20 most worthless pieces of junk: #3 -- The radar detector
Filed under: Transportation, Travel, Buyer Beware
Speed traps and I have a long history that owning a radar detector hasn't improved.I used to have a Fuzzbuster that sat on the dashboard. It never squawked until I could see the cop and his radar gun –– and then it was too late.
Tickets, Fuzzbusters and opportunistic lawyers constitute a cottage industry in many places, but especially in upstate New York, where the state highway patrol on the New York State Thruway are particularly sneaky and arrogant.The New York State Thruway is absolutely flat, straight and practically empty. The only reason to stringently enforce the 55 or 65 mph speed limit is to add a few more bucks to the retirement fund of the Glock 37-toting State Police Troop T (for turnpike).
The legal system gets its cut as well. Just Google "tickets" and "Thruway" and you can find dozens of attorney sites like this one promising to save you from points that can easily cost you your license. Their fee, however, will clean out your pockets.
The only other place where I've driven where the cops are more blatantly corrupt is in Paraguay, the smuggling capital of South America. Halfway between the capitol city Ascension and Iguazu Falls, one of the most spectacularly beautiful places on earth, I got a speeding ticket. I was the only car on the road, practically the only one I saw that day in this rural part of the world where oxen still plow the fields.
I was driving a 10-year-old car, running on three cylinders with a manual shift and practically no brakes. I had to drive fast going down hill or I'd never make it up the next hill. I was coming down an incline and a cop with an M-16 hanging around his neck stepped out in the middle of the road. I slammed on what brakes there were and pulled over. That was probably a mistake, but the M-16 did give me pause.
The cop said that he had me on radar. Oh, shucks. I forgot my Fuzzbuster.
Radar. There wasn't even any electricity out there in the middle of absolutely nowhere. No power poles. Not even a solar panel or a windmill. The fine was $50 American – in cash – payable on the spot. My traveling companion held up a crisp $20. We settled on $25, and I was on my way.
In New York, I was never held up quite that blatantly, but in New York, $25 wouldn't pay for the cop's daily coffee and doughnut ration.
Anyway, my advice is to forget about a radar detector. Today's police radar units rely on either a Ka bandwidth or a laser system, which gives them the ability to point and shoot too quickly for a driver to get the information far enough in advance to slow down. If there's lots of traffic and the cop's shooting most of the cars ahead of you, then the device might warn you in time, but as this upstate New York attorney says, "Don't count on it."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-09-2009 @ 12:19PM
brad said...
Anybody that calls a radar detector a piece of junk must have never driven through West Virginia. The police there use the heck out of radar and Ka band? My detector picks up Ka band as well as Laser. It does not work when police leave their guns on "ready" however...I found that out the hard way in PA.
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7-09-2009 @ 2:15PM
surf377 said...
I'd say that any radar detectors under $300 are junk. So, for the price of pretty much a speeding ticket, pick up an Escort or a Bel pro series. Just like any electronics purchase, do your homework and invest in something worthwhile. Sure, agencies use Ka and laser and have growing technology, but technology development isn't one-sided.
Is it 100% guaranteed? No. But my Bel has saved me hundreds of times from the speed traps of Washington through Oregon - whether it's traffic or rural, or stater's on the highway.
Niche market maybe; but worthless junk, no.
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7-12-2009 @ 10:43PM
Marcus said...
How about just driving the speed limit?
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7-10-2009 @ 12:41AM
John H. said...
I have found a gadget even more dependable than Escort or Bel Pro series for avoiding speeding tickets. I can guarantee it has saved me thousands of dollars in fines and jail time. Before I found this device, my driver's license had been suspended multiple times. It was at the point that I had to keep track of which states I could drive in without fear of being thrown in jail automatically if I got pulled over. The name of this device- cruise control. Set it at 5mph over the speed limit or 5mph over the speed of the cars in the right lane depending on conditions. Sometimes I even set it at the speed limit and hang out in the right lane. I am able to kick back and concenetrate on my tunes. Try it. You will save lots of money
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7-10-2009 @ 7:49AM
Bill said...
I drive a truck part time, now that I'm retired and believe me I see it all out there. I've had 2 speeding tickets in my life and both were my fault. Not paying attention. I don't like speed traps and certainly not CAMERAS, but hey just slow down and give the police alittle respect and you'll be alright. A whole lot safer and cheaper then $300+! Yes cruse control is a great invention.
