Radar Detectors

[unclogum bill]

About 6 or seven years ago I took the plunge and spent 300.00 bucks on an Escort Passport radar detector. It has saved me many times over, money well spent. Looks like today you can buy detectors from 60 bucks to well over 1,000.00 with a comparable "Passport" going about 400.00 dollars. Daughter is looking to get one for her husband for Christmas. Anyone know if cheap ones are any good?.

[montana_charlie]

Many years ago I learned to drive within the speed limits. I have never owned a radar detector, or a GPS navigation device, or a cell phone.
Sigh! ... I never have any fun.

CM

[HATCH]

radar detectors just tell you when to pull over.. .LOL

[starmac]

I have not paid any attention to them since they were outlawed for trucks.
Since the coming of the cdl and the 2 tickets your out deal I try to pretty much run the speed limit. The price of fuel actually put me under the speed limits in many states.

[Bullshop Junior]

I had one in my 2000 Honda Civid Ricer with turnos and and all that good stuff. Had it hooked up so it made the check engine light come so the cops didn't notice it. It saved me a few times when i was going well over the speedlimit racing. But then again, i still had to out run the cops a few times too.

In my truck, i did a lot of work on the engine so it likes to cruise at about 70. If i hold 70, and dont go act like a racecar drivee, i can get 26mpg, and im pulling a little over 400 HP so no issues pulling heavy loads.

I dont have a radar detector in my truck. I try hard to go thr speed limit, and have never had a ticket but thats probably just luck.

[merlin101]

What are you going to do when your hit with a laser instead of radar? Laser is instent on, no warning at all.

[unclogum bill]

Many years ago I learned to drive within the speed limits. I have never owned a radar detector, or a GPS navigation device, or a cell phone.
Sigh! ... I never have any fun.

CMYou begin to remind me of a guy living on Butte Ave, Helena Montana. Going into his house was like going back in time. Rotary phone, Never had hot water ever (Bachelor for sure). Lights hanging from cords out the ceiling, Icebox was one with the round compressor on top. Stove was a light with match that had no safety. He about died when I tried to charge him 55 bucks for a service call. Since he was in his 80 ty's I told him to pay me what he thought I was worth. Gave me 5 bucks, Worth it just for the time spent talking with him.

[cbrick]

Hand held radar is also instant on. If the police cruiser has a built in unit that's usually always on but normally all it tells you is that they are in the area so cool it. The hand held units used by motors cops and some police dept. however are only on when they are pointed at you & the trigger is squeezed, too late for your radar detector to help, just pull over.

I have one but haven't used it since I retired, I ain't been in any hurry to get anywhere fast. Mine may have saved me a time or two but after using it for a few years I would say they aren't really worth the money.

Rick

[Crash_Corrigan]

A long time ago in a land far away I was courting a Lady in Vermont. Alas that was 350 miles from where I was in New Jersey. Driving my '83 Nissan King Cab PU truck I could make the trip in about 5 and a half hours. Most of those miles were on the NY State Thruway from Suffern NY to Plattsburgh NY. As an active member of the NYCPD I got to meet quite a few NY State Troopers along the way.

In order to prevent any future wastage of time and trouble on the part of the Troopers I bought a radar detector. However I quickly learned that they had their drawbacks. That instant on radar did not give me enough time to slam on the brakes and get legal.l

I learned how to cultivate a bird dog or two. I would drag along at 60 mph for a time until a faster vehicle blasted by me. I would give this driver a couple of hundred yards of lead and then I would accelerate up to his speed. If the road conditions were ok and his speed reasonable (70-80 MPH) I would fall in behind and with my radar detector I would pay attention to his brake lights and my RD.

If his brake lights suddenly came on I also would throw out the anchor. In most cases it would be a false alarm. In some cases however a Trooper would suddenly materialize from almost anywhere and pull him over. The distance between us prevented the Trooper also flagging me for the infraction and the bird dog would have sniffed out the Smokey and I could drive by and wave thanks to him as he greeted the officer.

The secret I learned was to maintain enough distance between us and to always drive in the right lane if possible to avoid being singled out. Many times the RD would light up and I would drop my speed to match the limit and the bird dog would be trapped and I went merrily on my way.

I eventually married the gal and moved to Vermont.

[grumman581]

If you insist on being out in front of everyone else, a radar detector might not help you from the instant on type of units.

I've found that the main things that radar detectors is good for is to give you a good indication that he person trying to pull you over is probably a cop and not a potential criminal cop-poser.

They are also pretty good for finding the automatic door openers at grocery stores. :)

If you insist on being ahead of everyone else on the road, you're going to be the car that gets the ticket. It's better to hang back and let someone else volunteer to get the ticket. I've had my share of tickets over the years and have decided that the best course of action is to just not be noticed since once the cop stops you, he can start looking for other things for which to give you even more tickets. It's all about the money, safety has nothing whatsoever to do with it.

