I've been hearing from a few people that the police have been using Laser more often, rendering Radar Detectors basically useless. Are they worth the price, to use in the state of MN?
Note that Radar Detectors are not 100% effective and you will still get tickets if you choose to break the law. Radar detector wise they have a handful of effective ones that are out there, but be prepared to spend some money. Do your research though. Im sure one of the few police officers that are on here could maybe elaborate a little more.
Ripped around yesterday in a friend's car. Never got hit with a laser. Occasional Ka band. We were all over the metro too. But if you're going to spend the money, get something worth it.
Running in a major metropolitan area so much faster than surrounding traffic that you feel the need for a radar detector is just plain stupid. Out on the open road in light traffic, not so much. You are just asking for trouble amongst the great unwashed masses that suck at basic driving in the first place, without asking them to observe a WRB missile approaching from behind at extra-legal velocity. Life is a lot less stressful and expensive if you just go with the flow and don't try to shave a couple minutes off your travel time. And I am not a LEO.
I'm not looking to go 150mph on the highway, just 5~ above traffic; with no one on an empty dirt road in the middle of nowhere somewhere in the US, it'd be nice to be offered a little protection. I know I can still get caught speeding, but it'd be a little easier with a RD.
How are Escort Redlines? I was about to order one after about a month of research, but I figured that I'd consult the guys that have been around longer than me, and could provide a lot more information.
The Escorts are great, as is the Valentine-1, but unless you spend a lot of time in very rural areas, nothing is worth it. It's wasted money. I spent a few years driving to/from SD regularly and in thousands and thousands of miles, I think I got one positive hit on a trooper, and he already had someone pulled over and lights going anyhow. The best value is being an aware/smart driver. After that, using Waze is about 1000% more effective than a radar detector anywhere populated. But if you're not convinced, I've got an Escort SmartRadar for Android (works standalone too, but integrates with the Escort Live service on a phone) for cheap.
i think they're worth it, especially since i notice that cops don't turn off whatever equipment they have in cars so that always gets picked up on the detector, not necessarily only when you're getting pinged. my radar is not the best, so besides the on-ramp blinking lights that always trigger it i can always tell if there's a cop up or down the highway from me. i also notice there's a lot of random laser noise **** around here, especially on 62 by the airport and transit buses seem to have something similar too.
Aside from the technology being fairly useless for the intended purpose in a metropolitan area, visible presence of a detector in the car is an excellent way to persuade an otherwise lenient officer that a mere verbal or written warning means ****-all to you. Something to keep in mind.
I have the v1 since moving to the metro I hardly use it. When I lived up in northern Minnesota I used it frequently.
I retired my V1 a few years ago, and when i got rid of it, my tickets went down. Cops who are seriously out to nail speeders are basically the ones running speed traps. Just about all of them are using LIDAR (AKA Laser) and you probably won't get any sort of advanced notice until your screwed. Combine that with all the false positives and it really made it all feel useless. Keep it under 10 over and it won't go on your record, and look ahead. Stop driving off the guy's bumper in front of you and you'll notice it's not very hard to avoid cops.
I usually go the same speed as everyone else, unless I'm the only one on the road, and want to go a bit faster.
Get a radar detector, fund the cops more. I speed, but when traffic is heavy i just go with the flow. Last ticket i got was 4 years ago in Louisiana where the speed went from 65 to 45 on i10. The only place that radar detectors are good is on the highway for long distance driving. Because speeding actually equates to hour's. In the city, it's pointless. You might cut 5-10min's max off your drive time if you're going for an hour.
25yrs since my last speeding ticket...and I don't use detectors. Sure, I have had a handful or two of warnings, but not a ticket. I think some of those warnings would have been tickets if I had a detector in the window. I will save the speeding speech because I haven't listened to it myself.
Classic movie, probably one of my favorites of all time! Bingo, this right here. Definitely "nice to have" on long road trips. But now that Wisconsin finally upp'ed their speed limit to 70, and the other states that I road-trip through are generally 70, I don't really feel the need to go over 80, so my radar detector is feeling less useful. I've had a radar detector for the last few years. First was a cheapo I got for free, the 2nd, current one, is a Beltronics 995 that I got on clearance at Radio Shack for only $60, couldn't pass it up. Do I speed constantly? No. I normally keep it under 10 over, and I have almost nothing to worry about. Have I gotten pulled over/tickets while using it? Yup. Some warnings, gotten out of others, I think the last ticket that actually went on my record was 3 years ago. I was averaging one "incident" per year, almost like a perpetual reminder to slow the F down lol. I will say that taking down your radar detector if you get pulled over can avoid some unnecessary suspicious questions. Would I go without it? Probably not, although I'd have a hard time spending hundreds on a new one. There are those times (we are all guilty of it) when we decide to romp on it (whether is just having fun on an on-ramp, or passing that annoying slow car) and you might only be speeding (10+ over) for a matter of seconds...but that always seems to be when the ol' officer gets ya. Having a radar detector helps you know when there are police officers around so you don't romp on it for those few seconds. Having the radar detector AND keeping your eyes scanning the horizon, traffic, etc are the easiest ways to "avoid" getting a ticket. But don't get me wrong, there is no "fool-proof" method and if you speed frequently enough, you will get pulled over. If you think you can just listen to your radar detector, you will most definitely get pulled over. Using a radar detector might help you avoid some traffic stops, but it sounds like it doesn't work for everyone. YMMV.
Thought about this thread last night as I came over a hill and on the other side was a cop with a laser pointed at me. Glad I wasn't pushing the limit much but at that time of night if I had been speeding much, a radar detector would of just ensured I was getting a ticket. I probably get a ticket every other year or so but I remember when I thought one would help and decided it would just make me over confident and I would get more tickets with it than without.
They are f'ing annoying to listen to all of the damn time. It's basically another form of waterboarding.
Since I got my passport 8500 a few years ago, I have only 1 ticket, and it was my fault. It has saved my ass several times...
In my experience they are worth it. Everyone breaks the law all of the time - we just have to many damn laws. So don't let anyone get all holier than thou with the "Dont break the law" crap.
Also in Minnesota, it is illegal to mount a radar detector to the windshield. This may be up to the LEO pulling you over, but if you are being pulled over, this may increase your chances of actually getting a ticket. (or more than one)
Why? There is nobody that is part of a car forum or that has ever modified a car that has adhered to traffic laws without fail. Everyone breaks the law...it happens. It hurts my head when someone asks an opinion on radar detectors and is flooded with "Dont break the law and you dont have to worry about it" nonsense posts...as if they have never broken the law.
Hurt my head trying to decifer what you were trying to say with the misspelling and grammar problems.
You mean that one, single tongue-in-cheek video post? Or were you referring to the "flood" of technical and practical observations about the limited benefits of using detectors in metropolitan areas? Stow your fedora and lighten up Francis. No flaxen haired damsels in distress are to be found here.
