What’s the point of radar detectors? It seems they are pretty useless in avoiding tickets. Someone please explain it to me because I never had one.
I rely on Waze app, which is awesome.
How to avoid speeding tickets? Don’t speed.
Radar detectors are for people who speed and WOULD like to not get one. They are effective, if used right.
Edit : This morn I saw a trap where the cop caught the car going 60 down a 50. But by the time the Radar goes off, it’s too late as he’s 3 blocks down a straightaway.
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To detect radars
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Radar detectors alone are a good countermeasure but really should be used in concert with Waze, Blinder (laser jammer) and just plain paying attention to the road.
If you’re really cooking, consider passing a set of binoculars to your passenger.
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Let the cars ahead of you be the radar detector when they all instinctively hit the brakes when they see a cop.
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Radar detectors are great for the cannonball run…
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So are pandemics but the cost/benefit is less than ideal.
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It’s like a lock on your house’s front door . Is it 100% effective in avoiding a robbery? No. But it’s better than leaving the door unlocked.
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Along this subject line, The Driver by Alex Roy is a great book about his cross country run, and while I am partial to the vehicle they used, an E39 M5, it is a pretty good book. I know they made it into a PPV movie that I have yet to watch since last I checked it was still asking $20+ to stream it. That was a while ago so it should be free now.
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That hasn’t been my experience at all. I’ve been using them since I got my license in my younger years and have never gotten a ticket despite consistently driving 10-15 over posted speed limits on the highway. It’s saved me dozens of times, especially from speed traps across state borders (particularly in states that overfund their police force and have ridiculous numbers in highway patrol like Utah and Nevada). I also just like to know when highway patrol are nearby so I can make more informed judgment calls about whether to overtake the minivan going 10 under in the HOV.
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When the radar detector goes off, it means hide anything illegal in the car before you get pulled over.
Otherwise. Waze.
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When the freeway is moving 75 in a 65 and you are the last one to notice the cop, you’re it! Just today the detector went off, I looked around and the cop was almost a half-mile ahead of me pulling someone over. He might wish he had a detector. My detector will go off up to a mile from the cop. You can probably cut your tickets by two thirds. A ticket in CA costs about $500, a decent Uniden detector, about $200. And, your insurance savings might be even more. Even if you are not an an aggressive driver, you will get tickets. However, if they are using laser, your pretty much dead.
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Thx for the input. I was at my local Best Buy and the guy said radar detectors are useless since most cops use lasers these days. Honestly I don’t know much about this claim and this is why I asked.
I was browsing the radar detectors section and asked the dude…
They are not necessarily a one-stop countermeasure, but they are a great thing to have in the toolkit IF your area utilizes radar.
In my area, highways are patrolled by the staties which typically utilize laser enforcement. Radar detectors are moot with laser and by the time you hear it, it’s usually too late.
Municipalities and smaller towns around here don’t have access to laser. Typically using constant on radar (Ka band), radar detectors can pick this up with ease.
Many people think radar detectors are a cop locator and they are totally wrong. I run an Escort Max 360 and haven’t had a single save on the highway. Backroads, on the other hand, I’ve been saved more times than I can count.
Waze for the highway, radar detector for the backroads. Laser jammers if you really want to up the ante.
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This and also just looking ahead, which you should probably be doing anyway from a defensive driving standpoint. Lots of speeding tickets are essentially taxes on people not paying attention.
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In Cali, chippies use laser, some cities also use laser but smaller towns still use radar. I quit Waze when they were acquired by Google, and even using Waze I got the occasional ticket. Since NOT using Waze, I haven’t had a ticket, for 2 reasons, despite driving fast: 1) It’s never a race, I’m not out to ‘win’, and arriving safely is top priority, 2) I’m always just a tad faster than the overall movement of traffic. Despite laser, some chippies still just watch overall traffic movement looking for outliers speeding and weaving, so blending into the overall speed had kept me ticket free.
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Bingo. When you stand out you make yourself a target.
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I have a V1 gen2 in my truck and a couple Passport Maxs. I can not even imagine driving without one. Pair radar with Waze and you are pretty solid. I hard wire them in and they’re not obvious. They have saved me countless times over the years. They’re not for everyone but I personally think they are a lifesaver.
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No point in them here on LI since you’re crawling at 5 mph average on the LIE most of the time. Other times, you’re likely stuck behind a Toyota (any Toyota) going 10 mph under the speed limit in the “passing” lane.
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I also spend an unusual amount of time reviewing traffic in my rearview (which I don’t have aimed at traffic directly behind me, more aimed as a blind spot assist). This helps me see movement all around me, and I can notice traffic behind me slowing down instantly, if they detect something like a chippie creeping into the lanes, allowing me to react along with them. This rearview arrangement saved my bacon when someone tried to intentionally tangle me up in a massive accident. Long story.
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