Radar detectors?

[RevoltTrain]

28 minutes ago, loccilucas said:

Sup guys! 

 

I know this aint a car forum but LTT never fails to impress!

 

 I don't suppose anybody can enlighten me on whether having a radar/lidar detector in england is actually worth it seen as all our cops use laser guns rather radar?

and if so, does anybody have any suggestions on a half decent one for less than £160?   (I know the valentines and escorts are the best but they are about £300-£400 over here)

 

Considering these new ridiculous laws that have just being brought into place regarding speeding in england, and if I get 6 points or more on my licence I'll lose my job I figured a radar detector is probably a good idea...

 

Cheers in advance lads

 

EDIT: I have checked, and they are fully legal in the UK (Where I am)

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/427943-the-garage-car-enthusiast-club-now-motorcycle-friendly-first-thread-to-100k-¯_ツ_¯/

[Phate.exe]

10 minutes ago, RGProductions said:

Actually IIRC they're only illegal in one of the virginias

Yeah, they're legal in pretty much all of the US, except Virginia, because Virginia is weirdly draconian about speeding.  Check your local laws obviously.

 

I know they are illegal in Quebec (there are signs shortly after you cross the border), and I don't remember if they are in Ontario.

 

A decent radar detector is extremely useful.  Obviously an all clear from it isn't permission to just go fast, but it'll help you catch yourself in time  if you are.

 

I have an Escort Passport 8500x50, and it's great.  On the highway I'll usually get around a mile of warning (much more if it's flat).  My only complaint is that it's very sensitive and goes off all the time, so if you can swing it I would go for the next model up, the 9500, for the gps lockout functionality.  If you have false alarms on your commute from automatic doors and such, it will automatically learn to ignore them.

[bob345]

58 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

not to be rude, radar detectors are illegal in most part of UK and USA, me my friend built one in university we were lucky enough to get a cop that just told us to take it apart instead of arresting us. please don't be stupid, you could be in jail even if your intention is harmless.  

In the us, radar and laser detectors are for the most part perfectly legal. Jammers are what are illegal and can get you in quite a bit of trouble.

[SageOfSpice]

4 hours ago, loccilucas said:

do you drive? Its impossibly irritating trying to drive like a granma 2-3 mph under the limit, it won't be happening any time soon

See, what you need is just a smaller car, and something closer to the road. It'll feel like you're going faster then. =p

 

I think radar evasion is an exercise in futility. Modern radar detection is mostly luck whether or not it's able to pick them up, unless the police in your area have a terrible budget. You'd probably have better luck detecting the RF from the transmitters in their cars, and using the signal strength to determine proximity. Unless you want to paint your car chrome or something, and buy stealth panels for it.

 

On the other hand, learning from other people's mistakes can be useful. There are many apps out there where people can report radar nets, and it'll send you alerts and show you the locations on a map so you can better plan your trips.

[ARikozuM]

Radar detectors are legal here in Florida unless your vehicle weighs over 10,000 lbs that are used commercially.

 

http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/tag/radar-detectors/

[Phate.exe]

5 hours ago, SageOfSpice said:

See, what you need is just a smaller car, and something closer to the road. It'll feel like you're going faster then. =p

 

I think radar evasion is an exercise in futility. Modern radar detection is mostly luck whether or not it's able to pick them up, unless the police in your area have a terrible budget. You'd probably have better luck detecting the RF from the transmitters in their cars, and using the signal strength to determine proximity

 

A good 80% of the time, state troopers running speed traps on the highway either just leave their Ka-band radar guns on constantly, or they are using pop mode on the cars as they go by.  Pretty much any non-shit radar detector will pick up a radar gun that's on from a good distance out.  On flat sections of highway, I can usually pick them up from a mile out, in ideal conditions just under 2 miles.  Pop mode is a bit harder to spot, but if you get used to using the detector you'll figure out how to recognize it (usually sudden jumps from no signal to 2-3 bars of signal that then disappears).

 

Most of the local police near me leave the front/rear firing radar on when they're driving around, so they're easy to pick up.

 

Seriously, just use a decent radar detector sometime.  They absolutely work.  I would hardly call it "Luck" or an exercise in futility.  I hear your argument all the time from people who have only used a crappy Cobra that went off after they saw the police car, then decided because their overpriced low-end unit didn't work for them, the whole product segment must be junk.

[loccilucas]

16 hours ago, SageOfSpice said:

See, what you need is just a smaller car, and something closer to the road. It'll feel like you're going faster then. =p

 

I think radar evasion is an exercise in futility. Modern radar detection is mostly luck whether or not it's able to pick them up, unless the police in your area have a terrible budget. You'd probably have better luck detecting the RF from the transmitters in their cars, and using the signal strength to determine proximity. Unless you want to paint your car chrome or something, and buy stealth panels for it.

 

On the other hand, learning from other people's mistakes can be useful. There are many apps out there where people can report radar nets, and it'll send you alerts and show you the locations on a map so you can better plan your trips.

I drive a nissan micra haha its painfully slow as is..

 

And its abit different in the UK, police only use laser guns so thats why I've heard that radar/lidar dectectors can be futile when dealing with laser.

 

We do have fixed cameras also which use radars however which I'm not too fussed about, as I'm a pretty observant driver I always spot them, its the transportable camera vans and police sat in their cars with a gun is what I'm most afraid of