jet22

So I am A manager at Jamba Juice and half the cities police force stops by for there lunch... the other 1/2 goes to starbucks next door. and there is this one cop comes every day I know him by name. so we got into a cassual conversation and ended up talking about radar detectors. here is his opinion:

1) he doesnt realy care If you have one, he just believes that he'll nab you anyway.

2) He says they only go off If he has his Preditor on (radar unit)

3) and he only turns it on if he wants to tag some1

4) A radar detector doesnt work very well when he hits you from behind.

5) By the time It goes off he already has the numbers

6) the only way it works Is If he is taging some1 else and your radardetector picks it up

So theres it is from a Police Officers point of view.

EJD05GT

I wouldn't listen to any of that. The fact is radar detectors work. Some better then others. I happen to have the best rated in the world and it has saved me tons of times.
-E

jet22

that what I wanted to know... I dont have one so I wouldnt know

JStang78

Much of this is true, but dependant on any individual officer. Many or most officers actually just leave their radar gun on, in which case, you will be forewarned by a detector. That's even moreso the case when the police are "hidden" (keep in mind, the harder it is for YOU to see them, it's similarly as hard for them to see you approaching) since the officer may not have the time to shoot radar from the time they see you. Similarly, in heavy traffic, it's much easier to run a constant radar and pick out the person who appears to be going faster than other traffic.

Point 4 is kind of obsolete now-a-days. Today's radar detectors have much better 360-degree protection than those of years' past. Also, police need to get you head-on or from the reverse to accurrately gauge your speed; they cannot get an accurrate reading from a perpendicular (side) angle.

Point 5 is moot. YOUR numbers? Not necessarily. Furthermore, while radar signals are able to go over and around things, the same is not true of the reflection, which is what actually gives the cop a reading. Thus, if a cop is on the side of the road running radar, and say you are on the other side of a hill from that officer, your detector may go off, without the cop ever receiving a reading of your speed.

Point 6 is somewhat true; see the above points. But that said, in many areas of limited visibility or in heavy traffic the officers will generally sit with the gun running, as opposed to using it specifically on certain vehicles. In those cases, anyone in upcoming traffic will get notification of the radar, regardless of whether that vehicle is specifically being gunned by the officer.

Lawman165

It's a moot point if they are shooting a laser. If they make you feel better then good for you. But most officers that shoot radar do it alot and are good at what they do. Having one may cut your chances down but dont think you will be invisible.

05kecarr

what kind of radar detector do you have? i am about to buy the beltronics pro rx65

SpecterGT260

he has a couple good points.... but hes a little over confident if he thinks they are junk. I got an example from a trip home to iowa from tennessee last year:

I was going about 85 on the interstate (it was night time) and I suddenly see the cop sitting in the median... by this time i was only about 20 yards from him.... so I hit the brakes, and about that time the radar detector (at that time it was the $100 cobra best buy model) starts freaking out, but he didnt get me so he tailed me for a little while while i went 55 in a 70 . then he speeds off ahead of me so i pick it back up, and after about 2 min the cobra starts squakin again.... so i mash the brakes just in time to see he pulled off on the shoulder and was waiting for me. well, he didnt get me again, so we drop back down to about 60. then after 5 min of following me the guy gets off on an exit ramp so i speed back up again. and as soon as i break 80 the damn thing beeps at me again..... so i slow down just in time to see the cop coming back down the entrance ramp....

if these things were as much junk as that guys said, i would have been screwed over. the cheapest cobra unit out there saved me 3 times from a cop that was trying hard-core to nab me. I would swear by these things, and u get what u pay for. i now have the 200 dollar cobra model, and it works a whole lot better. much better warning time.

W1ldcat

I have followed a cop on the toll road and watched him turn his on and off at upcoming traffic. When he came to a bend he would shut it off and get in the inside lane and when it started to strighten out he would move over and turn it on. It was always off when nobody was coming and when they got close he would turn it on and check and then back off. I watched him do this for miles using my detector behind him. He was doing the speed limit of course. He was pretty sneaky and I'm sure got people with detectors doing it.

EJD05GT

Escort Passport 8500 X50. From what I've read, the one your buying is just as good. Check out www.radartest.com
-E




what kind of radar detector do you have? i am about to buy the beltronics pro rx65

Fourth Horseman

In my opinion people expect RADAR/LIDAR detectors to be some kind of perfect system to keep you out of tickets. Obviously this is not the case. Think of them as just another sensor that goes along with your eyes (and common sense). If you're in any kind of traffic the odds are that people ahead of or behind you will get lit up before you do. A detector will help you spot this and give you time to get your speed down. I agree with this officer that if he paints you first and you're significantly over the speed limit then you're probably getting a ticket.

A good quality RADAR detector is just one piece of the puzzle. The detector along with keeping your eyes up and having some situational awareness of where you're driving and where the likely threats will be coming from will go a long way to keeping you out of trouble. Personally, I feel naked driving without my Valentine 1.