Not all cops are AHs though. I was stopped by a cop a few years ago even though I wasn't speeding, but he just informed me that the lights on my license plate were out. He said that they were required to make a certain number of "contacts" per shift but they didn't have to result in tickets. The funny thing about this was that I was coming back from a location up in Central Texas where I had just purchased a Springfield M1A from someone. It was just sitting across the rear seat of my truck, so when I pulled over, I turned the cabin lights on and when he walked up, I told him that I had a firearm in the back seat and around 400 rounds of ammo -- perfectly legal here in Texas, but surprised cops are not necessarily conducive to your long life, so I volunteered the information. Not sure how BOTH of my license plate lights had gone out at the same time, but I replaced them the next day after verifying that it was not a fuse that had blown (and subsequently a wiring problem). Unlike a lot of cops I have met, this one was not on a power trip.

[Hawkeye45]

With all the collision avoidance products on new cars that are radar controlled, the number of annoyance alerts drove me nuts. I turned it off.

Mr. Ed

[grumman581]

With all the collision avoidance products on new cars that are radar controlled, the number of annoyance alerts drove me nuts. I turned it off.


Plus certain radio / cell transmission towers, microwave relays, power lines, grocery store door openers, etc...

Plus, it doesn't matter if you are going the speed limit or not, if the cop wants your money, he will give you a ticket. I had that happen first hand going through a small town south of Dallas on I-45 back around 1995. The cop had the always on X-band radar unit and my radar detector was blaring for MILES, so I slowed down to the speed limit. FINALLY, I come over a hill and there he is. I figure no problem since I've detected him for miles away and I've been going EXACTLY the speed limit for the last few minutes. He turns his lights on and pulls me over. He claimed I was driving 70 in a 55. Of course, he would not show me the radar speed indicator (not that it would have mattered since it could still be showing the speed of someone from earlier in the evening). The small town cops prey upon out-of-towners since they know that you will pay the ticket and not spend the money to drive back there (multiple times) to fight it. It's literally highway robbery. The town was Ennis, TX. It wouldn't do any good to try to fight a ticket in this sort of town anyway -- the judge is probably a relative anyway.

[starmac]

In a case like that, I have been known to drive back to Texas from out of state and make them feed me. lol I have paid lots of speeding tickets, but only the ones I was guilty of.

[jcwit]

I find it easier to just obey the rules & laws of the road.

[762 shooter]

Two periods in my life I almost lost my license due to speeding. Both times I was relying on Radar Detectors. Drive the speed limit. Cast boolits if you want to live on the edge.;)

762

[blackthorn]

Quote---"What are you going to do when your hit with a laser instead of radar? "

Pay the fine! Having said that, I quit using my detector several years ago. That don't mean I don't speed but I do TRY to stay reasonably close to the limit and I do drive to the conditions of the road, i.e. weather, lighting etc. I also will happily let some other lead foot take the lead and just keep him/her in sight ahead of me. I have picked up a few tickets over the years, most came from cops that were driving toward me rather than those hiding behind bushes, roar signs et-al.

[cheese1566]

Hand held radar is also instant on. If the police cruiser has a built in unit that's usually always on but normally all it tells you is that they are in the area so cool it. The hand held units used by motors cops and some police dept. however are only on when they are pointed at you & the trigger is squeezed, too late for your radar detector to help, just pull over.


Yep!!
Most of the units now in patrol cars are "on" all the time, but the officer activates the unit when he/she wants to check speed (activating the RADAR beam). Radar detectors wont do much good if the officer doesn't use it much in an area, but kicks it's on when he see's a car speeding. If your lucky, you may get a signal from ahead while he momentarily activates the units at cars ahead.
Now some areas do activate the unit at all times so those with detectors slow down.
Remember, modern radr units can detect speeds while the officer is stationery, moving at you, moving away from you, and while moving in the same direction as you.

[Dale in Louisiana]

I run up and down US 165 in Louisiana. I might push +5 on the open road, but there are small towns like Fenton, Kinder, Oakdale, Pollock, Georgetown and several others whose revenues are considerably augmented by a 45 MPH speed limit on a five-lane road. I do -1 through those.

And if you're on I-10, Vinton, Louisiana gets >40% of its revenues from the one mile of I-10 that's inside the city limits. They have a website so you can log in with a credit card and pay your fines. You can by a grocery bag full of meth in town, but Texans can't speed on the interstate.

Same thing goes for I-10 at Jennings and the Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff's Department.

Don't give those cowboys an excuse.

dale in Louisiana

[Down South]

Many years ago I learned to drive within the speed limits. I have never owned a radar detector, or a GPS navigation device, or a cell phone.
Sigh! ... I never have any fun.

CM
I drive with all of them armed, radar detector /gps/ and cell phone. I have to in the inviroment I have to drive in. Im on the road a lot. GPS is handy as socks on a rooster. Radar detector helps me stay out of trouble in our many speed trap towns I travel through. The cell phone is hands free but if it gets too technical, I pull over.

To answer the question, Valentine One Radar Detector is best in my book. I've been using one for years and I still like it. There is a learning curb to it but not bad.

http://www.valentine1.com/

I believe Vallentine built the Excort before he started his own business.

