Láser Detectors

[Mellow]

As for the Waze, I don't use it for 2 reasons: don't use my phone on the bike, and Waze is way too clobbered.
Where do you put a radar detector on the ST? You can't hear it while riding, and I wouldn't want to put it on dash to be seen by everyone.
Speeds aren't as much of the worry to me as I normally do 10 over on a highway and 5-7 over (at least trying) in towns, GPS speed. What worries me more is being spotted when passing on double yellow and filtering in traffic.

I hook my radar detector to my sena via a cord to hear it. There are some visual alert mods but I'm afraid I'll miss those looking in another direction. Turbo Tom used to sell a great dash mount but you can use a ram mount and attach that way, I don't mind it being in plain sight.

I just like to know when LEOs are near so I can be a little more observant.

 

[Pop-Pop]

As for the Waze, I don't use it for 2 reasons: don't use my phone on the bike, and Waze is way too clobbered.
Where do you put a radar detector on the ST? You can't hear it while riding, and I wouldn't want to put it on dash to be seen by everyone.
Speeds aren't as much of the worry to me as I normally do 10 over on a highway and 5-7 over (at least trying) in towns, GPS speed. What worries me more is being spotted when passing on double yellow and filtering in traffic.

waze works well if there is traffic. Radar detectors ( some of them) come with bluetooth. Nothing is foolproof.

 

[Daboo]

I've been using a Uniden DFR-9 for about three years. I had an Escort many many years before when the national speed limit was 55. The difference is a lot.

The Escort was like some have described, where it went off for every grocery store door, etc. It served its purpose well when I got out of the USAF in Upstate New York and was traveling cross-country to Washington state. But the false alerts in town when I got to the Seattle area made it worthless.

A few years back, I decided to get the Uniden. I ride locally on two roads where the conditions invite you to speed and get ticketed. One is on the main road where I live. It parallels I-5 and when traffic is at a standstill, people will detour off the freeway and take this road...at freeway speeds. Eventually, the local LEOs set up a radar trap. I like the idea of the radar trap on this road...but I don't want to get pulled over for going slightly over the 30 mph speed limit.

The other road is on the way to church. It's a four-lane road with a center turn lane. There's nothing hardly out there and locals frequently travel at a minimum of 45 mph in a 35 mph zone...or higher. I can see myself being in a group of vehicles doing those speeds and because I'm the only one on a motorcycle, getting pulled over.

And I like gadgets.

I've found the Uniden to be just a fun gadget in town. Traffic here is dense enough that you really don't gain much by trying to speed except frustration. But when going out on the open road on day trips or longer...it is really handy.

Instant on radar will catch you...unless there's other cars ahead. Like someone said, I can pick up an LEO about 3 miles out. Laser doesn't seem to be used much in this area. So it is pretty much radar. Defunding the police and simple budget issues seems to have affected the number of LEOs I see on the road. Small towns that used to have their own cop, and radar traps, seem to be sharing police coverage with other communities. They are busy enough that speed enforcement seems to be less of a priority. I could be wrong, but that's just the way I look at it.

Despite using a radar detector, there's a couple things I try to keep in mind.

1. A radar detector is not a license to speed.
2. I try to ride with the flow of traffic...not faster than that.

Edited to add: If you're looking for a way to get alerts, the Marc Parnes Visual Alert works very well.

Chris

 

[Larry Fine]

I've found the Uniden to be just a fun gadget in town. Traffic here is dense enough that you really don't gain much by trying to speed except frustration. But when going out on the open road on day trips or longer...it is really handy.

What's really handy, the Uniden or speeding?

 

[Daboo]

What's really handy, the Uniden or speeding?

What's really handy is to go through back country roads where there's no traffic, no towns, nothing but winding roads in front of you with the freedom to relax and enjoy the scenery and the road. You don't have to be racing, but chances are you'll exceed the speed limit at times.

I see you're in Richmond, VA. I would imagine the area over there is more dense population wise than the open roads in Eastern Washington or Eastern Oregon. It's a whole different ballgame out there than in town...whether in town is Richmond or Seattle. There's still a speed limit posted. Some of these roads have one farm house per thousand acres or more. With no traffic to gauge your speed by, you would need to keep looking at your speedometer to know you were speeding. And for what? To make the hawks and crows happy? The cows munching on their cud as they watch you go by? So a radar detector lets you sit back and enjoy the ride at a comfortable speed and if it goes off, then look down at the speedometer and watch your speed more carefully.

