Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
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God, I hate this town.
Please feel free to elaborate and/or correct me.
As for just tossing the plate in the windshield when you feel like it, it depends on the cop. they can write you a ticket if they ant to or not.
Another no no is that damn license plate light on the back of the car, that has to work too. Soo many rules and regs....
Also enlightened to the fact that the models detector companies send to the magazine reviewers (i.e. Car & Driver) are "tweaked" for higher performance. Packaging specs are also fairytales (i.e. 360 degree lasar detection!...BOGUS!).
After reading the report, I'll be purchasing the V1 for our new Toyota Avalon (that smooth V6 power is just too tempting on the highway), but I'm not sure where I should install one on the very EXPANSIVE dash area of my New Beetle. Should I mount it close to the front windshield or back further away from the windshield, closer to the edge of the radio mount area? Does its proximity to or distance from the metal wiper blades make a difference? I'd appreciate anyone's knowledgeable $.02
Three separate times my V-1 warned my of a CHP officer approaching from the rear. The V-1 gave me ample warning for me to slow down. Each time the cop passed me by and pulled over someone ahead of me who was speeding. What a crappy way to start the new year! I had been concerned about my rear protection (d/t my metallic tint)but the detector still worked great.
Great anecdote! That experience surely is a confidence builder, but we can't stay too alert.
This link lists state dmv sites.
I have read that once you get the bogey counter and the direction arrows at your command, you will wonder how you ever got by without them, and I agree.
Today, I went through an area where my V1 always picks up 2 bogeys. But today, it picked up a third (a cop coming around the corner) and I was instantly aware of the treat.
That distinctive tone "dee-DEET" that it has picked up another bogey is a great attention-grabber. When I heard it a third time, I looked up and saw the '3' in the LED immediately.
Think of it this way: You are driving along, and your V1 picks up some X band radar. The V1 thinks "Well, it's only X band. It could be a cop, it could be a automatic door, it could be a bus with those newfangled doohickies. It's a fairly weak signal... let's let Owner know about it, but it's pretty far away. A nice quiet beep should do it."
As you get closer, the signal gets stronger, and the V1 thinks "You know... just in case it is a cop, let me up the strength of my warning so Owner knows what's going on. It could be a door, but it could be a cop. A little louder now..."
If it is a cop, the V1 starts thinking "You know, this signal is awfully strong for a door some 200 yards off the main highway. I think it's a cop. Yo! Owner! Trouble time!"
Now, consider what happens when the V1 picks up a laser signal. It knows that only cops are using lasers on the highway. It also knows that the effective range of a laser speedtrap is many times that of a radar gun, so:
"Ahhhhh... Beautiful day in the - OHMIGODITSALASERSIGNAL! It can't be a door, it can't be a bus, and the source or the reflection must be in a line of site right now! Cop! Cop! Cop!!!"
worth it's weight in gold for it's efficiency in
detecting and notifying me of just the radar
signals hitting my car, so the LASER detector is
just an added "bonus" since I would have purchased
it without this feature. It's due to arrive in a
few days, and I can't wait to use it!"
By the way has anyone had problems where when you are next to a car with another radar detector the Ka band goes wild? I had a car behind me thinking that it might have been a cop coming from behind since the signals registered 2-4 leds. However after driving 5 or so block at a traffic light I realized it was caused by a dam car behind me with a radar detector. Oh well I guess I got to practice how to drive in a situation when a cop is behind.
Besides, I needed the money.
I own a convertible, so leaving it in plain sight is a definite no-no. The cop can just look in the window. And I was planning on hard mounting it anyway. Since I don't want to hook/unhook it at all, and I need the remote display panel due to my convertible status, I need to find a good place to put it where it will still work but not be visible. I can't mount it in a 3rd brake light, I have a 'vert. I was thinking about mounting it inside an aftermarket wing, but in order to clear the rim around the top, I would have to get something that looked tacky. There ws also the question about where to mount the remote display so that I could see it without looking down, but not visible when I leave the car with the top down. At the time, I hadn't worked out how I was going to get around these little problems.
Ah, but now I have a plan. Heh heh heh...
That other car that you were near, that made your detector sound off, was probably using a very cheap brand of detector that spews microwave pollution. This was mainly a problem five or more years ago, but some still do.