[Full Mold Jack]

Check out radardetectorforum.org they know their stuff and are a nice helpful bunch, a very large majority are pro gun guys too.

[Mk42gunner]

I did the math on time versus speed versus time it takes to get a ticket (plus the money it costs) and decided it wasn't cost effective to speed. With that said, I normally try to stay with traffic since it is the vehicle weaving in and out of traffic that gets noticed, and therefore checked.

Robert

[Blacksmith]

Start your trip early enough and you won't have to speed and will get there on time. Our local road is posted 30 MPH for a reason residential with blind spots etc. not far away it is rural posted 45 MPH but that is in another state. The rural section is all twists and turns the residential is mostly straight and level except blind spots. Where do you think they drive at 50+? Less than a mile from the house is one of the biggest radar traps in the county and I thank the officers for ticketing speeders. Slow down the life you save might be mine.

[Kull]

radar detectors just tell you when to pull over.. .LOL

That's been my experience, but that was a while ago when radar detectors were pretty new. Maybe things have changed.

I say just drive the speed limit or keep it to max 10 over. Every cop has their cushion.

[Bulldogger]

I agree with those who believe detectors are too little, too late.

I second Crash Corrigan's method, and use it myself; let some kid blow by you and tail him at a safe distance and match his speed. Let him bird dog the smokies for you. Works well.

Bulldogger

[Garyshome]

All right only gonna tell ya this once, It's simple! While driving down the road @5 over and someone goes flying by, slowly increase speed while falling at least 1/4 mile [maybe a little less] behind till you match the speed of the other driver. Drive, being very observant of his BRAKE LIGHTS [this is important!] If he hits the brakes SLOW DOWN. There is maybe a cop up ahead. Saved my bit many times, and no radar detector either. I did not pick this up from crash, I have been using this method for around 40 years.

[Bret4207]

I will never forget the time I was running stationary radar. Even back in the distant past, say 1989 or so, we had "hold" buttons. You just push to activate the unit. I see a car coming about a 3/4 mile away at what appear to me to be about 100 mph! Hit him and got 94mph and a rapid descent as I saw smoke pouring off his tires! He went from 94 to 55 in nothing flat. I turned on the lights and he limped up to me. He'd put flat spots in 4 brand new Perelli tires that he said ran over $300.00 a piece......and got a ticket.

That radar detector sure saved him.......

BTW- for those truckers out there. The police have radar detector detecors now.

[starmac]

When they first started filming Ice Road Truckers, I had been out of the state for some time. I flew up and headed north. On the way back when I got close to the bottom of roller coaster I was doing app. 85, as fast as the truck would run unless you kick it out of gear. It was dark, something like 20below and I see a camera eye in the bottom.

I just knew the law had set up a radar there, speed limit is 50, but nobody with half a brain is going to bottom out there at fifty. When I blew by with a huge clowd of snow dust following me, there was an idiot there in the snow burm just inches off the road. I still thought it had to be radar, and they would be waiting on top, but no one was there. lol
When I ask about the next day back in town, is when I found out about the show and it was one of there cameramen. lol

[LUBEDUDE]

Back in the mid mid-90's I traveled 100-200 miles a day. I had all the "Avionics ". Best radar detector, laser detector, and combo radar/laser jammer all lined up on my dash. I got 3 tickets in 3 months. So I trashed all that high dollar junk and started using my eyeballs and common sense.
In the last 20 years I got one ticket, and that was because I wasn't thinking at all at the time.

[Just Duke]

I could care less how long it takes me to get anywhere. I also don't have or need a cell phone or GPS

[ole 5 hole group]

Thinking you know how to read your radar detector in avoiding speeding tickets or playing follow the leader is akin to knowing how to play the slots - it's just dumb luck if you win money or don't get a speeding ticket. Instant-on radar and lasers get you every time and the eye in the sky with 2 to 4 chase vehicles will get the bird dog/bear bait, you and all the other followers.

As someone said - it's not about public safety, never was - it's producing revenue pure and simple.

Most hand held units with 2 to 4 chase vehicles will work a section of highway for maybe 30 minutes - then go have coffee or a station break for a couple hours and run another part of the county for 30 minutes and will fill their command quota for the month. We know it as a quota but to the highway tax collectors it's called "performance evaluation criteria" or something similar. In Nebraska, if you fail in the performance evaluation area relative to tickets issued during one quarter (a 3-month period) you fall back one grade and stay there for at least one year. That is one big financial incentive to maintain "performance standards"!!

[firefly1957]

I retired my radar detector 7 years ago today when i retired it was to let me know i was being timed working second shift and driving 50 miles each way i sometimes got pulled over and was told i was speeding as an excuse to see if i was drinking . Last ticket i got i was only doing 4MPH over the speed limit small town cop said i was doing 15 over i had just gone by a bar that was closing and he thought he got a patron of it instead of me. He was ticked he missed his target and wrote me anyway that was 7 1/2 years ago.
As far as a radar detector i am not up on them and all the knew anti collision devices so check for ones that will reduce the false alarms as much as possible even 7 years ago many ambulances would set off the K band radar when they were nearby i think it was a device to turn the traffic lights for them if i remember correctly. Looking and driving well ahead is normally your best defense many police are to lazy to use the instant on radar and lasers but they have them and you will see them now and then i noticed them often in Georgia last month with laser timing devices.

