Radar Detectors

[Maverick]

I spent more than a few hours over better than 10 years in active traffic investigtation / enforcement.

The X guns are almost all gone in AZ. now. They were too broad in their "beam" and easily confused in traffic. They were best in light traffic only on a narrow road.

The K guns were much improved with a narrow beam and much more slective in targeting.

ALL radar guns are susceptable to interferance with multiple targets if they are in a wide beam. It tends to confuse them and they blank out.

I saw many drivers with radar detectors. They didn't bother me as the detector is based on one type of radar usage. A steady  beam broadcast down the road. I didn't do that. I held the gun straight up into the air until I saw a speeder, estimated his speed then zapped for confirmation. Range was about 150 feet or so. All the detector did was tell them they were busted. I didn't bother with 5 or even 10 over most of the time unless it was a school zone. Then I only allowed 7 over.

I never had a quota and was never told I had to write tickets to fund anything. I was told I was expected to be working and not just sitting on the side of the road if not on a call. Frankly you had to be pretty darn blind not to see violations in traffic on a routine basis. Most drivers seem like they are on aotopilot and unaware of what is going on. Sad and dangerous.

[Dinger]

Mav's right about most of it.  Radar and Laser Detectors are useless by themselves, and most people on the road in this country take driving too lightly.  But they are handy tools for situational awareness. Of course, I don't own one.

There are plenty of places in the country where local law enforcement and highway patrol uses speeding regulations to generate revenue.  On the other side of town here, for example (iowa), we have a part of the city that's incorporated separately and has its own, very small police force).  There's one road that goes through that area and connects two parts of the city (so city police on each side).  That road has a 25mph speed limit, and is on a slight slope.  50% of the time I travel that road, I've been illuminated.  Fortunately, I've been at or below 25mph.
Heck, I know of some towns where the cops are so notorious, people drive 5-10 mph under the limit just to be safe, only to get pulled over when their tires touch the yellow line.
And then there are groups like the flying tires of Ohio, who travel in wolfpacks, and have their favorite trap areas.  Why come to think of it, when Moose drove out to Ohio a couple years ago, he got three speeding tickets, all in OH.

So, sure I believe there are plenty of smart cops out there who only use the radar/laser to confirm what's sufficiently obvious, but there are plenty of guys out there who find that parking and painting everything that goes by is just as effective.

What's ironic to me is that the situation for which a radar/laser detector would be most useful is also the one where speeding is the least dangerous: open freeways with no traffic.  As long as there are other cars around, you can always spot a cop by the way every schmuck driver on the road panics and lays on the brakes.

[GtoRA2]

Hey Mav...
 Around here I keep seeing police officers pulling like 4 people over at once. I had this happen to me and it was 5, and I had to wait over 30 minutes to get my ticket.

Is that considered ok? That seems really rude to me, I understand Police officers have a hard job, but do they have the right to keep you waiting like that while they ticket 4 other people?

[FUNKED1]

Originally posted by Maverick
I saw many drivers with radar detectors. They didn't bother me as the detector is based on one type of radar usage. A steady  beam broadcast down the road. I didn't do that. I held the gun straight up into the air until I saw a speeder, estimated his speed then zapped for confirmation. Range was about 150 feet or so. All the detector did was tell them they were busted.

The high end detectors will give a warning from a mile or two away as you zap cars in front of them.  The only problem is if the road is empty, then the first signal you get is one aimed right at you.  That's about the only way you will get a ticket with a V1 or similar, if you know how to use it.

[capt. apathy]

the thing that really pisses me off is that they no longer 'lock in' the reading.

so the cop says I know you where speeding, I had it on radar.

"can I see the reading on the gun?"

"no our policy is to no longer lock in readings."

if it's an honest ticket what is the benifit to clearing the reading in the gun?

wouldn't it be better to show the driver the reading and avoid the court costs of a fight.

IMO if they want to use this equipment as evedence in a court it should save the data.

how hard would it be to incorperate a recipt printer that printed time, date, and speed?

the only ones this would inconvienece is the liars.

[Maverick]

Originally posted by GtoRA2
Hey Mav...
 Around here I keep seeing police officers pulling like 4 people over at once. I had this happen to me and it was 5, and I had to wait over 30 minutes to get my ticket.

Is that considered ok? That seems really rude to me, I understand Police officers have a hard job, but do they have the right to keep you waiting like that while they ticket 4 other people?

