"gettingoldercarguy" (gettingoldercarguy)
05/13/2020 at 13:36 • Filed to: None
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"gettingoldercarguy" (gettingoldercarguy)
05/13/2020 at 13:36 • Filed to: None | 0
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Looking at radar detectors and am considering the updated Valentine unit.
What else does everybody use? Can you comment on its efficacy as well as shortcomings? I’m mostly concerned about around the corner type of stuff, not long range high speed endeavors.
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CB
> gettingoldercarguy
05/13/2020 at 13:41 |
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My go to is ten over the speed limit at highway speeds.
davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> gettingoldercarguy
05/13/2020 at 13:43 |
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Such a good song!
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davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> CB
05/13/2020 at 13:44 |
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9, but yeah. Figured it was time to put the radar detector to bed once the kids were old enough to pay attention.
Dad, what’s that?
That tells Daddy when he’s driving too fast.
CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
> gettingoldercarguy
05/13/2020 at 13:45 |
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I figure that anytime it goes off and it is the police, it is probably too late.
Best thing you can do is be a good person when dealing with the officer, chat with them and hope for them to use their judgement*
*Judgement not applicable with the Washington State Police
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CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
> CB
05/13/2020 at 13:50 |
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Usually I just try to be in the faster, yet not insanely fast distribution of traffic.
WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI
> CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
05/13/2020 at 13:54 |
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I’ve heard that from quite a few people before, and I can tell you from someone who has had a Uniden R3 for the past 2 years, that this could not be further from the truth. If you’re driving all alone on the road, then yes, you’re going to get popped. But if the re’ s any traffic, you’re going to pick up the signals they’re using to gun other people way before they ever get to you.
I’ve avoided dozens of tickets, or at the very least pull-overs.
I do agree 100% with being respectful and personable with the officers though!
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CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
> WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI
05/13/2020 at 13:59 |
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I never feel like I am at risk of being targeted while in traffic (see my response to CB) unless I am in the US.
Every time I’ve been tagged in Canada, its a rail cop sitting in the middle of nowhere around a tight bend on a great driving road. Or in a bush, or in a ditch.
TLDR, CN rail police suuuuuuuuck.
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gettingoldercarguy
> CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
05/13/2020 at 14:00 |
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I’ve been saved from a ticket by radar detector in the past, just curious if they still work for some people.
jminer
> CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
05/13/2020 at 14:23 |
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Same - faster than most but still passed by the fastest on the highway is my goal
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CB
> gettingoldercarguy
05/13/2020 at 14:43 |
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Short answer: maybe
Long answer: probably not
I can see it working when you’re in heavy traffic, but at that point, everyone is doing 30 km/h over, so no one is really special. Hell, the cops are probably doing 30 km/h over just to avoid blocking traffic too much.
If you’re on your own? Less productive. I’ll run through a scenario with you:
Let’s say I’m a bit of a speed freak, so since I’m an individual living in Saskatchewan, I follow along with the law and buy a Cobra Rad 450 Laser Radar Detector for $200 CAD on Amazon. Good deal, good reviews, 2 mile range, great, I can speed.
And because I’m a speed freak with a radar unit, I’ll be doing 30 km/h over in a 100 zone. Plenty quick, but not crazy quick, and it gets me through the boring rural straightaways of Saskatchewan much quicker.
Enter the police, who are cruising at 100 km/h towards me. He has his radar unit on, but it’s on hold: that means that it’s not broadcasting that the radar unit is on. He clicks it on for a second every time a car goes by, and they’re all doing 103, 105, 110, small potatoes stuff.
So now he sees my car in the distance and he notices I’m driving a little quick. He waits and waits a bit, then clicks on his radar: 130 km/h. My radar detector beeps, so I hit the brakes to a cool and calm 105 km/h. I pass the cop. He turns around and pulls me over. He asks for my license and registration. I hand them over. He says he clocked me at 130 km/h. I say I had the cruise control at 105. He compliments the radar detector on my dash and says he noticed the nose of my car dive once he turned it on. He says he’ll be back.
Ten minutes roadside later, $280 ticket and two demerit points. Was the radar unit worth it? Maybe it caught the cops five times previously, and sure, it helped me out then. But the thing is, radar units lull people into a false sense of security. They push speed to 140, 150, and beyond because hey, they know when the cops are looking at them. And yeah, maybe they get caught 1 in 100 times. But those times are really pricey when they do get caught. Not to mention at those speeds, with longer stopping distances, you run into higher risks with wildlife, terrible roads (a Saskatchewan specialty!), debris in the roadway, et cetera.
Personally? For the money and what I’d have to be doing to justify it, just stick with the flow of traffic and don’t be the biggest fish in the pond.
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WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI
> CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
05/13/2020 at 15:03 |
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Fair enough. To your point, it is in the medium to low traffic scena rios that they pay the highest dividends.
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WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI
> CB
05/13/2020 at 15:07 |
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“But the thing is, radar units lull people into a false sense of security.”
This is exactly why I’m always as vigilant as possible while speeding, even with a detector.
Just like everything in life, in order to succeed at something (speeding in this case), you have to take a multifaceted approach.