[dragon813gt]

Valentine 1, there is no substitute. Hardwire it and get the remote display so none of it is visible if you get pulled over. Combined with a laser jammer you are covered. Obviously not foolproof but if you're running over the limit then you want all the protection you get. I do not drive the speed limit but no one does around me. 80 in a 55 is the norm during rush hour. If you're doing less than 70 you will be run off the road.

[GaryN]

I always did better with a cb radio than a radar detector. But the radio doesn't work too good if there is no one on the road to tell you what is up ahead.

[randyrat]

I never speed in town, ever. I have had way too many close calls with distracted drivers in cities or towns. Just yesterday I have someone pull out from a stop sign and I hit the brakes and stopped 3 feet from her door. I bet she went home to change her under pants after that.. It was wet pavement and it took me 2-3 times longer to stop, good thing I was driving just under the speed limit.
The look on her face was gratitude.
I couldn't do an evasive turn, not enough room.
Don't trust Radar detectors, just go with the flow of traffic or use a duck/ decoy way out in front of you.

[unclogum bill]

In driving with mine I have never received a ticket. Thing is these coastal towns make a living off speeders. Our school zone is 20 miles per hour from 8-5 (when school is open) and a minimum ticket is in that zone I'm told is 170 bucks, Sure I drive 5 over like every one else, We got a stretch of route 101 that changes speed 7 times in 11 miles, Radar is good, not perfect, but good. On a flat straight road it see's K band 3/4 mile away. Yes that X band is instant, But if he shoots it at the car ahead of you its a notification. I can even pick them up behind me if the single bonces back to the unit,

[Just Duke]

Thinking you know how to read your radar detector in avoiding speeding tickets or playing follow the leader is akin to knowing how to play the slots - it's just dumb luck if you win money or don't get a speeding ticket. Instant-on radar and lasers get you every time and the eye in the sky with 2 to 4 chase vehicles will get the bird dog/bear bait, you and all the other followers.

As someone said - it's not about public safety, never was - it's producing revenue pure and simple.

Most hand held units with 2 to 4 chase vehicles will work a section of highway for maybe 30 minutes - then go have coffee or a station break for a couple hours and run another part of the county for 30 minutes and will fill their command quota for the month. We know it as a quota but to the highway tax collectors it's called "performance evaluation criteria" or something similar. In Nebraska, if you fail in the performance evaluation area relative to tickets issued during one quarter (a 3-month period) you fall back one grade and stay there for at least one year. That is one big financial incentive to maintain "performance standards"!!

That is the first time I have heard anyone say that other than myself. It's a shake down and I choose not to participate. King Henry fleecing the pheasants 2013.

[Lloyd Smale]

whats that song? I cant drive 55!! Ive used passport detectors for probably 20 years and theyve allways done the job for me.

[Bret4207]

You guys go break the news of a childs death to a parent a few times as the result of a high speed car accident and tell me it's all about money.

Go down the page to Rangefinder "New Sign" post and read what happens when there is no enforcement.

[1Shirt]

Never believed in detectors, and try to maintain speed limit or under. Don't always manage, but agree with Bret more and more daily as I hear of teen deaths due to inexperience and speed. Regardless of all other factors, breaking the speed laws is breaking the law period.
1Shirt!

[TXGunNut]

Watching the guy in front does no good when the cops employ a tactic called "pack enforcement". One guy runs the laser and 2-4 other units make the stops. Back in the 80's I was pretty fond of radar detectors, I kept Escort Passport radar detectors and door glasses in stock for Saabs, thieves would knock out the door glass to steal the Escort and Saab drivers couldn't be without their radar detectors.
When I drove a car with red lights on top I got more fast driving than I wanted, I also saw first hand that speed does indeed kill.
SLOW DOWN! It's just not worth it.

[grumman581]

I could care less how long it takes me to get anywhere. I also don't have or need a cell phone or GPS

GPS is convenient for when you are in a new city or just as a replacement for printed maps. I don't like a GPS telling me where to go. I'm perfectly happy with it just showing me where I'm at and letting me figure out the route myself.

