[williamoss]

Back in the late 1970's when radar units were first invented they worked great as the police only had radar. Now they have all sorts of laser, radars etc. that unless your car is hit with the laser beam a detector may not pick up the signal.



What are the best radar detectors to buy now, Valentine, Escort or or any others? Do any of them really work or do they just give you peace of mind?



William Moss

Tigard OR

1995 968 coupe

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[rl968]

They work, but you have to drive smart with them. I never go anywhere without one. I use various bel models, they are all good. I've never received a speeding ticket and I usually drive about 10 mph over.

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[Inkedupfatboy]

Do a search of the forums and you will find lots to read -

check here

http://www.radarbusters.com/

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[biosurfer1]

My view is they work good to alert you of the officer sitting just over the hill radar'ing everyone but won't do much for the random highway patrol who hits you because he thinks you are going over the limit, just lets you know you're getting a ticket a few minutes early.

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[williamoss]

Yes for years I have driven about 5-10 over the limit without a detector, and no tickets, so that is not a reason to get a detector. And if the cop is randomly checking cars it seems they don't work either, or do they? I know that either Garmin traffic alerts or perhaps its one of the two big companies, ie Valentine or Escort is advertising a gizmo that if other see a radar trap, the device notifies all the other on the same system of the location of the trap. Sounds good but does it work?

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[biosurfer1]

That sounds optimistic but who knows, maybe the new devices can do that.



Waiting for all the grumpy old farts to start in with the "Just drive the speed limit and you have nothing to worry about. Driving fast is only for the track" <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/tongue.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Rap]

Don't call DS a grumpy old fart. It's just plain unkind. He's just an old fart! I don't consider myself a grumpy old fart but if you don't speed you don't get tickets. Mind you, I don't practice what I preach! Lol

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[ds968]

[quote name='Rap' timestamp='1375308052' post='146311']Don't call DS a grumpy old fart. It's just plain unkind. He's just an old fart! I don't consider myself a grumpy old fart but if you don't speed you don't get tickets. Mind you, I don't practice what I preach! Lol[/quote]



Hey ! Watch it buster, or I'll roll in my wheelchair all the way to your house and set my " depends " on fire right at your front door. Besides, I never speed above the posted limits. ( by more than 3 x )

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[Langley968]

[quote name='biosurfer1' timestamp='1375302398' post='146305']My view is they work good to alert you of the officer sitting just over the hill radar'ing everyone but won't do much for the random highway patrol who hits you because he thinks you are going over the limit, just lets you know you're getting a ticket a few minutes early.[/quote]



That's what happened to me. I bought a radar detector before I went to Paso this year but never had a chance to say it saved me from a ticket. A month later I got a warning from the detector but it was too late and I got a ticket. Made we wonder if I had just wasted my money...

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[tamathumper]

There are free apps you can use to get the "social" aspect of crowd-sourced early-warning. Trapster is one for the iPad/iPhone/Android platforms, and Waze is another. I just made the switch from Trapster to Waze, but am not sold on it yet. I just drove over 1,200 miles with Waze running, and it alerted me more than once to speed traps, road hazards, and traffic jams. Google just bought them for something like $1.1 billion.



I think overall it's a worthy addition to the radar detector (Bel RX65) which also alerted me early to roving radar sweeps, one of which would have caught me passing legally but probably going too fast into what turned out to be a sharp speed reduction zone, so I consider my bacon saved by that one.

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[JTP]

I use my Escort 9500ix with the app religiously and it has saved me countless times. The few times I did get pulled over was from me not studying the terrain carefully enough and I got nailed as I crested a hill on a turn or the cop hit me with laser from behind from an on ramp. Radar detectors are not fool proof but it has saved me multiple times more than it has failed me.

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[ds968]

It does not matter if it works to alert you of every situation and every instrument the police may use to tag you, no device can do that, but if it saves you just one single time from one possible ticket , and it will ! , it just paid you back for the entire investment. With all the costs factored in, the average speeding ticket ( and just for a measly 10 mph over the limit ) is in tne $ 300 - $ 500 range.

In Ca the average insurance premium increase is 27% for the first speeding offense, and 40% for the second offense. Ripoff, but it's a sad reality.

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[paulzebo]

I use one on the long drives. More to just be knowledgeable there's radar in the area. That way I can stay my mandated 5 over. Too many little tourist towns now don't even allow that(5 over) so one has to stay on their toes. I find they do work around corners provided there's a metal guard rail somewhere to reflect the radar. Laser's a different cat all together.

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[az968]

I've been using a Valentine for years with great success in avoiding radar tickets and know people who also have been saved with them. Last time I wasn't using it, yep, ticket..... Detectors can help but don't rely on them alone, got to keep eyes open. Starting to see a lot of laser in AZ which as Paul said is a tough one.

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[lbpesq]

I've been using a Solo for years. The only one to get if you're going cordless. Since I travel and rent cars a lot for work, I prefer the cordless. While not quite as sensitive as the best corded models, it has certainly paid for itself many times over. But you still have to employ some common sense.

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[ryker]

I drive 30,000 miles/year and I have had one speeding ticket in the last decade (had a red light ticket last December and beat it with an online traffic attorney). I use the Escort 9500ix, like JTP, as well as the Bell RX65, as tamathumper. A bit off topic, I have driven several hundred miles with them both plugged in, and they alert at equal distance but 9500ix has less false alarms. Anyhow, I drive fast on the freeways (80 to 90) and the radar detectors have saved me countless times. Around town I am much more subdued, so much so that I don't even bother turning the detectors them on. In the freeways, I am alert, and hit the brakes (safely) when they go off. I find they work best at night, because you can't see the constabulary hiding with their guns "loaded".



Interesting story is that the one speeding ticket I did get was in a white Buick! It was about 7 years ago, One of my cars at the time was a Speed Yellow '03 911 and I had it in the shop for service. The dealer (still under warranty), gave me a white Buick as a loaner. I was actually driving back to pick it up, doing 50 mph, which was the speed limit but I was in a construction zone! I didn't notice because I was on the phone with a client. The cop got me, along with about 10 other poor saps, with laser. When he handed me the ticket, I joked with him that I was on my way to pick up my yellow Porsche. He got a kick out of that one.

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[Bulti]

I use a Coyote, it's not a radar, but a community-based warning system. It does not just alert one for any fixed speedtraps, but also for temporary, manned cameras.



You are off course dependend of the vigilance of others, but it works very well and radardetectors aren't foolproof either. Plus they are illegal here, the Coyote is not.

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[Rap]

Radar detectors while not infallible are well worth their expense!

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[Tahoe968]

I swear by them if I intend on going faster than 5-10 mph over. I have several older BEL models; but they all still work great - if they are on : )

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[rxter]

At $500+ per ticket one ticket avoided pays for the unit.

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