My Bel Vector 995 has radar and laser detection... debate is still up as to whether you can slow down fast enough after the laser goes off, but rest assured the detector will let you know you have been hit.

 

this is one of those threads that we all have our on opinion on and in each case we are all probably correct; i have the x-50 and have no regrets; it constantly notifies me when police with active radars are in the area; the pop will go off in advance of a trap and give me time to slow down; here they use the pop and ka in conjunction and when in traffic i usually have enough time to adjust my speed; obviously, if you are out there all alone you probably don't stand much of a chance but then the prudent ones of us will not be driving too fast in that situation.

 

http://www.radarbusters.com/products...ler/pro-73.asp

I was looking into this one. It looks pretty good and it is ~150...

 

Ka has been around at least 10 years. Your comment about lazer is 100% correct.

Just remember, when your detector goes off, and you think it saved your butt and wallet, it really might not be the case. Alot of cops keep the radar on all the time, with no intent of stopping anybody. They figure those with detectors will get alarms and slow down. Cops who want to really get somebody will use tactics which make detectors useless. The time you think you save by speeding, really only comes down to a few seconds maybe a few minutes at the most, so why risk it. Driving the speed limit will reduce your stress level, make you healthier, keep money in your pocket, and keep you and everybody around you safer. Nobody is as good of a driver as they think they are.

 

Unless youre on really long trips, then it could be hours.

But yeah everything else you said was right.. especially the part about cops leaving the radar on so people with detectors slow down. A few cops my family knows do this ALOT, simply to slow down traffic. If someone is going say 85 and the speed limit is 70, they receive a radar hit and they slow down, thus causing other people around them to wonder why they slowed down suddenly and its like a chain reaction most of the time.. especially if the car that slowed down first is a fast/sports car cause people know that most of them have radar detectors.

 

As far as laser avoidance goes, how about laser jammers? I've heard it said these are illegal, and I haven't done my homework, so I don't know. Anyon ehas any experiences with them?

 

I diasgree with the longer trip scenario. It would be more like 30 minutes or so saved. Get stopped and that goes away. Have to make an extra stop or two for fuel because of increased consumption and it goes away as well.

Case in point: I have done a bunch of long distance travelling. I'll set the cruise on the speed limt, maybe +5 and watch cars pass me doing 15-20 over the limit. These same cars will pass me up to 3-4 more times before I have to stop to refuel. Now the reasons why they had to stop isn't known, but the fact thay they are travelling at a much higher speed than me, and don't seem to really get any advantage over me, shows that exceeding the limit has no real advantages and only detriments.

 

I agree with you as well.
For example, my wife and I drove to Georgia and back from NYC back in the 1980s'
I have a lead foot and she is 55-60 consistant (the kind of driver you and I hate to get behind).

We kept track of mileage and time and what it boiled down to as far as difference in miles traveled per time could be measured in minutes, not hours as one would expect.

However, I see the radar detector as a device that let's me know if I should zoom around a slow roller, or if a cop is hiding behind that 30mph sign I just missed because the speed limit went from 45 to 30mph.
Like everything else, it's a tool not a cure.

If you consistantly speed and especially if you do so when you are the only car on the road, you will get caught sooner or later and no radar detector is going to help you.

That being said, having used detectors since the original Escort (the one with the big orange light), I have discovered one thing and that is the more you pay (brand names only not crackpot devices), the better the detector FOR THE MOST PART.

Buy an el-cheapo and the false alarms are going to drive you crazy to the point where you won't trust the dectector anymore and just about when that happens, the real mcoy comes along [&o]

The Pasport, BEL, Valentine are the best out there and none of them are best at everything.
The top of line Cobra and Whistler are decent as well.
Pick your poison.

 

Laser is all they need. No detector will get you off of a laser ticket. You just can't react quickly enough.

 

Laser jammers are illegal in all 50 states. The laser units will detect the jamming and sound an alarm, so now you get pulled over for having a jammer, which will get confiscated, and possibly even your car. You'll also get a ticket which will be more than the speeding ticket you would have gotten. Ain't worth it.