Anyone who says they never speed is probably ...well, I won't say it. But one mph over the speed limit is still speeding. And we're all guilty of that...even my wife.

Chris

 

[ad.hom]

In many small towns where the crime is minimal, their priorities to bring money to town. That's how I see it.

I was going to type out a lengthy explanation, but you're welcome to your viewpoint. My anecdotal evidence suggests that cops are overwhelmingly, just other folk trying to do a job.

They've cut me a break many more times than they've written me a ticket. I've even once been knowingly committing a traffic offence (I just didn't willingly offer that information to them), but because they were actually looking for someone else (the guy I bought the vehicle from) they literally wrote me a "get out of jail free" card.

I choose to speed, where I feel it's safe to do so. In doing that, I know I'm choosing to accept whatever consequences happen to come my way - be that a SMIDSY or a ticket.

 

[M Rogers]

WOW. LOTS OF INPUT!!
I thank you all. I’m looking at the K40 radar and laser “difusión” system based on cost and international shipping issues and laymen’s installation ease.

i read every reply. 10% over? Please. Google map Nicaragua anHonduras. Beautiful open roads, lightly traveled, intelligent drivers that shift right if you come up on them, and they expect you to travel at 40 mph.

luckily Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala don’t have money for radar or laser, but Mexico and the USA?

Thanks again for all the input

 

[OkieRider]

I agree that we have digressed and will try to be more specific in reply.

You have asked a pointless question... but if a police chief actually eradicated crime they would defund the police. Taxpaying residents, not police chiefs, make final funding decisions. There are plenty of low crime municipalities that rely on federal, state, or county officials for what little law enforcement they desire/ require.

Tom

The margin ever widens. The question your seemed hyper focused on was rhetorical.

The point that you are side stepping for whatever reason, is that policy comes from the top, and the top needs money. So, whatever the guy writing the ticket may think, writing that ticket is mapped back to a line item on a budget. That's what the discussion was about. No idea how you missed that and got snagged by a rhetorical device and took it into literal land.

 

[ad.hom]

The point that you are side stepping for whatever reason, is that policy comes from the top, and the top needs money. So, whatever the guy writing the ticket may think, writing that ticket is mapped back to a line item on a budget. That's what the discussion was about. No idea how you missed that and got snagged by a rhetorical device and took it into literal land.

You're at least half right.

Our local force, some years ago, was very well known for targeting bikers for tickets. You didn't need to be speeding/riding dangerously etc. You didn't even need to be moving! You could be sat at a biker cafe, a couple of cars roll up, block the exits and you're told "spot check on every vehicle before it leaves this car park."

Tyre tread, exhaust not appropriately stamped, not displaying a tax disc, you're getting a ticket!

If you were riding, and dared to speed, they'd pull you over & write a ticket for anything extra they could find. Some guy in a car next to you doing 15mph faster than you? Doesn't matter, you're on 2 wheels, you're getting stopped.

It had nothing to do with money though. The Police Chief was very open about the fact that he simply hated bikers, and was doing everything he could to make everyone simply ride somewhere else. The number of times I was stopped just doing nothing more than commuting, and the officers opened with "look, I'm sorry, I know you're a local, but this is just what we've got to do."

Then one day we got a different Chief, with a different focus. And suddenly all the cops seemed to just disappear - no clue what they were doing, but they were no longer bothering me.

 

[TPadden]

The point that you are side stepping for whatever reason, is that policy comes from the top, and the top needs money. So, whatever the guy writing the ticket may think, writing that ticket is mapped back to a line item on a budget.

Not sidestepping for whatever reason, I just disagree with both your premise and conclusion.

Policy always comes from the top, but that doesn't make your belief that traffic enforcement policy is universally a financially driven line item on a budget accurate.

Each law enforcement agency is different with a very different set of priorities coming from the top. The top often has higher priorities than money; like reacting to taxpayers desire to do things like: slow down traffic in school zones, areas of congestion, reducing noise, reduce DUI's etc. I worked Patrol both in very urban San Diego southern California, and very rural Ozark County southern Missouri and revenue through traffic enforcement was NEVER a priority in any agency I worked for or with. I can agree that at a local level your experience may vary...

