Effectiveness of radar detectors on the interstate?
 

Is a radar detector still a good tool to avoid getting clocked traveling on the interstate? They seem to have their place around town with city cops, but hasn't the CHP switched to laser devices? Anyone have any real life experiences avoiding being clocked by the CHP on the interstate recently?

I am not a triple digit speeder, but like to travel the average speed everyone does on the major interstates in CA. Bad news is that in a 911, you'll be the guy picked out, over the camry or volvo driving next to you.

Let me know what your opinion is on CHP and detectors. No, this is not "what radar detector should I buy", as I have searched those threads extensively already! ;)

George

If your leading you have a good chance of getting popped.

I always drive right at the speed limit until some stooge passes me going faster, then I jump behind about 1/8 to 1/4 mile and follow.

When the stooge gets shot at by an instant on you will get a reading. Laser is tricky, depending on the angle of attack you might get a warning. I have gotten warnings from my V1 for laser as it was being shot at a car ahead, its picked up the scatter.


All that said I just drove to NC and then back to Florida, I was ticked off when I realized I left my V1 in my car and did not switch it over before the trip.

I used my cruise control a lot and kept a ways behind speeders in hopes they would flush out the fuzz. I basically kept it at 9 over any posted limit.

I know I went through a couple of traps and never had a second look at 9 over. In my FJ Cruiser, 9 over is plenty fast, in the Audi and Pcar, its crawling.

I'm curious as well. There seem to be those who swear by radar detectors and those that feel the opposite. I remember Jay Leno commenting that he thought that they were stupid or some such derogatory thing - he didn't elaborate why.

Very effective.

Problem around here is you'll almost never get an open stretch of road, so it's almost pointless.

Of course the upside to that is that there are hardly ever any radar traps around here either, since there's no point to it - CHP seldom bothers with the socal freeways since you're lucky to ever be doing more than 30 mph. Usually the radar traps I've seen are on surface streets by local PDs.

Putting CHP resources into radar traps on socal freeways would be a tremendous waste of time/money/effort/resources, most of the time.

for me a detector makes for a less tense ride. It's entertaing to say the least.

Jim overs excellent advise.

In many states, Calif included, limit + 10 and they shouldn't bother you. HP are hunting for the guy that's limit + 20.

My booby prize goes to Fla where i was following limit + 15-20 guys from northern border to the Keys. Excluding Keys' local traps the leading bait got tagged 4 times.

If i'm not playing this chess game it's limit + 5 in the 911

I consider my V-1 a good investment...interstate and rural both, it has saved my bacon...

To me, a radar detector is just part of the total package of avoiding speeding tickets.

I keep my eyes ahead. I watch for brake lights at the crest of hills--cops like to clock people just coming over hills as they can't see them until it's too late. I use this to my advantage and am able to slow down as someone panic brakes at the crest of a hill. Otherwise, I generally slow down to 5 over at the top of a hill. Watching other drivers ahead can give you a lot of clues--long before you ever see the cop.

When driving the pickup, I know I'm not a big target unless I have a lift kit, 30" rims, or a loud exhaust (none of which I have). I know that I can go 5-10 mph over the limit in it and not get a blink from a state trooper.

In the 951, I know that I will get pulled over for doing 1 over when everyone else is doing 10 over. I actually drive that car slower on the interstate. I do know plenty of fun backroads though...

The V1's saved me on the highway. I just wish I used it all the time :(.

Jay Leno doesn't need to worry about $500 and up speeding ticket fines...and I'd bet that many cops would tear up a ticket in exchange for an autograph, show tickets, etc.

Reminds me of an old story...a young Texas trooper pulling over a Caddy rolling 100 plus across the flatlands. The driver rolled down the window...it was LBJ himself. "Oh my God!" blurted the rookie trooper. "And don't you forget it!" responded LBJ...who then rolled up the window, and drove on...

I just drove from Florida up the North Carolina and back and the only place I saw any real speed traps was, as usual, Georgia.

I never saw but one on the way North in Florida and none heading back South.

Also, as usual, I26 in South and North Carolina were void of any speed traps.

I must mention I traveled at odd times in order to avoid, what I call, ameture weekend on the Interstates. I left Florida a day early (Tues.) at 3:30 in the afternoon getting me into NC at 2 in the morning with stops. The return trip I left at 3 in the afternoon, (Saturday instead of Sunday) stopped for a nice sit down Rib dinner and got to my house at 1:30 a.m.

I prefer late night driving, less LEO enforcement, less morons on the road, did I mention less moron on the road. Less chance of an accident tying up the interstate for hours on end and never recovering for 100's of miles after the tie up.

The family sleeps = less potty breaks = making time.

BTW- as always I was able to uphold my "Give Georgia no Money" rule. They are the speed trap kings and they got me once 3 years ago. Since then I make sure to fuel up in South Carolina and Florida before driving through Georgia. We stopped for dinner in SC too. So by my guesses Georgia missed out on another big chunk of money I could have spent there. That $150 ticket was the last $150 I'll ever spend there as long as I live. The loss of revenue, just from me in their state is 10 fold.