[Down South]

I made a post to this thread a page or two back one evening when I was tired and failed to explain myself well.
I have used a Valentine One for 10 years, even sent the old one back in a few years ago and got the upgraded version.
I drive within a speed limit that usually keeps most LEO's happy, about 5 mph over the limit.
I have to drive across our wonderful country where I find many small towns that make their living from the roads that pass through their communities.
My radar detector many times will warn me of a radar trap ahead and allows me to double check my speed well before I get into range of the radar unit.
I have not gotten a speeding ticket in at least 20 years.
The on/off radar only works if you and the officer are the only ones on the road. I usually bust the on/off radar well before I get to it because I've caught the radar checking many times at least half a dozen others before I'm shot.
That's another good time to check my speed to make sure I'm within the smiley limit.
Going through some of the small towns, I'm many times preoccupied with thoughts of work, family, other going ons along the highway. Sometimes I miss a change in speed zones such as coming off a 65 to a 50 to a 45 to a 35. These intermediate speed zones are where the likely traps are set. I may miss a speed reduction sign due to clutter of other signs or just happen to be looking at the other side of the road for a moment.
I never drive at excessive speed regardless of where I'm at.
I can say that my detector has saved my butt more that once. Used responsibly a radar detector can be your friend, not a tool to use to drive at speeds that far exceed the posted limits.
Plus, it's a lot of fun. Pick up a radar signal and figure out where the radar is hiding. The Valentine One shows you the direction that the signal/s are coming from and how many they are and which direction poses the most threat or strongest signal plus what band of radar is being used.

If you purchase a radar detector, don't do it so you can drive at breakneck speeds. You will surely get caught or worse, cause an accident.

I have a strong dislike for speed trap towns that enjoy being able to write citations for sometimes 1 mph over the limit. I've read or heard the news more than a few times of these towns finally getting busted due to the officials padding their pockets with the monies they robbed from unsuspecting motorist passing through. They change their speed limits up and down through their community to help fool or trick the motorist. It is a shame and I do my best to avoid their snares.

On the GPS, I would have a hard time without one. Many times I have to travel to an address that I have never been too. Sometimes the GPS might take me a way that I would not have chosen if I had known the way but it gets me there.
Another plus about the GPS that I use. It displays the posted speed and many times it is correct but sometimes it is not so I have to take the posted speed on the GPS with a grain of salt.

[mtnman31]

I admit I have a lead foot. I enjoy driving fast. On the open roads I drive in a spirited fashion. In residential areas I drive cautiously, no reason to endanger anyone. I have had a radar detector for years. As was mentioned earlier, it isn't a pass to do whatever you want - it is a tool. Combined with your eyes, knowledge of the area and common sense, it can keep you out of trouble if you choose to speed. Often I'll see a police car before the detector goes off. Or, knowing areas that police are likely to set up is a key part of their use. There is a learning curve with them. You need to figure out what signals are legitimate and which are just interference. If you are in town, there is a lot more interference. The laser detecting feature is more or less marketing. Since laser is nearly instantaneous and there aren't really any stray laser beams to set off the detector, it pretty much lets you know you are busted and about to receive a ticket.

One thing that the detector has enlightened me to, very few police cars I encounter are using radar or laser. If I had to make a SWAG at it, I'd bet less than 20% of the cars I encounter are running radar or laser. That's been experience from at least a decade of continuous detector use in a variety of states.

In defense of speeders and my own personal driving habits - driving fast is like anything else in life. The more you do it the better you get at it. I would contend that someone who knows what their vehicle is capable of as well as the limits of their own driving skills, not to mention is alert and assertive is much safer than the average person putzing along. My wife's driving drives me crazy. She is slow and inattentive. It's not that she is distracted (as in cell phone, texting, etc), just not observant. Ironically, even though she drives MUCH more conservatively than me, she has twice as many tickets. She's says I am aggressive. Nope, I just like driving fast. I don't own a muscle car, sports car and motorcycle because I like the way they look. I like that they can go fast.

For anyone interested in improving their skills, I'd recommend a trip to a race track (road course) for an open lapping day. It is both highly educational and very humbling. If a guy thinks he knows how to drive that 'vette or Stang (or motorcycle) fast? Wait until a guy who really understands performance driving starts running laps around you... in his Chevy Cobalt. Take your car to the track and wring it out so you know what it can/can't do and not just from a performance stand point - from a safety stand point. It is important to know what you and your vehicle can/can't do in an emergency situation or inclement weather.

re: the original post, I'm very happy with my current Beltronics RX65. I got it off eBay at a good price. One of these days I'd like to get a newer model but would rather spend the money elsewhere for now. If you are going to shop eBay, be cautious of the sellers as there are a few selling gray market knock offs and junk.

[Bret4207]

I don't think I'm letting out any "trade secrets" by posting this, but you may find it interesting.

Not all cars are running radar all the time. I don't know how it is elsewhere, but I was usually so far behind in paperwork or in interviews or on my way here or there or going to a complaint that radar was the last thing on my mind. I imagine since it's about the same for a lot of other PO's. You don't get a hit off their radar because it's off. OTOH, when I was looking to write some tickets to make the bean counters happy, I wouldn't run it on all the time or hit every car. You look for the speeder, not the guy going 5 or 10 over, the guy doing 20-40 over. That's the one you hit.

[Down South]

I don't think I'm letting out any "trade secrets" by posting this, but you may find it interesting.