Tom

 

[mudduc]

I'm looking at the Cobra Rad 480I Just for goofs and giggles! It's abouy$150, which is less than my speeding ticket was, and another degree of warning can't hurt. The rad has great ratings. Years ago, my radar kept beeping. Well, I caught up to a trooper!
What is neat also, is that it's bluetooth, so the alarm should head into my earbuds.

Do keep in mind that an officer seeing a radar detector is much more likely to write you up then let you off. Back in the day, I had a valentine-1 attached to my upper left corner of my Dodge pickup's window. Not visible by an officer standing at the driver side window.

The last time I was pulled over in my truck, I did my standard talk, the officer went back and checked my record was clean, came back with a warning written up.

He came back to the passenger side (safer side away from traffic) and handed the warning in through the passenger window. Once he saw the valentine-1 radar detector, he gave me a wry smile and said that would have cost me a ticket had he noticed it earlier.

So, if you do install a detector, assure it is not visible. They make ones you can hide under your seat with a remote detection line that can be run up to the front or back or both. Of course, they cost much more than $150. My valentine-1 had a remote face-plate that would flash and beep down below the dash out of sight from anyone outside the truck. The expensive detectors will have remote lights and noises you can install into your helmet. Again, usually expensive (or was back when I wanted to run detectors back in the 1990s) but maybe the bluetooth on your Cobra will work well.

I contend, an opinion I will vigorously defend, that radar detectors are not worth the money and, even if free, are not worth running.

- Assure you have and maintain a clean record. Take every ticket to court. It is easy to reduce them to a no-record offence. It is more difficult but somewhat easy to get them tossed completely. "Lack of foundation" is a helpful fraise to know to get "evidence" against you dismissed.
- Speed intelligently.
- Be polite, respectful and have a good rap for when you are pulled over. 90% of my stops over 40 years of driving/riding resulted in warnings instead of tickets. Couldn't talk my way out of the 100+ mph run through yellow posted "warning 45 mph" curves, for some reason. Said he had me at 125 mph (I wasn't going nearly that fast) but couldn't prove it in court.

- DON'T RUN A RADAR DETECTOR

Later,
Kent Larson in Minnesota.

 

[OkieRider]

Not sidestepping for whatever reason, I just disagree with both your premise and conclusion.

Policy always comes from the top, but that doesn't make your belief that traffic enforcement policy is universally a financially driven line item on a budget accurate.

Each law enforcement agency is different with a very different set of priorities coming from the top. The top often has higher priorities than money; like reacting to taxpayers desire to do things like: slow down traffic in school zones, areas of congestion, reducing noise, reduce DUI's etc. I worked Patrol both in very urban San Diego southern California, and very rural Ozark County southern Missouri and revenue through traffic enforcement was NEVER a priority in any agency I worked for or with. I can agree that at a local level your experience may vary...

Tom

It would be easier to believe you weren't side stepping anything if it didn't take three posts to say something on point.

They're never likely to tell line LEO that they need to get out there and write some tickets for money. I can understand why you want to argue against the revenue driven practices of the American justice system. I'm not saying law enforcement isn't a noble endeavor. But if you think it's not used as a tool for revenue enhancement, you really haven't been following the news concerning civil forfeiture or small town speed traps, or the logical consequence of not raising enough tax to pay for services. The money has to come from somewhere. They would put governors on cars rather than charge a fine of they really wanted to stop speeding. They don't want to stop all speeding because it's a cash cow.

 

[OkieRider]

You're at least half right.

Our local force, some years ago, was very well known for targeting bikers for tickets. You didn't need to be speeding/riding dangerously etc. You didn't even need to be moving! You could be sat at a biker cafe, a couple of cars roll up, block the exits and you're told "spot check on every vehicle before it leaves this car park."

Tyre tread, exhaust not appropriately stamped, not displaying a tax disc, you're getting a ticket!

If you were riding, and dared to speed, they'd pull you over & write a ticket for anything extra they could find. Some guy in a car next to you doing 15mph faster than you? Doesn't matter, you're on 2 wheels, you're getting stopped.

It had nothing to do with money though. The Police Chief was very open about the fact that he simply hated bikers, and was doing everything he could to make everyone simply ride somewhere else. The number of times I was stopped just doing nothing more than commuting, and the officers opened with "look, I'm sorry, I know you're a local, but this is just what we've got to do."