Just got back from a trip where I borrowed a V1 for the week with good results. Drove from Seattle through Oregon, to Twin Falls Idaho, to Las Vegas, to the Grand Canyon, to Sedona, to Phoenix, to Joshua Tree, to Palm Springs, to Southern California, to San Fancisco and back to Seattle. I can say that the detector did help in every state and on every interstate. Laser only went off one time, where I did get a bounce first before I was tagged. I am not sure if the detector actually saved me, but it did help me be more aware.

My wife thought it was great. Needless to say, I am getting a V1 for Christmas! :)

+1
+2

My V1 is definitely helped me in canyons, beach areas, etc... On open highways, I think a lot of CA patrol like to pace you anyways.

My V1 has saved me time and money here in and around Houston many times over. I've taken it on trips to/from Florida a few times. I don't think it's ever done anything for me on the highway on those trips, but I get lucky in that the speed traps always seem to be on the opposite side of the freeway during those trips. I've also had a couple of laser hits.

I'd recommend having a V1 for a highway trip and/or around town.

RD's are especially effective in VA, where the ban on them has made it so that very few people use them and thus the cops never use instant on or laser. They are very easy to detect. And getting caught with a RD in VA only carries a $90 fine, which is cheaper than the cheapest speeding ticket. Totally worth it. When I travel and get a rental car, I use a cordless Solo S2. In VA I use a blue display Escort X50. The blue makes it much harder to see outside the car. Both have paid for themselves many times over.

My V-1 has paid itself over many, many times. The only annoying part is that certain vehicles' brake lights cause a false laser warning.

I'm with legion on the spectrum approach as well, and following a stooge. Strangely, when certain folks see a wide, loud 930 they feel they have something to prove ... and I just let 'em get ~ 1/4 mile ahead and watch them prove it.

That said, on certain roads with lots of elevation change and twisties (like Route 17 between Binghamton and Middletown) driving with such caution involves a lot of this: crest hill, accelerate, eyes up and out, see upcoming blind corner/hill crest, brake, coast through high-threat zone, re-accelerate, repeat as necessary. Not that that's "bad", but the constant inertial adjustment can annoy the snot out of passengers.

JP

At night, you're probably only looking at a radar threat. Laser is a sharp beam that must be aimed directly at a reflecting area on your car. The license plate. There is some question as to whether they can really hit that rectangle at night, when they cannot see it. I'm guessing they don't try. Night time = radar.

V1 is your FRIEND.

On a road trip down the oregon coast from Seattle to Florence, the V1 had at least 12-15 confirmed hits, sometimes giving me up to 15-20 seconds notice.

I've been saved from laser hits with a state patrol on an above the freeway overpass.

V1 V1 V1, priceless..........

South of Roscoe on 17 is that long downhill with an exit and the trooper barracks right there. It is like shooting fish in a barrel.

So many times have I seen those in the know slow down over that crest - piss off the poor drivers behind - who then pass on the right, speed up out of frustration and then get tagged. Oh what a crummy day!:(

Even more annoying that GM LED high mount brake lights are the Infiniti SUVs that use Infrared lasers for their adaptive cruise control. If you get in front of an Infiniti SUV, you'll get a Laser warning every 5 or 10 seconds until you aren't in front of them anymore. It really sucks.

From what I've been told, there's more scatter to laser than you'd think at intermediate to long-ish ranges.

Take a laser pen sometime and try to aim it at something a couple of hundred yards away. Even bracing it on something, the dot will "jiggle" quite a bit before you get a steady bead on something. Even harder with a moving target.

I've no doubt you can get enough warning with laser to possibly save your ass simply due to refraction or the beam jiggling around. Even easier when there's someone in front of you. Here's how V1 explains it:

http://www.valentine1.com/lab/MikesLabRpt6.asp
http://www.valentine1.com/Moreinfo/pdf/what_you_should_know_laser_pg12.pdf
http://www.valentine1.com/Moreinfo/pdf/finding_laser_pg13.pdf
http://www.valentine1.com/moments/mom0307.asp
http://www.valentine1.com/laserhowto/

It might not be enough warning to avoid getting nailed, but it very well might be if you're situationally aware, don't do obviously stupid things and respond IMMEDIATELY to any laser threat.

My last speeding ticket was at night with laser from 1500 feet. Then again, the officer repeatedly lied on the stand when I contested the ticket, so I'm betting he was full of $h!t anyway. (For example, he said he was sitting in the median. He was sitting on the furthest-away shoulder on the opposite side of the interstate.) When I went to contest the ticket, the guy sitting next to me had been clocked by the same officer at the same speed (85 mph) from the same distance at the same mile marker. That guy was driving a reticulated bus full of middle-school softball players that was governed at 75 mph. After he pulled the bus over, he came aboard the bus with his gun drawn and handcuffed the driver and made him sit in the back of the cruiser while he wrote him a ticket. :rolleyes:

Are radar detectors effective in alerting for red light cameras and automated speed cameras? My tickets lately have all been from these infernal devices.