Not all cars are running radar all the time. I don't know how it is elsewhere, but I was usually so far behind in paperwork or in interviews or on my way here or there or going to a complaint that radar was the last thing on my mind. I imagine since it's about the same for a lot of other PO's. You don't get a hit off their radar because it's off. OTOH, when I was looking to write some tickets to make the bean counters happy, I wouldn't run it on all the time or hit every car. You look for the speeder, not the guy going 5 or 10 over, the guy doing 20-40 over. That's the one you hit.
Same thing I see. I was on the road for five hrs yesterday. Three state trooper units sitting in the median or on the side of the road with their radar off. Sure does slow the traffic down though. 50 vehicles will slow down to 60 in a 70 zone.
I meet units all the time with their radar off.

[Crash_Corrigan]

For a short time I was a Lieutenant in a small village in New Mexico. We had some serious accident rates and a high number of people being thrown out of their vehicles and suffering very severe injuries and most of them were alcohol related. We had some obsolete pre owned radar units from the NMSP and I picked out one. I got it tested and I trained up on it.

Just like Bret said above.....my threshold was at least 15 mph over the limit unless the driver was doing something else stupid. I always went after stupid. One day a fella is driving down the road very slow. He was driving an old clunker on 4 rims.....no rubber at all. I took photos at the time and when he pled not guilty in court I produced them. He lost. If I stopped a young driver speeding I usually did not issue a ticket. The financial penalties involved with a younger driver getting a speeding ticket are like a fly being smacked with a sledgehammer. It costs thousands of dollars in higher insurance premiums down the road.

In those cases I would take the drivers license, registration and insurance card and keep them. I would advise the driver to have one of his parents call me and I would happy to meet with them and discuss driving habits. At that meeting I would explain my reasoning and return the items to the parent. In almost all cases I had a meeting of the minds with the parents and no ticket was issued.

Between a proactive campaign against drunk driving (we posted units near bars and stopped our local drunks and visitors every day) and speed limit enforcement we enjoyed a rapid decline in our accident rates. We only had two establishments which sold booze so it was common sense to post units close but not obviously and to carefully observe the patrons of these fine drinking and dining shops on their way home.

I even had a wife call me and ask me to stop her husband from killing himself or another with his drunk driving. She told me where he could be found and when he normally would get home and begged me to arrest him so he would stop drinking.....sure.

Anyway I checked him out and followed him home. He was sneaky but intoxicated. I did not stop him the first night. I nosed around to make sure that the intentions of the spouse were pure as she may have had other reasons to see him incarcerated and I did not want to be used as a tool for her purposes unless I felt that this was a best way to handle it. I checked out his reputation in the drinking establishment and in the village in general. This went on for a few days and one evening I visited him in the joint. He had just arrived from work and was settling in with a 16 oz adult beverage and a shot of Irish Whisky. I pulled up a barstool and started a conversation. He had not a clue about my presence. I advised him that I was going to keep an eye on him and that I had seen him drive while intoxicated previously and that that conduct would not be repeated and I left.

He stayed in the bar for hours, left his truck and walked home about 3/4 of a mile. This worked for about two weeks. Finally one evening he decided to drive home. He made it for about two blocks before he was stopped. I took his keys and distributor cap and left him on the side of the road. I did not waste my time giving him any field sobriety tests and I gave him a choice. Walk home or go to jail. He walked home. The next morning he came by the police station to get his keys and distributor cap. By the next month we had him in AA and he quit drinking within 3 months. We never had another problem with him and it did not cost him a dime nor did we waste our time in helping him and his family. It would have been easier to bust him the first time but that would not have solved the problem. We had drunks who were arrested multiple times for DUI and who kept on drinking and driving without a valid license for years.

[starmac]

Crash there were a lot of cops in NM like you, local and state in the 70's, sadly there is not much of that anymore, unless you are a friend or have some political pull locally. The last state trooper I know of that was like that retired a few years ago. Not long before he retired he stopped by my shop with two out of town college kids. He gave me the keys to there and told me what mile marker it was at, and to not let them have it back until the next day. He took them to the motel and had them check in. This same trooper was in a different location, which was where I went to high school and gave me a few breaks of my own. I left town the day after graduation, and didn't see him again for 16 years, but the first day I was back in NM I ran a wrecker call and there he was. he hadn't forgot me. lol

[mtnman31]

It is sad that nowadays, if an officer did what Crash did for that fellow, the guy would get in an accident and the officer would be sued by both the drunk driver and the driver's victim. The resulting judgements could literally bankrupt a small town police department... Our society has the mentality that one doesn't have to accept the consequences of their actions, they can just blame it in someone else and sue them. Even if you don't win the frivolous suit, the other person is destroyed because they spent their life savings on a lawyer defending themselves.

[grumman581]

These days you find cops that will even give tickets to guys driving lawn mowers on the side of the road that don't go faster than you can walk. Hell, I even read an article awhile back where I got got a DWI for riding a horse along the side of the road. I guess I shouldn't be surprise since this country has gone so far to cr-p that you can get a Boating While Intoxicated in a sailboat. I don't think that they give BWIs for tubing and drinking a beer *yet*, but I wouldn't be surprised.

