Radar detector

[Hambo]

Germany also has a strict car inspection prior to registration. A lot of cars here would be headed to the crusher in The Fatherland.

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Don't drive like a jackass and it'll never be needed, they're an instant sign of poor integrity.

Its post like this that make me wish for a dislike button. Jackass..poor integrity...seriously?

[Peally]

Its post like this that make me wish for a dislike button. Jackass..poor integrity...seriously?

YMMV certainly but I've only met a handful of people that had them in their cars, and they all fell into the exact same crowd of "I'm a better driver than everyone else". All three were people pathetically trying to avoid responsibility for their speeding or DUI habits to hang onto their licenses, the very definition of jackasses when it came to road laws. I'm a little bitter but considering Wisconsin's pathetically high rate of traffic related deaths every year, to say I'm less than impressed with those people is a vast understatement. The scanner provided a valuable and accurate first impression.

I don't know OP or his wife and he may be a badass guy looking for a fun little toy for all I know, but in my limited experience they're a useless electronic device at best, a telling insight into the driver at worst.

[YVK]

Interesting how much heartburn there appears to be over radar detectors,

No kidding. As if useless and meaningless ticketing has never happened. A few years ago there the Trib had an expose on a local police officer. The woman was some record holder for traffic violation citations until she got eventually burned and fired.

As I told you, I had the latest Escort hardwired and paired with a laser thing in my BMW. Got two tickets within 6 months of owning that car and said screw it. Especially after both officers aacknowledged that they saw me hitting brakes on my own, not because i saw them. Not a single ticket after, until I traded it 3 years later. Haven't caused any accidents, killed anyone or even been flipped by a fellow driver.

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But this is about the OP and his wife not some common jackass you met on the road.

YMMV certainly but I've only met a handful of people that had them in their cars, and they all fell into the exact same crowd of "I'm a better driver than everyone else". All three were people pathetically trying to avoid responsibility for their speeding or DUI habits to hang onto their licenses, the very definition of jackasses when it came to road laws. I'm a little bitter but considering Wisconsin's pathetically high rate of traffic related deaths every year, to say I'm less than impressed with those people is a vast understatement. The scanner provided a valuable and accurate first impression.

I don't know OP or his wife and he may be a badass guy looking for a fun little toy for all I know, but in my limited experience they're a useless electronic device at best, a telling insight into the driver at worst.

[GardoneVT]

But this is about the OP and his wife not some common jackass you met on the road.

I'm not trying to include the OP or his spouse in this category, but there are a lot of common jackasses on the road.

Has it occurred to anyone not in LE that maybe there's a speed limit sign for a freaking reason? Yeah speedtraps suck. But I'd rather eat a bogus ticket then eat a guardrail at a buck twenty because of a Mach 5 Speed Racer complex.

Topping that off, there are legal dragstrips available. Find one, get some 93 octane, and have at it on track day.

Believe me it's a lot more fun going WOT down a 1/4 mile with your focus on enjoying the adrenaline rush, instead of looking furtively out your tinted windows at every bush ,tree and bridge support on the freeway like you're on road convoy detail in Fallujah.

[jh9]

but there are a lot of common jackasses on the road.

Yeah.

I average 5-10mph over the limit pretty much everywhere but school zones and average 1 ticket every ~10 years or so. No radar detector. Sometimes you pay the piper. If you're exceeding the local wiggle room often enough for a radar detector to pay for itself maybe ask why.

From road cops to college professors, if you stand up and clearly declare intent to game the system because you're smarter and everybody else is an idiot, you...uh...have a bad time. Recommend not doing that rather than trying to actually be cleverer than everyone else. The former is easy. The latter gets expensive.

[MD7305]

In Virginia you go to jail, unless the law has changed.

Jail is not likely in itself of a detector violation but the officer can collect your detector as evidence. VA Code 46.2-1079. The detector being in the vehicle is prima facie evidence of a violation but if the detector is not readily accessible for use by driver/passenger or there's no available power source for the detector there's no violation. Working close to the TN line we see lots of folks using detectors, some honestly don't know the law and some don't care, but I guarantee every road leading into VA has a sign saying "RADAR DETECTORS ARE ILLEGAL."

[Byron]

Has it occurred to anyone not in LE that maybe there's a speed limit sign for a freaking reason?

Yep. Well... technically lots of reasons. But speed limits haven't always been set for safety, as you seem to imply.

And even worse, in some parts of America speed limits are illegally set artificially low for the purpose of gaining more ticket revenue.

Or has it occurred to you that if people actually, literally obeyed many (if not most) posted speed limits, they would gridlock major roadways... as demonstrated in this video... or by this man in Ontario who had his license suspended for obstructing traffic by obeying the speed limit.

Most people look at those examples and say, "What a bunch of jerks, pulling stunts like that." Yea, what a crazy stunt: obeying the law.

Yeah speedtraps suck. But I'd rather eat a bogus ticket then eat a guardrail at a buck twenty because of a Mach 5 Speed Racer complex.

It's really a shame that modern vehicles only have two speeds: "exactly the speed limit" and "120 mph"

I've never driven 120 mph in my life. It has nothing to do with any posted speed limit. So personally speaking, I really don't feel like "eating" a ticket for going 30 in a 20. Especially when I know that if I actually drive 20 in a 20 zone, I'll quickly collect an ever-growing convoy behind me.



For the record, I do not use a radar detector and the only moving violation I've received in my entire life was one speeding ticket in 2005.
I usually stick to the center lane of the highway and move with the flow of traffic, which 90% of the time is undeniably breaking the posted speed limit.

I'm not advocating balls-to-the-wall speeding, but I also hate when people pretend like only the guys who drive 120 mph are breaking the law. The majority of drivers I see on my commute are breaking the law. They're not ticketed for it, but they're breaking the law nonetheless.

Officer discretion is cool and all, but it sure would be nice if the rules could realistically be followed. I hate this "Set the limit at X, let people actually drive Y, but ticket them when they get to Z" bullshit. That's not what limit means.

Oh, and with all due respect to the LE here, and not to accuse any of you in particular.... the law enforcement officers I personally know are the worst speeders of all. "Professional Courtesy" and whatnot.



Sorry to not actually contribute a radar recommendation, G.

[Dagga Boy]

Just so folks don't assume anything about the OP.....he is well known for evoking very negative reactions from law enforcement folks when he types on the internet, so you can only imagine in person. Add a radar detector, and he could very well be a test case....especially in Virginia where I have found they take speeding VERY seriously.

I think putting Astro in the car with his googles and an "I love cops" t-shirt would go much farther in avoiding tickets than anything else.....cops love funny dogs.