Another possibility is that he was using some kind of illegal jammer that also spews such pollution indescriminately.
I think it was just a cheap detector. I think older detectors used a radio crystal that was tuned to the specific radar frequency that was in use at the time (much like the crystal in a cheap CB radio). This crystal vibrates when hit by radio waves of a certain frequency (ie, radar). However, this crystal naturally wants to vibrate at this frequency, so it "leaks" when it is powered up. It is these radiating frequencies that the radar detector detectors (VG2) look for. Apparently, since you were so close to this leaky thing, it set off your detector.
I don't think it was malicious... radar emitters are extremely hard to find, and are pretty tightly controlled by the FCC.
I guess that around where we live, there aren't many police radars around in the suburban areas. I also have driven next to cars that have caused my detector to alert, but I couldn't tell if they were undercover police vehicles or not (they use those A LOT around here to catch people speeding).
The only two times anything has been detected to "alert" levels that has puzzled me have been when I parked in front of a glowing red store sign and the LASER detector went wild (continuous full strength alert), and another time when I was driving a "back-roads" area, and just as I passed an old trailer home with a satellite dish setup, the detector went wild again, but it was too short a burst for me to recognize what band it detected (or maybe it was just coincidence and there was a real bogey hiding somewhere I couldn't see). Anyone out there have any theories?
Just don't speed.
As for spill over or bleed through laser detection, forget it. There is no reflection off of cars in front of you. www.speedlabs.com did a test of this type of detection and NO detector could provide any spill over protection as a car even a 1/4 mile in front of it was getting pinged by a LIDAR gun. The moral? DON'T buy a detector based upon "laser detection" or this "front & rear" laser detection crap. It's worthless and always will be.
2) No, it doesn't.
Huh. Gadget is in my neck of the woods. Not the cleanest installation I've seen, but if a cop likes it, what can you say?
[snicker]
I think an entry-level Bel would be your best choice.
jeffs - radar is used FAR more than LIDAR is. Lasers don't work in rain, mist, or fog. Radar can be used while mobile and laser can't yet. Most laser traps consist of one trooper plinking cars and radioing to other troopers down the road on who to pull over. I personally hope that ALL police depts start using LIDAR because it can be legally jammed. Radar can't.
snaab - please restrict your speeding to the open road, OK. Don't speed in town and don't try to set any speed records, OK?
Do a web search on "laser echo", "laser buster" and such. I know www.k40.com sells a version.
However, the insurance surcharges can add up to $600/year to your insurance bill, especially for younger drivers. So even if K40 pays the $150, YOU still pay $1800 (total after three years).
Not a good deal in my mind...
I can't even count how many times it saved me over the years. Certainly saved me many more dollars than I paid for it.
Also, I notice people putting down the directional arrows and counter functions. The arrows have come in very useful on the Turnpike. I've passed a cop before a rise in the road, and had my radar say there was a stronger signal ahead, and surprise, another cop was sitting maybe a mile up the road.
The counter function is great once you know the road you're travelling. When the cops hide out at known radar transmitting sites, I can always check the number of signals and spot them before they get me.
In over 150,000 miles with the V1, I have only gotten one speeding ticket. It was a dark February morning, around 6:45am, and I was heading north on the Turnpike doing 75-80mph.
As traffic built up, I fell in behind the rest of the left-laners, doing 75 or so.
Next time I looked up, I recognized Crown Vic lights in the mirror, so I moved to the middle lane, slowing to 65 as I did so.
No go, he tucked in behind me and pulled me over.
Said I was doing 86mph, so he gave me a ticket for that plus a ticket for passing on the right.
I said nothing, just took the tickets, and watched him peel out again.
My V1 never went off, so I knew he'd say he paced me, as if I wouldn't have noticed someone following me at 86mph as I supposedly passed on the right.
The thought of going from zero points to nine points didn't thrill me, so I got a lawyer.
Funny thing - when we arrived in court, the prosecutor asked all those with tickets for "speeding and passing on the right" to come forward. Looks like it's the latest gimmick to extract money from motorists in NJ.
Anyhow, $850 later ($500 for lawyer, $350 for NJ), I was down to two points, so no insurance surcharges for me.
