Mad*Max

I just returned from a trip to the DC area including parts of Maryland. I saw numerous warnings of photoradar. I was taking it easy but what makes me wonder is the locals flying by me like crazy.

Does anybody know what the threshold is before they send you a present in the mail?

bklyn vette

escort 9500xi....gives you a heads up

retaf87

A local news report last week stated the threshold is 12 mph over the limit. You get a ticket in the mail for approx $40 but no points.

category4

11 I believe.

AORoads

I also read, 5 mph over. sometimes, 10. but I wouldn't count on it. it is a huge money generator esp. with the no-points issue resolved. look for it in a town near you.....

Don-Vette

Good to know. I'll be driving through On my way to Myrtle Beach next weekend along with my 9500ix which will warn me of the locations.

Mad*Max

Even photoradar?

BTW, while entering DC I noticed a sign saying that radar detectors are illegal and that they can arrest and fine you for possession of the same.

Mad*Max

12 is pretty fair, if that is the case then I should be okay.

bklyn vette

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We've also addressed the increasing number of safety cameras throughout the U.S. and Canada, including red-light and fixed position speed cameras, by programming thousands of these locations into to its memory. As you approach these high-risk locations, the PASSPORT 9500ix alerts you in advance, keeping you up to date and ticket-free. To stay updated, simply connect it to your Windows based PC with active internet connection and download the most recent updates from our website.

Malum1

No arrest. Ticket you and confiscate the system then once you pay the fine you can get it back.

John in MD

In Maryland I understand the tolerance is usually 12 over for construction zones. Some jurisdictions in Maryland have also placed them in school zones, I would guess the school zone tolerance is less than 12 over.

My wife got snagged in one and it was $40 no points.

John

dmporter31

Friend got a present in the mail recently for 62 in a 50 mph construction zone (I-695 construction zone not far from Liberty Rd). $40 as others have noted, no points. Of course there could be speedo error, etc. in there so I won't completely discount the 12 mph buffer. I've never had a ticket driving around Baltimore/DC for 5 years and am definitely going faster than 12 mph over. The photo vans are easy to spot a mile away. V1 mounted in the GTI so I'm SOL when it comes to GPS assistance. And then of course there's the entire Montgomery County (Silver Spring, Burtonsville, etc.) debacle.

Augustus_Maximus

I know there a couple of them in my neighborhood, many near the local school....
12 miles over sounds about right.....

I got a ticket about a month ago.....

40 bucks, no points,

I know where most of them are stationed, but apparently this one caught by surprise....


Augustus

Daekwan06

As long as you were following the flow of traffic you will be fine (no pun definitely intended). The vast majority of locals living in the DMV area know very well where the traffic cameras are and will purposely slow down to below the limit. If everyone else was around slowed down for no apparent reason, as if some invisible accident just happened.. then you just passed a traffic camera or camera cop. With the amount of traffic here, it would be hard to avoid the flow of traffic unless you were out driving around at 3am in the morning.. and if thats the case, then year they prolly gotcha lol.

I think you'll be ok though. I almost always drive 10mph over the limit, and I've lived in this area for 8 years and never had a camera ticket. Be advised there are cameras for both redlights & speeding.

Wayne O

Don't speed but also drive with your sun visor down as far as you can and still safely see. The photo-radar vans are more ground level than the fixed, intersection cameras but if half the driver's face is obscured there's no telling exactly who's driving the car.

I can understand why a jammer would be illegal but to merely detect electromagnetic waves invading my space I don't quite understand. How afraid of 'information' (or lost revenue) can they be?

Where I live the photo-radar vans are not always easy to spot. They often tuck them in some unobtrusive places and the small sign they place in advance of the van is small and easy to miss. The State of Arizona got rid of all photo-radar vans on state highways but it seems the cities are picking-up the $lack.

category4

DC will also confiscate your detector. The 9500ix is not the detector for DC, Virginia or Canada. You need a detector that is Spectre immune. The only ones that meet that requirement and have GPS are the STi-R Plus and the 9500ci.

07MontRedcp

Arizona had those on the freeways and then got rid of it. Only 30% were dumb enough to send in the payment. AZ law says you have to be served in person within 90 days. The system quickly overloaded and collapsed. A big money looser.

BJK

Vette5.5

I've just learned to watch my speed, as cop's all over the place here, looking for some easy revenue. As mentioned, good idea keeping the visor down and wearing big sunglasses. I got pulled over a few years back, and the cop was a real good guy giving me a break. The kind of car I was driving didn't even come into account.

mneblett

There are first amendment issues associated with this -- in short, they can't -- but violating Constitutional rights has NEVER stopped DC from passing whatever law they want.

Witness the de facto gun ban that took decades and a trip to the Supreme Court to overturn -- and even then DC has effectively continued the ban by not allowing any transfers except through the single licenced FFL holder in the District, who must now operate out of a DC police building while he looks for a new place to have his business (i.e., he'll never get the zoning variance needed to open a new place of business after having to move out of his old place).

In Virginia (which also bans radar detectors) -- from what I've been told, whenever a detector case goes up on appeal the State drops the case, as they know the ban on RD use wouldn't withstand Constitutional scrutiny.

KevOswald

Like others have mentioned, 11mph is what I've heard. I've only seen them parked along construction zones and there are signs that state that the speed limit is "photo enforced". One nice thing is that some local radio stations (98 rock for one) will broadcast where they are located during their traffic reports.