Do people still use them ?

I haven't seen or used one in 25 years . Are they effective anymore ?

I got pulled over today in the middle of nowhere by CHP . 82 mph but got a free pass.

I have a Valentine One. They only protect you if the vehicle in front of you gets radared first.

Otherwise they don't go off until you're already caught.

Jim

Less used now with the higher speed limits a big thing in 55 MPH days.

Well if you have one and get pulled over I'd quick toss it under the seat. About guarantee there won't be any "warnings" with a radar detector on your dash.

Personally I find it just easier to just speed a little bit and not a Lot of bit....but to each his own.

It's kind of like being the second drunkest person at a party. The only person people pay attention to is the guy who is most drunk.

I'll have to research it .

Is there such a thing as a radar jammer ?

On a dark highway I don’t think you want to be a guy with a jammer I could see problems using that set up, your call.

A lot of times they aren't running radar constantly. They see you speeding,and then turn the radar/laser on to measure your speed. At that point it's too late. No detector will detect radar/laser that isn't on.

Yes , there is radar jammers. Very illegal.

Most 'radar' used now is 'instant on' by the time your radar detector 'sees' it , it is too late. Also most radar has been replaced with laser detection. Another instant on type of detector. Good high end detectors like Valentine One have laser detection but it only works effectively if it grabs the car in front of you going a bit faster. There is also laser jammers , probably illegal as well.

Best defense, is to ride a tad slower than the fastest car out there and let them be the cannon fodder that gets the ticket.

I would agree to most of the above. However as a professional driver I know for a fact that if you run a quality unit like an upper end Bell you will substantially reduce the likelihood of getting a ticket.
The part about no detector is going to work until they turn the radar on Question, do you think you are the only one they are monitoring with the ray gun? Maybe in the wee hrs on some back woods county road but if you are on a US hyway or interstate and a cop is on speed patrol that unit will be beeping quite a bit. The one I use in my personal vehicle on long trips detects five kinds including laser. It barks when the signal origin is still three miles out when another vehicle gets zapped. Another question if they don’t work why are they illegal to use in big trucks.

I use WAZE. I was able to make it back to Goldsboro NC from SnowsShoe WV in 6:05 of actual time on the road. That’s good time. waze is pretty accurate on a busy highway like 64 in VA and I95 or I40. It wouldn’t be worth anything on a small road with little traffic. It works on drivers reporting what they see, be it a pothole, wreck, car on the shoulder or the police.

x2 A quality unit will pay for itself in short order. All of our vehicles have the same model. They were the highest rated detector ten years ago and they've saved us hundreds of dollars on surface streets and out on the highway. There are some stretches of highway in Montana that I've picked up speed traps SEVEN MILES away.

Turn off the X band. No one uses X band anymore. Most false alarms are X band.
K band is either an officer or a competing brand of radar detector in a close by vehicle.
Ka band is ALWAYS a cop with his line in the water.

I've been pulled over four times where the officer didn't use any kind of radar/lazer/pace. Having a detector sitting silently on the dash has saved me tickets in all of those cases. The local cops write over 1,200 citations per resident, per year. That alone is a good reason to run a detector.

A friend of mine uses a Valentine ALL the time, including in town or suburban areas. They will at times pick up police cars sitting in a parking lot or anywhere not on the street. I've even seen it detect a police car coming up from behind, quite a way back.

Many tickets are handed out in areas with speed limits under 50mph.

Last speeding ticket I got was in 91. In fact that was my last moving violation. I have never got one in town. I have backed up more miles than most of you have driven forward. If your speeding in town you need a ticket. My grandkids might be playing there.

The last ticket I got was about 35 years ago.

It was for going 5 over the speed limit and no set belt. The cop waved the speed portion, but gave me a $45 seat belt fine.

From that day on I leave 10 minutes earlier and always wear my belt.


WS

Absolutely correct Danny. Speed limits are there for a reason.

a friend of mine was driving while we were at winnibigosh and had his fuzz buster on,well it beeped too late got pulled over,long story short the leo straight out told him he probably wouldve gotten a warning,but that (thing on the dash)just gave him a speeding ticket.they dont like those things.

About 10 years ago, my father n law and I were leaving our ranch. He left ahead of me, while I was closing the gates. He drives 50 mph all the time on the hwy. our ranch is about 30 minutes away, and I passed him, about 1 1/2 miles down the road. The speed limit is 55 there. And I passed him doing about 60 or a little more. When I got home , About 2 minutes later, he drove up to tell me something! I realized, I could have gotten a speeding ticket and my insurance would have gone up and all the extra gas I just used! So, sense then, I don’t speed to much any more. I just leave a little early.

It all sounds like a headache

Lazer jammer installed in the grill doesn't seem practical if you own multiple vechiles


In general I typically don't run much over the speed limit on the highway and don't see the point of speeding around town unless it's an occasional drag race from a stop light.

I don't mind running 80 to 85 across miles of open desert where there are few vechiles. I'm usually watching for revenue generators but this one occasion on Sunday I was chin wagging with my brother and lifted a bit too late.


So I'm undecided at this point , but thanks for the all the info guys !

Late 80s early 90s was the hay days of radar detectors. As a young cop I could snag 5 or 6 off the highway on a good day.