Radar Detector

Z

ZYDA

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I just got a speeding ticket. I received a citation for doing 45 in a 35 MPH zone. I don't get tickets... the last one I got was about 9 years ago and I find this irritating.

The citation is for going over by 10 mph so it will not hit my insurance but I am not happy at all since I have to pay 79.00 for sheer stupidity on my part.

Anyway, to come to the point... is there a brand and model of radar detector that you would care to recommend? I just need something that will do the job and warn me that there is someone out there with a radar gun... flashing lights and custom messages are not too high on the priority list just a GOOD utility device that will detect and warn. I would appreciate your opinion.

Let me know...
 
First thing to consider is to appear in court. If your state allows you to get a copy of your driving record, show up in court with it. Hopefully, this 35 MPH zone wasn't a school zone. More probable than not, you will get a PBJ or dropped completely as a first time offender. Your 10 yr old ticket should not appear on your driver's record. You can expect to get somewhere between a dismissal and a full 10 over, but more likely, just by appearing, will be something less.
 
I can assure you that if you use a radar detector, you are asking for more attention from law enforcment people. Radar detectors show up on radar, and most law enforcers take as an attempt to defeat the law. In any case, radar detectors are most commonly a "personal indicator that you just got a ticket". If you can read them, they can read you.
 
Well I am an avid believer in radar detectors.... but you get what you paid for when it comes to them.

Beltronics Vector something 65 is really nice around $200
Escort Passport 8500 $240
or valentine 1 for around $400 are your top choices.
 
I have a valentine 1, and love it, only thing is it picks up everything, so a lot of times bogeys will pop up, just gotta get used to where the fake signals are and keep an eye on the counter. Also laser still kills you. It'll pick it up, but most of the time when it picks up the laser is when the cop gets your speed. Unless your lucky and catch it bouncing off a car ahead. So remember your still not invincible. The new passport might be something to check out. Its got built in gps, so when you know your getting fake signals you enter it in and the gps remembers where those signals are. No more fakes in those areas, only shows a radar if it picks up more than what you set as fake.
 
whiplash15 said:
I can assure you that if you use a radar detector, you are asking for more attention from law enforcment people. Radar detectors show up on radar, and most law enforcers take as an attempt to defeat the law. In any case, radar detectors are most commonly a "personal indicator that you just got a ticket". If you can read them, they can read you.
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Highlighted remarks are not necessarly true. Police DO have a VG2 (maybe a 3 by now) Radar Detector-Detector. High end personal radar have the capability to cancel out the detection from these devices. The Police have to be quite close for the VG2 to detect your detector. Nowhere near the distance that their standard and lasar reach. Your personal detector will pick up the scattered signal from the police radar/laser and beep. If (and a big-IF) you are on a road with other vehicles, you will be warned in plenty of time to slow down. Laser WILL get you before you know it's there, on an empty road!!

So, it's a crap shoot....you speed, you takes your chances. If you're gonna play, be aware that you may need to pay!
 
Show up in court just to see if the cop shows up - half the time they don't and your case is dismissed.

Cops usually only give tickets for doing 15mph or more over the limit. This guy was having a bad day or something.

One other note: if you go to court, ask for the radar's calibration records. Most radars have a tolerance of +/-5%. Most speedos have a tolerance of +/-5%. So out of the total 10mph that you were over, 4.5mph could have been due to error. A lot of judges will go with that...they like rational explanations.
 
WAIT!

OK, so you admit you were speeding and this is your first ticket in 9 years.

You probably can do any of the suggestions above and possibly get the fine reduced.

BUT, Why spend a couple hundred on a radar detector when this is not your normal habit?
 
logres said:
Worn out how? A lot of mileage, or RPMs? ;)
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LOL... mileage.

Started with the V1 back in 2000 I think when I had a '96 F250 Powerstroke, then the '02 F250 Powerstroke. Now I drive an '06 Harley Davidson Edition F150(30,000+ miles). The Valentine 1 still works fine, I just added a remote display when I got the Harley truck. More 'stealth' that way.
 
Thanks to all of you who have made recomendations and given advice. It has been a very long time --- 9 years, at least, since I have been pulled over for anything. It pissed me off to receive this one since I was stopped at a spot where I KNOW a cop always hides but @ 7 am on a SUNDAY, my guard was down and I was doing 45 mph, 10 mph over the speed limit. Just yards away the road is rated to be 45 mph and this is a popular speed trap since the change happens suddenly at a newly constructed freeway entrance/exit... and I KNOW this :):)

Well, anyway, I have never owned a radar detector and being more angry at myself than anything else, I thought that owning one will be my way to show defiance and rig up a warning system... I am amused at myself.

Perhaps it was the attitude of the officer who was polite and respectful but was old enough to be my youngest son. Getting older is getting on my nerves hehehe. There was nothing impatient about the officer's manner but as we parted company he asked me to "try" and have a nice day. I think that rubbed me the wrong way... my wife thinks I am being too touchy and maybe I agree but that was an odd way to say goodbye. Felt like a snicker...

All said and done, I have decided to stay the way I am... without a detector. I really don't need one. One ticket in 9 or 10 years is not too bad.

But thanks again to all of you for your opinions.
 
ZYDA said:
Just yards away the road is rated to be 45 mph and this is a popular speed trap since the change happens suddenly at a newly constructed freeway entrance/exit... and I KNOW this :):)
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Check the actual distance from where you were picked up and the higher posted limit, and the laws in your state. There's supposed to be a range where you can do the posted limit, I believe. I got out of a ticket that way (granted it was the other way around, I was supposed to be slowing), but the judge actually reprimanded the officer for picking the spot he picked to use his radar.
 
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