So yes, there are some cases where nothing can save you, but the rest of the time, the V1 works for me.
And if you do get caught, get a lawyer! I saved myself at least $1,500 just by losing seven points in court, even after paying fees and fines.
Growing up in Ireland, where speed limits were ignored by one and all, I got used to driving at speeds safe for the conditions, not the limits used as a form of road tax in the US.
The federal government's own studies showed that given the absence of law enforcement, drivers will do what they consider a "comfortable" speed for the prevailing conditions. This is also known as the 85th percentile speed.
In the US, most speed limits are posted at the 35th percentile speed, which means 65% of us are typically driving above the speed limit. What maniacs we are!
Of course, I'm talking highways here. I'm not advocating speeding thru towns, etc.
But the only reason the limits are intentionally low is to increase revenue.
I have lost respect for most cops since coming to the US. I see them as little more than armed IRS agents. Once you're pulled over and ticketed, you know you're paying out hard cash, either in fines, lawyer fees, or both.
If they had jury trials for traffic tickets, would many people be convicted? I don't think so.
Jeez, time for bed here. See what happens when it snows all day and you get hooked on Edmunds?
I was going 65mph on a divided highway that was posted for 55mph. There were no cars on the road, it was clear and dry.
My radar detector beeped and like a fool I stepped on the brakes. Even as I my foot was pressing the pedal I knew that I had bitten the hook!
The funny thing about speed control radars is that they work great against single cars driving alone on straight streachs of road in good weather, i.e. when 10mph over is meaningless.
Speed control radars are useless on crowded, twisty roads in bad weather, i.e. the conditions where speeding is very dangerous.
Sure enough, a VA highway patrol car pulls me over and this little guy comes running up yelling like a lunitic: "GIVE ME YOUR RADAR DETECTOR". (Tropper Pippen, you'll always be short. Deal with it.) Of course I had thrown it under the seat.
I just kind of looked at him and handed my drivers licese. "I'M IN CHARGE HERE, GIVE ME THE DAMN DETECTOR!!!!!" he screams, one hand on his gun, the other pounding on the roof of my car. By now I felt like I was seconds from a Rodney King style discussion of the bill of rights, so I handed him the detector. This immedeatly calmed him down, and he nicely asked for the power cord.
I got a ticket for speeding and radar detector use. He returned my detector.
I did the sensible thing and moved to Texas. A few years ago Texas raised the speed limits to sensible levels and my old Escort is now somewhere in the attic.
Basically, when you flip a switch (cleverly hidden in your car), it connects the power of the brake lights to a ground like the car frame. This is not the same thing as shorting the circuit.
You can use your brakes all you want and the lights won't come on in the back. 'Course, it's illegal and can be dangerous if you forget to switch them back on.
I also would like to have a remote display... found out the only way to have one is using the special dual RJ45 style cig lighter adapter... it cannot be used if hardwired....(open to correction here!!) Well my particular car has the Cig lighter socket in the console area between the seats!!(S2000) So I am currently working on a hidden cig lighter socket with the now 2 sets of wires running up the A pillar and across the windshield header... to exit at the maplights... will repost if I get this done. Since I am a big fan of twisties... I bought the V1 for that reason, and it has helped my peace of mind, up until last night... I had just happened to slow down from about 80 (in a 40) cause of the huge drop off coming up on a bridge crossing... when lights crested the hill... instant on radar! hit the brakes...(rather involuntarily) and realixed I was now going less than the speed limit... expected sigh of relief... but had there been no bumps to slow down for... I would have been toast.
Also supposedly TX is becoming a rear lic. plate only state... someone posted a link on the h_a.net site... I have it somewheres... I have never had the lic. plate on my S2000... looks sooo much better w/o it! Which brings up another ?? With a front end like the S2000... how volunerable is it to laser?
Never heard that TX is going rear plate only . . . that would be cool except I will probably not be living there in another 2 years or so.
As for S2K laser vulnerability, those big head lights probably aren't good, but very few cars nowadays can get around that. You could drive with your lights on to lessen the range of the laser, but then they'll just aim at the front plate.
Face it. If the bacon's got the beam, you're just gonna need a lotta luck or spend some time in court.