Then one day we got a different Chief, with a different focus. And suddenly all the cops seemed to just disappear - no clue what they were doing, but they were no longer bothering me.

I don't know if the situation is the same in the UK. I'll hazard a guess that it's not an apples to apples comparison.

Here, traffic tickets are generally issued by one of three separate levels of the same sovereign: the state highway patrol, the county sheriff, or a municipal police department. Most tickets result in fines, which benefit the state, county, or city. Three funds may be divided up and used to support different departments either directly or indirectly. The funds are relied on to balance the budget. The reliance on fines and court costs is created by the fact the legislature underfunds the justice system, generally. So, when LEO tells me they're doing enhanced safety patrols, I hear they've been told to go out and enhance revenue in the name of safety. Maybe they're making things safer, too.

 

[ad.hom]

The funds are relied on to balance the budget.

Do you know that? What else is on the balance sheet, in terms of income? I mean, it can't be the only source of income, can it?

Over here, we pay property taxes, known as "council tax" every month/year - which is used to pay for the local police force, the folks that come & empty the bins, the fire service and a myriad of other things. The central police governing body also get a direct allotment from the government, which that central body divides out based on priorities & force sizes etc.

I know that's what council tax is used for, because I get an itemised invoice, which clearly shows how much money/year I have paid to the police force.

I wasn't attempting to compare apples with anything, merely showing that there could be other reasons than monetary.

 

[OkieRider]

Absolutely there can be other reasons for writing tickets. But let's not pretend revenue generation isn't one of them. Do I "know" fines and court costs are used for revenue generation? Yes. I know that, and you can know that too through the modern day wonders of google, although I happen to know it from talking to our local DA and then investigating the extent to which this was an issue across the nation. It is indeed as bad as he said, in the US. Locally, the DA's budget was covered only 45% by the legislature when I last looked. The other 55% came through revenue generated by the justice system. How do you think the justice system raises revenue IN THE US? Again, I don't know why you think whatever happens in the UK is relevant to how it works here, I've explained how it works here. Here's a freebie for you:

"Budget pressures are part of what drives state and local governments to rely on monetary sanctions." Fees, Fines, and the Funding of Public Services: A Curriculum for Reform, Brian Highsmith (Ed.) (August, 2020), Foreword. Available HERE. There's a table of contents with several great articles with names like "Addicted to Fines" and "Exploitative Revenues, Law Enforcement, and the Quality of Government Service."

 

[TPadden]

Yes. I know that, and you can know that too through the modern day wonders of google... It is indeed as bad as he said, in the US. Locally, the DA's budget was covered only 45% by the legislature when I last looked. The other 55% came through revenue generated by the justice system.

For grins and giggles; I followed your advice and googled "taxes or fines fund local law enforcement". The first hit from the Sunlight Foundation, which "is a national, nonpartisan nonprofit organization that advocates for open government" refutes your statement :

" The median ratio of fines and forfeit revenue to tax revenue for city and county governments was 0.02 – that is, the median city or county collected two cents in fines and forfeits for every dollar it collected in taxes... What existing data tells us is that it is not normal for governments to raise significant revenue through their policing activities. "

Yes, there are PROBLEM areas like Ferguson Mo. where fines are heavily utilized but they are the exception, google (discounting the NPR and BLM Defund the Police political pieces) says most local policing is funded by property taxes and increasingly Federal tax funding (grants).

Where local governments are paying the bills with police fines : Sunlight Foundation

Tom

 

[Traffic138]

I’m planning a 12,000+ mile, multi country tour and have been looking at lazer jammers. Straight up, reading these reviews gave me a migraine.

Does anyone have any input on best quality- ease of installation- and best price advice concerning this product?

any input is appreciated

thnx

I’m a retired California motor cop, RADAR/LIDAR trained, and I have issued hundreds of citations for unsafe speed using both technologies. LIDAR or Light Direction and Ranging is dead ass accurate for almost 2,000 ft. out and even at that maximum distance, the Laser signal width is only 2 to 2.5 feet wide. If I can’t get a reflection reading off your front headlight, fender, or windscreen I’ll just point the target acquisition box on your helmet. I’ll visually estimate prior and know your exact speed and exact distance from me when the reading was obtained more than a quarter mile before you get to me.