[starmac]

They do here Boat, canoe, raft or ice floe, can get you a bwi, believe it or not. We had a kid jailed with trumped up charges for riding a chunk of ice on a lawn chair, no beer involved. There was a pretty good uproar over it last year.

George got a DWI on a lawnmower at between vidor and beaumont, iirc back in the late 70's or early 80's. lol

[Lloyd Smale]

were talking radar detectors here, not drunk driving detectors or 16 year old kids speeding. There completely differnt subjects. Some of you live in areas that have freeways and routinely drive 70mph to get where your going. Some like me live in very rural areas that have speed limits of 55. IF you are old enought to remember at one time 65 was a universal speed limit in this country. It wasnt changed to 55 because of wrecks or teenage deaths. It was changed because of the fuel shortage in those days. It was brought to us by politians who dont abided by it themselves. I am absolutely no more of a danger on the road driving 65 then i am 55. Yup i have a radar detector in my car. It doesnt mean i drive 90 mph down the road. I do drive 65 routinely and wont appolgize for it. Heck sometimes i dont wear my seat belt either. I dont feel some politician should be able to tell me i have to wear it. Funny to me some states make you wear a seat belt in a pickup truck but will pass a law saying a guy on a motorcycle can ride without a helmet. Or will allow a bar to serve alcohol to people with there cars lined up in the parking lot but will pass a law saying those same people cant smoke a cigerette inside because some yuppy might be offended or has a very remote possibility of it doing harm to them but that same yuppy can drink in there and go out and possibly drive a car under the influence. A radar detector doesn cause wrecks or fatalitys. No more then a gun causes death. You cant tell me that someone using one would majicaly be a safer better driver if he didnt have it. thats just silly. I think the main reason there banned in places is that it angers the police depts that they cut into there profits buy keeping them from writing a few more tickets every day.

[dragon813gt]

You can thank the insurance companies for the no helmet laws. They were the big push behind it. And from a money standpoint I understand. The medical claims will be a lot less if you aren't wearing a helmet. And while I always wear my seatbelt, I see no good reason not to. I never wear a helmet when riding my motorcycle. And there a lot of good reasons for me to do so.

Funny how I never feel the need for a radar detector when on the motorcycle. I'm usually going under the limit because I'm just putting around checking out the scenery :)

[Bret4207]

It is sad that nowadays, if an officer did what Crash did for that fellow, the guy would get in an accident and the officer would be sued by both the drunk driver and the driver's victim. The resulting judgements could literally bankrupt a small town police department... Our society has the mentality that one doesn't have to accept the consequences of their actions, they can just blame it in someone else and sue them. Even if you don't win the frivolous suit, the other person is destroyed because they spent their life savings on a lawyer defending themselves.

Yup. And the other thing is that people talk. If Billy Bob gets a break from Officer Doe because he's having a crappy day and his wife left him with 5 kids, then Jim Bob, Ed Bob, Bubba and Bubba Jr all want breaks too even though they are total *** druggie drunks that don't even hold jobs. Discretion went out the window a few years back.

[unclogum bill]

Radar detectors are banned in all vehicles in the state of Virginia and the District of Columbia,
Radar Detectors are also banned in big trucks in the states of New York and Illinois. Plus, under federal law, the use of radar or laser speed detectors is illegal in all commercial vehicles over 10,000 pounds. However, radar detectors are allowed in all noncommercial vehicles in all other states.

Ignoring radar detector laws
Think law enforcement will never find out that you have an illegal radar detector? Think again! In states and areas where radar detectors are illegal, law enforcement have devices such as the VG-2 Detector and the Spectres I, II, III, that scan for small frequencies emitting from your detector’s tuning oscillator. And if you are caught with an illegal detector, be prepared to pay a huge fine, have your detector confiscated & possibly increase your auto insurance rates.

[starmac]

All states have and use it to seek out radar detectors, because they are banned in big trucks nationwide, and ALL states luv big truck money. Wyoming probably is the truck friendliest state that I know of.

If a radar detector saves you one ticket, it has paid for itself, but something to think about is that I have talked to cops that claim they never give someone a break if they know they have a radar detector, and I have gotten several breaks over the years.

[lksmith]

radar detectors just tell you when to pull over.. .LOL
I've had mine come on a mile in advance, more than once.
My take on them is if they save you from 1 ticket they've paid for themselves. I don't try to speed, but I drive 30+ miles each way to work and one vehicle doesn't have cruise and the other hits 60-70mph at 1500rpm without effort

[lksmith]

...
If a radar detector saves you one ticket, it has paid for itself, but something to think about is that I have talked to cops that claim they never give someone a break if they know they have a radar detector, and I have gotten several breaks over the years.

That's why you yank it off the windshield and throw it behind the seat if you get the blue lights

[Just Duke]

GPS is convenient for when you are in a new city or just as a replacement for printed maps. I don't like a GPS telling me where to go. I'm perfectly happy with it just showing me where I'm at and letting me figure out the route myself.

