 

[kirbanmanaburn]

They're legal in my state.

When I got pulled over today the cop showed me his LIDAR thingie, which said 60 (I was in a 45 zone). Unfortunately for him I'm not stupid -- it also said 9:22AM (I got pulled over at 10:55). So he made up a story about the device malfunctioning and let me go.

Bottom line -- I got pulled over for being in a fast car. I'm not used to this and I want to avoid getting pulled over routinely however possible.

Does that alert to check your speed end up saving you from tickets, or is it often too late?

 

[bob1870]

theres only 1 that i ever heard of that acually work and this was also a jammer system. it comes with a fake lieance plate front and rear with wireless blocks built into. it also come with 1 for each side of the car. With lasers now a days they dont leave a trace like on radars so they can really only puck u up untill your cuaght. a magazine did a review on it and tested it with an accual lazer gun and it was unable to detect the cars speed. granted if your cuaght with it i think its illeal in most states. ill have to look it up it was a long time ago but only thing i can say any one has reall said that worked. i do know it was rather price but if u hal ass and burn gas then it will pay for itself in a few months.

 

[tinytim]

some detectors and jamers here, alse some good inf0
http://www.radarbusters.com/

 

[EverquestBB]

Passport

I use a cordless Passport (~$330). I like not having a cord because to me if they see you have a detector it is like advteristing that you are a speeder so if I get pulled over I simply drop the detector, roll down my windows (they are too dark to be legal) and put my hands on the wheel while they walk up to you. The instant on thing cannot be prevented so awareness is the key. Most of the time I try to find someone speeding in front of me and hang back about a quarter mile. This way if they get the radar I will pick it up in time to slow down and not get the ticket.

I also drive a Porsche and I can tell you for sure that they attract more attention than a brown station wagon of course, but officers also know that affluent people tend to drive them (at least the late model cars). Tickets to these kinds of people are more often than not contested or at least plea bargained down so I usually get just a warning since it can be a waste of paperwork for them. I never admit "guilt" but rather tell them I have no idea how fast I was going and that "I was just trying to maintain the flow of traffic" or something along those lines.

You could also try the line from Super Troopers "I am so sorry officer, I am so used to driving my POORSHA on the zee Autobahn . . . " and then have your lady flash her hooters. I have never had the stones to try that but I would bet most staties have seen that show and might find it amusing at least while they write you up.

But in all seriousness, I like the radar detector for situational awareness more than actual prevention if for no other reason than it is nice to know when you are about to get pulled over. It can even shave a few miles an hour off your ticket however I do not advocate hammering the brakes when it goes off. That extra minute or two can give you time to compose yourself and not be mad about being caught. In my experience if you are courteous with them it will work in your favor much more than getting angry.

 

[kirbanmanaburn]

Good advice BB, and yeah, I always say "I thought I was going with the flow of traffic."

I can see how these tactics would help, but I'm just usually the kind of driver who doesn't get pulled over. I don't left lane cruise, I keep it pretty mild in terms of speed, and I don't do too much driving in unfamiliar areas, so I tend to know where the traps are.

That's why I'm convinced it's the car. That's the only thing that's changed. It's a 944 Turbo in concours condition, so it's VERY shiny and pretty loud for a 4 cylinder car. I've also had a few GT mods put on it because I do driving tours once in a while. So it attracts attention.

 

[Bichester]

To start with I am a Police officer where I live. When I use a radar or laser gun most of the times I already know your speeding and already planning on pulling that car over. The laser/radar gun is just to show the exact amount the car is speeding. Laser guns take about 1 second to lock the speed of the vehicle its pointed at, unlike a radar gun it only shoots a laser once it is on the target. So in other words with a laser gun the only thing to detect is once I have you targeted and turn it on. With that said a laser detector is almost useless cause if I lock on your car and then see the nose dive when you slam the breaks because your detector just went off, your toast. Laser guns are also very very accurate. They can be set to where the beam emitted is the size of a license plate at the distance of 1000ft. now on the other hand a radar gun are still accurate but not nearly as good as the laser gun. The radar gun also takes a lot longer time to lock a speed in.
Also if you get busted by a radar gun there is an somewhat easy way out, A lot of departments have orders that each radar gun has to be calibrated each day it’s going to be used. And they have to keep track of the calibrations =) A lot don’t keep track or calibrate them as they should.
And on a side note I ussualy dont go for the first car in a group, its to dangerous for me to trya dn pull infront of everyone when I can easly pull ou tand get the one in the back.
Hope this helps or lets in on some insight

 

[kirbanmanaburn]

Would you say your average department has a few laser guns around nowadays, or are some of them still using the radar for the most part?