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7-13-2009 @ 9:18AM
George said...
This guy hasn't done his homework. My radar has saved me literally 1000's of dollars against cops lying in ambush hoping to balance their city budget (or buy that new police cruiser). Valentine One is the best on the market at sniffing out radar. It's the only one with 360 deg full coverage protection from radar or laser, multiple warnings with directional arrows indicating where the radar is coming from (front, rear or side). You get what you pay for at a price of around $400 (even Bel and Escort don't come close).
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7-13-2009 @ 12:39PM
surf377 said...
I agree; if we can't counter-punch their new Dodge Hemi toys with a radar detector, what's the point...really, we're doing THEM a service by using them. ;)
7-13-2009 @ 10:15AM
Spirit said...
Mine is nearly 10 yrs old and still helps prevent the nasty tickets. Ok, my fault, I have a heavy foot and sometimes travel 1,000 miles in a week to go to dr's and I get tired of the traveling.
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7-13-2009 @ 2:02PM
senob44 said...
If you're driving through rural areas, and have something parallel as an option, don't even bother with anything like the interstate that has a median. That's just asking for trouble....
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7-13-2009 @ 2:11PM
senob44 said...
As long as you're willing to slow down to 55 every 10 miles for a one-block "village", you can throw your radar detector out the window.
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7-15-2009 @ 2:20AM
Josh said...
Radar detectors are NOT cop detectors, they're just tools. Those of use who actually use them wisely avoid tickets all the time.
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7-15-2009 @ 1:43AM
cifdtruckie said...
Or... you could just drive at the speed limit... I know, I must be crazy, right?
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7-15-2009 @ 8:41AM
Gregg said...
The New York State Thruway is "practically empty"? Huh? I live right next to the thruway and it's always busy. The stretch from NY City to Albany has got to be one of the most heavily traveled highways in America. Plenty of lead-foots from NYC and New Jersey to snag. Like shooting fish in a barrel.
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7-15-2009 @ 6:18PM
JimT said...
The blogging piece apparently was authored by a technically challenged person. All modern detectors are multi-band (X, K, Ka) and many include laser (where detection is really marginal, but hardly ever used by the law). Since the police radar guns send out the signals, receiving them and acting on them can occur BEFORE a properly calibrated gun can compute a violation with reasonable certainty. Not all detectors are created equal. Some detectors, like the Valentine One, are at least as advanced as the radar they are detecting, since they are both direction sensitive and count threats at long range. However, two things are necessary: (i) you can't be protected by any detector if you are travelling at rocket speed and (ii) you can't be protected if your reaction time approximates a tortoise. Finally, you won't be protected if the cops just make up the radar results which happens more frequently than you might think. A quality detector and prudent driving make the best combo, so forget this item as "junk."
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7-22-2009 @ 1:34PM
Roy said...
I drove Tractor Trailer for 40 years. The last 30 years without a radar detector. I retired in 2005. I drove 3,500,000 safe miles all over the USA. I drove as fast as any state would allow you to drive and got to every delivery on time. The main thing is if you get stopped (BE CURTIOUS). I received 1 warning ticket for doing 10 miles over the speed limit (BE CURTIOUS).
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7-22-2009 @ 5:14PM
some dude named steevo said...
My radar detector is 7 or 8 years old, costs around 80 bucks, and detects all bands and laser, from front and rear. You do have to be careful when they hit you with the laser, but for regular radar you get more than enough time to slow down. I have saved at least one thousand bucks or more. Radar detectors are legal in most states.
Modern cars and interstate highways are designed for high speed. 80 mph is a safe speed in a new car. So stop saying "just slow down." I don't want to slow down, but I am not unsafe just because I am speeding. Besides, studies show that drivers with radar detectors are safer drivers.
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8-12-2009 @ 1:13AM
limobarbie said...
I spent $300 on my radar/laser detector and let me tell you--it freaking WORKS!! It has saved my bouncy butt a hundred times at least--I drive a ticket magnet and I travel for a living and I drive a lot of miles. I've NEVER gotten a speeding ticket in my LIFE and I've driven way over 2 million accident and ticket-free miles in the 35 years I've been a licensed driver. I trust this radar detector--it warns me WAY in advance and it doesn't miss ANYTHING--speed traps, speed cameras and even those dippy signs that tell you your speed--it warns me from 360 degrees and it's never missed! I'd trust my license to it in a heartbeat!
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