I have way to much electric junk now and don't care to purchase anymore. lol

[waksupi]

I have a little GPS
I've had it all my life
It's better than the normal ones
My GPS is my wife

It gives me full instructions
Especially how to drive
"It's thirty miles an hour", it says
"You're doing thirty five"

It tells me when to stop and start
And when to use the brake
And tells me that it's never ever
Safe to overtake

It tells me when a light is red
And when it goes to green
It seems to know instinctively
Just when to intervene

It lists the vehicles just in front
And all those to the rear
And taking this into account
It specifies my gear.

I'm sure no other driver
Has so helpful a device
For when we leave and lock the car
It still gives its advice
It fills me up with counseling
Each journey's pretty fraught
So why don't I exchange it
And get a quieter sort?

Ah well, you see, it cleans the house,
Makes sure I'm properly fed,
It washes all my shirts and things
And - keeps me warm in bed!

Despite all these advantages
And my tendency to scoff,
I do wish that once in a while
I could turn the damned thing off.

[codgerville@zianet.com]

I have a little GPS
I've had it all my life
It's better than the normal ones
My GPS is my wife

It gives me full instructions
Especially how to drive
"It's thirty miles an hour", it says
"You're doing thirty five"

It tells me when to stop and start
And when to use the brake
And tells me that it's never ever
Safe to overtake

It tells me when a light is red
And when it goes to green
It seems to know instinctively
Just when to intervene

It lists the vehicles just in front
And all those to the rear
And taking this into account
It specifies my gear.

I'm sure no other driver
Has so helpful a device
For when we leave and lock the car
It still gives its advice
It fills me up with counseling
Each journey's pretty fraught
So why don't I exchange it
And get a quieter sort?

Ah well, you see, it cleans the house,
Makes sure I'm properly fed,
It washes all my shirts and things
And - keeps me warm in bed!

Despite all these advantages
And my tendency to scoff,
I do wish that once in a while
I could turn the damned thing off.
YES! I think I married her sister!

[Just Duke]

I have a little GPS
I've had it all my life
It's better than the normal ones
My GPS is my wife

It gives me full instructions
Especially how to drive
"It's thirty miles an hour", it says
"You're doing thirty five"

It tells me when to stop and start
And when to use the brake
And tells me that it's never ever
Safe to overtake

It tells me when a light is red
And when it goes to green
It seems to know instinctively
Just when to intervene

It lists the vehicles just in front
And all those to the rear
And taking this into account
It specifies my gear.

I'm sure no other driver
Has so helpful a device
For when we leave and lock the car
It still gives its advice
It fills me up with counseling
Each journey's pretty fraught
So why don't I exchange it
And get a quieter sort?

Ah well, you see, it cleans the house,
Makes sure I'm properly fed,
It washes all my shirts and things
And - keeps me warm in bed!

Despite all these advantages
And my tendency to scoff,
I do wish that once in a while
I could turn the damned thing off.


But your not married though. Do you have a new GF?

[Down South]

I have a little GPS
I've had it all my life
It's better than the normal ones
My GPS is my wife

It gives me full instructions
Especially how to drive
"It's thirty miles an hour", it says
"You're doing thirty five"

It tells me when to stop and start
And when to use the brake
And tells me that it's never ever
Safe to overtake

It tells me when a light is red
And when it goes to green
It seems to know instinctively
Just when to intervene

It lists the vehicles just in front
And all those to the rear
And taking this into account
It specifies my gear.

I'm sure no other driver
Has so helpful a device
For when we leave and lock the car
It still gives its advice
It fills me up with counseling
Each journey's pretty fraught
So why don't I exchange it
And get a quieter sort?

Ah well, you see, it cleans the house,
Makes sure I'm properly fed,
It washes all my shirts and things
And - keeps me warm in bed!

Despite all these advantages
And my tendency to scoff,
I do wish that once in a while
I could turn the damned thing off.
I think that they are all sisters. You just described my wife to a "T". I let here read it and she got a chuckle out of the poem.

[Dale in Louisiana]

I think that they are all sisters. You just described my wife to a "T". I let here read it and she got a chuckle out of the poem.

I had the GPS on one day with the girlfriend in the car.

"Why do you have that thing on? You know where you're going."

"Because I've gotten used to a female voice telling me how to drive."

Girlfriend has a great sense of humor. I stretch it to the limits at times.

dale in Louisiana

[waksupi]

But your not married though. Do you have a new GF?

Just abusing those so afflicted! ;)

[rockrat]

I have used the Escort passport battery powered detector, for years. Started back in the 70's with a Super snooper. I usually figure that it might tell me when someone ahead of me or behind me is getting "pinged", and to be on the watch out. Don't always use it. Best was one of the Escort detectors picking up a sheriff deputy, in the Oklahoma panhandle, about 10 miles away.
I have slowed way down since my youth. Seldom do 10 over now, usually 4 or less,but i still have my moments. figure that all what I did as a youth, that I got by with, would come around and get me now if I still did it, so I better behave. Besides, it costs alot more now and I have too much Scottish blood in me to part with my cash.

[coleman]

I have a radar detector, I don't speed much I just use it to know where they are at so I don't take a drink of beer! and when to put on my seatbelt.