 

[JimJohnson]

Simple fact is if you are speeding and your detection goes off you have probably already been pinged.

I drive a sports car, and typically do not get hassled and its probably one of the flashest cars in my area, it is Grey though.. Flashy colors are more of a trap then make/model.

But back to case in point, dont speed, dont worry about getting pulled over.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I use Escort Radar. I've used them now for about 5 years.

I started off with an older Passport 7xxx series, but now have upgraded to the 9500's w/ laser shifting.

As earlier posters mentioned, this is on a Porsche 911.

 

[Barker15]

I use this http://rockymountainradar.com/store/12-rmr-c435 works pretty well for me, and if you do buy the "fuzz buster" the company pays for your tickets for 1 year, if the ticket was within 15% of the speed limit. So far like I said its served me well. Its also a scrambler, and the way it was described to me was like this. They take the first radar of you, and it sends it back to the gun saying your going 300 some mph, so then they have to reset it, and when they take another read, it says like 2 mph, so they have to reset it for the 3rd time and they get the actual mph your going, idk if its legal or not, but never been pulled over for it.

 

[Bichester]

In my department we use Laser guns mostly. Simple due to the fact that they are faster, more accurate and the better of the two. About the only time we use Radar is the ones mounted in the cars for moving and targeting since radar has a larger target area.

 

[aCunningGnome]

Forgive me for not reading the whole thread, but I have a test tomorrow I should be studying for.

Like someone mentioned, you are almost guaranteed a ticket if they see a radar detector inside your car. That being said, I have mine hidden and can unplug it easily without moving around should a cop be walking up to my car.

Next, they are useful and can save you. My understanding is, if there are other cars around you and he's far enough away, you can correct your speed before he can appreciably tell who it is (this probably isn't true in all situations, but I like it believe it works sometimes).

That being said, I haven't used mine a lot in the last year. I've found it easier to just watch for brake lights in front of me. That, and I'm really scared because my last ticket is almost 3 years old and I REALLY don't want another one (it's coming off my insurance finally).

 

[PRWraith]

i started getting pulled over in my talon recently, but that's more because of the blue lights that i have accenting the black. Cops ping sports cars more because it's a simple mentality that if you have fast car you must use fast car. Even if it's not always true.

 

[Brano11]

Forgive me for not reading the whole thread, but I have a test tomorrow I should be studying for.

Like someone mentioned, you are almost guaranteed a ticket if they see a radar detector inside your car. That being said, I have mine hidden and can unplug it easily without moving around should a cop be walking up to my car.

Next, they are useful and can save you. My understanding is, if there are other cars around you and he's far enough away, you can correct your speed before he can appreciably tell who it is (this probably isn't true in all situations, but I like it believe it works sometimes).

That being said, I haven't used mine a lot in the last year. I've found it easier to just watch for brake lights in front of me. That, and I'm really scared because my last ticket is almost 3 years old and I REALLY don't want another one (it's coming off my insurance finally).

I got a ticket last summer and took the online defensive driving course and once I completed / passed allof that course the ticket came off my insurance instantly. You should have taken the defensive driving test, then I think it would have been taken off instantly. Like I said mine was taken off instantly and you can take the test once a year.

 

[Smarty]

In louisiana we can only take the "class" one every 2 years /sadface

 

[Brano11]

That does suck, in texas we can take it once a year!

 

[EverquestBB]

Another way

Just lawyer up and get a suspended sentence. Most judges will suspend the ticket for 6 months or a year and if you don't get a ticket in that time it will not hit your MVR. Sometimes you can get that without a lawyer by seeing the judge but when I am out of state and this kind of thing happens, just call a local lawyer and they'll hook you up pretty cheap. It might cost more for the suspended sentence because of the court costs and the lawyer but the insurance savings (for me at least) is more than worth it.

 

[thez]

Keep in mind when driving a Porsche that most of those cars have a spoiler that comes up automatically at 75mph. I don't care how much detection you have, any cop that sees that has a guaranteed reason to pull you over.