I've got a redlight camera near the house, and have never gotten a hit from one on my V1. I was downtown in Houston and had something set my V1 off for a few blocks, but I never determined what it was. I would guess that it should work for a speed camera, but I'm doubtful about redlight cameras.

Do red light cameras even have anything activated before the light turns red? I would think they're on passive mode until then.

Some smart person needs to come up with a fully composite, radar-invisible car. Bet they'd sell like hotcakes.

The states that require front license plates (like Illinois) do so to ensure there is a reflective area on the front of a vehicle.

CA does that too, although not having the front plate on is a "fix it" ticket - cheaper than a speeding ticket. . .

Easy to talk your way out of too if you have the plate with you and no front bracket too - at least you have a shot.

I've told at least three cops that the front bracket is NLA... ;)

Heheh. :)

A former boss of mine simply got a bit irate (just enough, not so much it set the cop off) and said "you expect me to drill holes in an 80 thousand dollar car!?!?" He got off with a warning.

I've been tagged by laser/lidar at night. I was coming along an undulating but straight highway. There was a single car in front of me--probably by about 1/3 mile. As I rounded the corner leading onto this undulating section, I got a laser hit on my V1 just as I was cresting a bump. I slowed down to the speed limit. I continued along this undulating bit. At the end of the straightaway (I've since gone back and measured this to be a distance of about 0.9 miles), was a Statie parked in the median. Right before I got to him, he turned his headlights on. Right after I drove by, at the speed limit, he pulled out onto the highway, and passed me at full song. Again, except for the single car about 1/3 mile in front of me, there was no one else on the highway. So I'm guessing that he was using laser, deliberately, at night.

V1 has made me more alert but more importantly i think one of the better features is the ability to distinguish two sources of radar so you know when there is a double trap. been saved many times.
Then again i've also been paced and "drive-by" warned by cops that come up on me out of nowhere.
i think eyes are important and V1 helps

Yes, the V1 is the best there is in the hands of a situationally-aware driver exercising common sense. It's not a substitute for it. Even with a V1, you can't zone off and do stupid ***** and expect the electronic box to save your ass. You need to be thinking too.

I assume that the laser is designed to move around so that aim is not that critical. I don't know for sure. But what's this about it only working on "reflector' surfaces? I could easily fix all of that. You do see the reflectors that are built into the lenses whenever anyone shoot a pic with a flash. Always looks like the lights are on. Just mess up that part of the lens. The license plate itself could be reproduced to look like the real deal in the daylight with just paint.

My MO is to stay in the right lane as much as possible only merging to the lft to pass. I constantly scan all over passes for little heads with cameras and the top of on ramps where cops like to sit. I also scan both the median and the right side of the ditch for sitting police and oncoming traffic for moving police. I also keep an eye out for tail lights of cars up ahead which come on for no reason.
I can pick a cop car out in the oncoming traffic lane in a crowded interstate from over a mile away.

I cruise at a good clip and always make good time.

I once borrowed a radar detector and used the stooge technique. In my drive from Florida back up to Wisconsin (non stop) 3 stooges were busted. This drive only took 16 hours :)

I still employ the stooge technique to this day but sans the radar detector.

Speedy:)

With less and less Camaros and Trans Ams on the road this is getting less and less fun.. Who wants to look at the wing of some Subaru mile after mile...:rolleyes:

Was this near Bloomington? I just got back from a trip which took me down 39/55. I have never seen so many cops in my life! Yes, it was T-day weekend, but it was crazy. Had to been 30 cops between St Louis and Rockford. However, none in Mo or Wis.

I haven't had a radar detector in years. I also haven't had a speeding ticket in as long. After awhile you get a "feel" for where the cops are likely to be. I usually set the cruise at 7-10 over and "hit it" where I think I'll be safe. Never fast over hills and around curves - only where you can see well ahead. Slow for over-passes. I suppose a radar detector would make my driving life easier, but I'm so used to doing it this way plus it keeps me awake on long trips and makes the time go by faster. I believe overall it keeps me safer to be on guard.

I use the "stooge" approach as well, but I've been pulled over doing that too. Once the trooper pulled over the stooge and waved me in too!:mad: This last trip I jumped in behind some girl in a SUV driving 85 mph (no shortage of those) only to find a Trooper right on my ass with his lights on-so much for my "feel"! It was weird-I had NO idea he was there when I pulled out. I was up to her speed too. Fortunately, he had his sights set on her. I pulled over and he went up and got her.:cool:

No, that ticket was just south of Champaign on I-57.

Any big travel holiday is revenue time in Illinois. Thanksgiving, Christmas, 4th of July--even the university's various spring breaks.

Here's a good forum for radar and laser info:

http://www.radardetector.net/index.php

what i do


whenever i leave home state i remove front plate and install the tinted plastic plate cover. Sometimes i'll get laser hit 10x at once. I figure he tried the front plate then moved over to the headlights. The front plate is his first target.

At his maximum range the laser cone is about 18".

Laser aim is critical and the PD's I know say it's a PIA and stick a newbie on them at a multi PD car trap when possible.

My V1 has paid for itself many times over. I use it on the highway, not in the city because of the false alarms. It's well worth the $ and effort to use it!