[QUOTE]Originally posted by winter
[B]>It is the type that also detects emergency vehicles if they have the certain type of band width being transmitted, so for that reason I'm wondering how the state can make them illegal.

 

golfnut311, do they sell standalone devices to receive the emergency vehicle signals or integrate them with other devices (like radios)? I haven't really paid much attention to that stuff.

Regarding, instant-on, its harder but a radar detector can still help - as long as they zap at least one person in front of you while you still have a chance to slow down you'll get the warning.

No argument with you about why they made detectors illegal - they probably had invested a lot in older radar guns and rather than forcing them to upgrade they simply outlawed all the detectors. Not too many politicans are going to run on a promise to make detectors legal, everyone knows its crap but no one is going to stand up for "speeders".

As long as we are asking questions, does anyone know if they use Lidar at night? I've never seen it but I assume technically it still works.

 

the nitpicky details of the current law is that it cannot have a readily available power source. so if you have the detector on your windshield but the power cable is in the trunk, you will probably still get a ticket but can fight and win in court. save yourself $200 and laugh at the cop even if it takes half a day sitting in the damn courthouse.

if it is not plugged in when you're pulled over, DO NOT LET THE COP TELL YOU TO PLUG IT IN. that just proves that you had a readily available power source.

 

I have gotten 3 tickets since getting my s2000, all in VA.

92 in 55
72 in 55
43 in 25

When I got pulled doing 92, I had the radar detector (valvetine1) in my window and a green blazer with mad antennas pulled behind me, so I put the radar down, got pulled over, and he wrote me a ticket for it cause he saw me using it, but didnt take it. Ended up having to do 1 day in jail for that episode.

Believe it or not, my insurance is still only $130 a month, these tickets are all almost 1 year old now. Think my insurance is so much lower now too because they are who I use for my home owners insurance as well.

 

Yeah, that's another lovely thing about Virginia. I don't know about other states, but 20 over is reckless driving, and if I'm not mistaken you automatically get your license revoked and there's probably some other wicked stuff involved. I fear what will happen when I get my hands on a Stook Don't have that problem in a big, clunky Land Rover though (0-60 in about 14 seconds!).

Anyone ever been singled out on I-95 in VA when going with traffic at about 85 MPH? It happens often with sports cars I suspect. I was doing 85 and going with traffic in the Rover and a Carrera up ahead was going with the flow and a cop pulled him over. Maybe he did something a few miles back but I was with him for quite some time.

Lesson: Avoid the VA State Police at all costs.

- Sal

 

Radar dectorors are legal in CA...Most of radar detectors come with the VG-2 function which would pick up the signal from a dectector for radar detectors. I guess that's how he knew you have a radar detector. At that moment in time, your radar detector would display VG-2 on the LCD.

 

thats right.. I lost my license for 6 months as well.. makes you wonder how those 15k got there...

 

I live in VA now, and would like to point out how stupid this law is too. I'm leaving VA for CA next week (thank god) and want to get my detector hardwired, but no store will do it. Not only that, they reply to me as if I'm asking them to hire a body. Ridiculous.

Oh yeah, VA is broke thanks to our last govornor (among other reasons) so it behooves the legislature to keep this source of revenue steady.

My 2 cents

 

I've been driving for over 34 years and have never gotten a ticket for anything and have never had a radar detector (knock on wood). It's not like I've never been speeding. I just pick the time and don't do it for long.

 

Either you have been VERY lucky Dario, or you really just don't speed much. Just the other day here in lovely Jersey I saw five state troopers pull over five cars at once. So the old myth that "if you go with the flow, you won't get caught" doesn't even work anymore.