Had a radar detector years ago and the thing was always going off with never a cop in site. Thing was great for making you do the speed limit!
Do the detectors on the market now actually make a difference or are they giving a false sense of security followed by a ticket?

 

As the owner of a Valentine 1 and an Escort 8500, I can tell you that no radar detector will protect you from instant on radar.

The radar detectors of today don't false nearly as much as the ones from years ago.

 

I have a Valentine 1. Works great, but beware instant on. Always makes sure you're tailing a car up ahead with a good spread between you.

 

I'm a firm believer that a radar detector let's you know when to pull over, so the officer is a in a better mood when he gives you the ticket for speeding.

 

 

No radar detector here, driving Vettes for 12 years in SoCal.
Spirited driving style. Keep my eyes open and read the traffic.
Sure some luck too. But no tickets.

 

Finally! at least 2 posters telling the truth even about the highly rated Valentine. I own one, too.

One thing you should know also: if you're going 15-20 mph over the limit and the guy lights you up with any kind of radar, you HAVE a ticket. You just can't jump off the accel pedal and onto the brakes and get the speed down fast enough. That's if you're the one being targeted.

BTW the newer radar guns can pick you, the speeder, out from a crowd.

Take it for what it's worth. All you read about is, "how the radar detector saved me". Well maybe if it was pointed at someone else and THEN you reacted. But if it's on you or if it's instant on, you're cooked.

 

Certainly, the technology has improved on detectors - - but it's also improved on the enforcement side of the house- certainly since my days as a rookie cop with my radar unit hanging off the rear window!

My Escort is a good preventive tool, but nothing's gonna make you invisible and with instant-on, POP and laser . . .well, you've just gotta be really lucky.

 

Having a radar detector gives you an edge. You still have to be alert, and you need to have a rabbit up ahead to flush out the instant on types. But it does improve your chances of avoiding a speeding ticket.

Many departments have switched to lidar (laser), and a detector is essentially worthless against that. You need a jammer. Escort and Blinder have good ones. My ZR3 Shifters give me up to a quarter of a mile to slow down before the lidar can burn through the jamming. But the cop has to be in line of sight that long. If he's hiding around a blind curve and pops you at the last second, he can still get you before you can slow enough to avoid a ticket. (But you shouldn't be going that fast around a blind curve anyway.) Waiting to the last second is difficult with the lidar too because of the required aiming accuracy. Most cops will try to get you as early as they can while the angular rate is low, thus giving you the needed warning time to slow down before they can burn through the jamming.

Nothing, aside from a lightbar and a badge, will keep you from getting a ticket every time. But good radar detectors and laser jammers, coupled with alertness and situational awareness, will make your chances of avoiding a ticket much better.

The Escort 8500X50 has fewer false alarms than the Valentine 1. Since most departments have abandoned the old X band radars, turning off X band (mostly used by door openers and security systems today) will reduce your false alarm rate even more. If you have a long commute, as I do, you'll also quickly learn where the false alarms are located, and will come to expect them as a check on your detector's continued proper function. You'll also learn where the cops like to set up their ambushes, and drive through those areas with heightened alertness.

I credit the detector and jammers with helping me avoid the revenue enhancers at least 2 or 3 times a week (in common with most Atlantans, I routinely speed). Of course there's no magic bullet. I haven't had a speeding ticket in the 23 years I've been using countermeasures, from the early Fuzzbusters to the modern Escorts, but that doesn't mean a cop won't get lucky and get me tomorrow. The point is, though, he'll have to get lucky. All of the tricks to avoiding a ticket are second nature to me by now. Using a detector is only one part of that.

 

I've run with detectors for many years. Its mostly because I want to know if someone is shootin' them radars at me.

I've found that a good rule of thumb is; don't be the fastest or most conspicuous vehicle on the road. Try to imitate a fox and let the rabbit run out ahead.

 

If it saves you from ONE ticket, it paid for itself.

 

[I]I've run with detectors for many years. Its mostly because I want to know if someone is shootin' them radars at me.

I've found that a good rule of thumb is; don't be the fastest or most conspicuous vehicle on the road. Try to imitate a fox and let the rabbit run out ahead.[/]

Been using radar deletectors for a long time and been using Val 1's since Valentine first brought them out. The detectors have saved my wild speeding *** from tickets MANY, MANY times including a few instant on's (so long as your not way over the limit and quick of foot with the brake). They are best when running in traffic with the rabbits out ahead. When running solo on street and highways you must use your street/road smarts, be alert and eyes OPEN if your going over the limit. Of course, for the very few times those detectors didnt save me, it helps to have a FOP card as well

 

I have used one for many,,,many years........learn to not depend on one but use it as just one of your many safety inputs while driving.

 

The same here over 10 years and no detectors. Spirited driving here too, like cessnadriver says, keep eyes open, and don't fall into an obvious trap. When I did have my radar detectors they were of high end quality, And back then I got pulled over numerous times with the instant and laser hits. I gave up on that stuff.

 

100% agree

And always - ALWAYS have a rabbit

 

been using the rx65 here. wouldnt want to drive without it. i dont speed everywhere i go, but it is handy as a speed check when it goes off. ive been known to ease up to 15+mph over just daydreaming or thinking about stuff i need to do when that warning goes off. thankfully on the roads i travel, its usually the low signal and is giving me a heads-up that a cop is headed my way shortly. of course, knowing your local area and the type of radar used helps make judgement decisions as far as what you can get away with for the most part. i know in one city i travel, they use mostly instant on and laser. in another, rarely do they use anything above k band. as others have mentioned, they arent guaranteed to help you. but they do help give you that heads-up at times and thats good enough reason for me. why chance it on one you couldve avoided?

 

I have K-40 in the 300C and the ZR3/SR7 in the Vette, both have paid for themselves, but they are only part of the solution.

 

My radar detector has saved my wallet many many times.

A detector does indeed provide protection from instant-on radar. You see it when some guy up ahead is targeted.

 

I just have a sixth-sense cop radar....

 

One of the things I like best about the 8500 is the "Expert" meter. V1s have their arrows, but nothing like this. It shows all active signals and their strength. Where I drive, there are often multiple signals due to multipath infusion. I often see a strong X band--no sweat, as it is fire control radar from one of the bases around here, with a weaker Ka--always to be concerned about. The strength meter shows the Ka increase--means a doughnut eater is around somewhere, where most detectors would wash the strength of the Ka in sidelobe multiband bleed from the much stronger--and persistent, X band. Imo, this is much more important than the arrows or just showing 2 bogies on a counter. And I paid $260, not $400 for the 8500. Plus, it has stronger Ka pickup than the V1 in any aspect angle. For my money, the best protection--albeit hardly foolproof...out there.