Don’t waste your money. The “Laser Jammers” and “Radar Detectors” will only alert after or as you are getting caught. The only exception is if an officer’s vehicle is equipped with “Moving Radar” which sends a constant Radar signal toward approaching vehicles coming in the opposite diction. This is used primarily on two lane highways in my state.

Standard handheld Radar and Lidar guns don’t emit a signal until the officer observes a suspected speeding vehicle, visually estimates speed, and then confirms the estimation by pulling the trigger for a reading to confirm.

The answer to this problem is simple don’t speed. I’ll tell you this as well. Keep it 14-15 mph over the posted limit on the freeway and 10-12 mph in surface streets. You won’t get stopped. I will caution you to slow it down to the posted limits in School Zones and Two Lane Highways.

Unless you just enjoy the hell out of riding at unsafe speeds on public roadways do the math, 90 mph in a 70 mph zone will save you how much time???? It’s not worth my life, injury, or bike damage to save 20-30 minutes over the course of a 2,3, or 4 hour ride.

 

[OkieRider]

Relative to the entire tax base, you might get a result like that. In relatively poor states or states with high spending (Louisiana, Illinois, respectively) there now likely to use fine and forefeiture funds. But they don't have to use it for a larger percentage of the entire budget. States like that spread out the fund raising and map it to related governmental services. Oklahoma, for example, has an inordinate number of licenses required for various things because that's easier than staying elected after voting for higher taxes.

We didn't even make the top ten here in OK in terms of fine and forefeiture revenue, but less than 50% of justice system funds fine from the legislature. That doesn't mean the whole state gets most of its money from fines. It should trouble you that justice must take into account its own budgetary needs in performing its function.

Take a look at the link in post 58. The problem is very specifically concentrated in law enforcement. Consequently, an examination of statewide budget won't help. The now defunct sunshine organization either had an agenda or simply lacked the statistical analytic talent necessary to address the question more head on. Ferguson is not an exception, you just won't find the problem examining entire state, county, or city budgets because the issue is nested in law enforcement.

 

[ad.hom]

Unless you just enjoy the hell out of riding at unsafe speeds on public roadways do the math, 90 mph in a 70 mph zone will save you how much time???? It’s not worth my life, injury, or bike damage to save 20-30 minutes over the course of a 2,3, or 4 hour ride.

Those in the US may not know this, but in the UK, if you aren't speeding to such an excess where the recommendation is "go directly to court" - you have a few options.

If I recall correctly, the "go and talk to a court" threshold is approx 17mph over - 50 in a 30, which is what I was previously caught at, certainly qualifies you for an expensive time (and, rightly so, I admit I was an idiot doing that).

But if you're doing less than that threshold, the ticket we get, is actually a Notice of Intended Procecution (which can actually just be a verbal statement by the officer). Then the matter goes off to the office for them to decide. If you have a clean record, and haven't actually done one in a few years, you're likely to get sent on a Speed Awareness Course. You have to pay for attending the course, but it's actually cheaper than taking a fine (currently, £88 for the course, £100 + 3 points for the fine, minimum).

Why is this relevant to the quote? I've done a Speed Awareness Course in the past, one of the arguments they used: "If you're on the motorway, the speed limit is 70. If you're doing 80, and in an hour, you'll get about 12 miles further down the road than you would at 70. But then you'll find 2 trucks blocking the left lanes, and traffic will be back to around 60. You're using your brakes more often, you're getting back up to 80 again as soon as you can, which costs you more fuel. You're probably not as relaxed as you would be just sitting at 65. The stopping distance at 80 is almost twice as long as it is at 60, so while you're tail gaiting the slower traffic & getting more frustrated with them, you're also more likely to crash into the back of them.

Why not just set off 30mins earlier, and enjoy the ride? It's actually cheaper in terms of vehicle maintenance too..."

 

[drrod]

Just as a note of interest relating to the whole revenue thing.......my son (civil engineer) works for the city in the transportation planning division. They were exploring autonomous cars and how they may be implemented. One of the things they had to consider (by decree from higher up) was how the city was going to recoup some $50 million in traffic violation income they were currently getting but expected to lose with the use of autonomous vehicles. The parking revenue loss was another thing that needed to be considered.