Short answer, yes they can do that. This is particularly true where traffic violations are still criminal. By that I mean you can go to jail for the offense. Most jurisdictions / states have decriminalized the usual traffic violations and made them a "civil" infraction. That means you can't go to jail when found guilty, you can only be fined or given an alternative penalty.

FWIW I have done just what you posted about for sign violations. Example, several cars turning where prohibited or not turning when they were required to do so. I didn't like it as it increases the danger of the stop exponentially. Instead of one car and a couple occupants you now have to track multiple cars and the occupants.

Traffic stops are still just about the most hazardous thing you can do with some other obvious things like domestic disputes and a "hot armed call" a bit higher. You just never know what you are walking into on them and the bad guy will always get the first and usually second shot as well. You are out in the open and exposed and they are in a bit of cover.

[GtoRA2]

I was guilty as charged lol. I was sicker then a dog, and got stuck in a now stop zone in front of a firestation. Darnit, traffic came to a sudden stop.

Still, I never argue and always make sure the Officer can see my hands.

Turns out the Officer who ticketed me is infamous, a work friend got just about all his tickets from him when he was in highschool. He would wait at the end of his street.

I have some friends who work for the Water district as well, and this same Officer would follow their big trucks and ticket them as soon as they drove the truck on a road that would not take Semi trucks. The trucks they need to fix water main breaks!

Someone also spray painted his name and "Sucks Dick" on an overpass. It is funny how many people had stories of this Officer being a jerk to them.


Other then him, I have never had even a remotely bad experience with a Police officer. Hell, I got caught street in my GTO in an area looking for a street race twice and they where nice, and let me off with warnings. Even talked cars a bit!

Last time I got stopped was the night I was going to propose to my girl, and he gave me a fixit ticket for no tags, lol. He was cool though.

[rpm]

There are Good Cops and Bad Cops out there. When I drove an 18 Wheeler I found them to balance out about 60/40 to the good. The ones that worked traffic for a long time were the ones that were just doing their job and knew you were just doing yours. Now get a guy who is new or has been put on traffic for some reason he isn't happy about and that is where the bad experiences come from. State Cops also seemed to be less confrontational than locals. Had a Sheriff's Deputy draw down on me once while climbing out of the truck because he thought it was stolen (it wasn't)....that was scary.

[FUNKED1]

I have to admit Livermore cops are pretty cool.  They gave me three warnings (verbal only) before giving me a ticket.  When they give me the ticket, I had no front plate, expired tags, and he just wrote me up for the speed and told me to take care of the other stuff.

[capt. apathy]

I didn't like it as it increases the danger of the stop exponentially. Instead of one car and a couple occupants you now have to track multiple cars and the occupants.

I honestly never looked at one of those stops from the cops perspective before.  I've only been pulled over for 1 like that.  looking at it from that point of view I can't imagine he thought the ticket (which was one of the ones I wasn't guilty of btw) was worth the risk to pull over 2 cars.

[Sandman]

Originally posted by FUNKED1
I have to admit Livermore cops are pretty cool.  They gave me three warnings (verbal only) before giving me a ticket.  When they give me the ticket, I had no front plate, expired tags, and he just wrote me up for the speed and told me to take care of the other stuff.

That's called, "selling the ticket." I've watched my brother do it a few times... he walks back to the car and lists all the things he could have written up, but because he's such a nice guy, he'll limit it to just these "two."

[capt. apathy]

every time I get a BS speeding ticket it goes that way.  

"I have you on radar doing 84 in a 55 but I'll cut you slack and write it for 72, after that it gets expensive"

"can I see the reading on the gun?"

"no I cleared it"

[Sox62]

Originally posted by capt. apathy
every time I get a BS speeding ticket it goes that way.  

"I have you on radar doing 84 in a 55 but I'll cut you slack and write it for 72, after that it gets expensive"

"can I see the reading on the gun?"

"no I cleared it"

If he's alone in the car-fight it.Then he can explain to the judge why it was cleared.

[capt. apathy]

he had an answer for that.  deptment policy, no answer as to why a police department would adopt such a policy though.

btw- to those here who are cops.  isn't part of a police officers job to collect and/or preserve evedence as an 'officer of the court' (or whatever the official term is)?  wouldn't the reading on a radar gun be relivent evedence?  doesn't it seem that erasing the reading before the person citted (victim) has a chance to see it (ie. examine all evedence used against him) sort of counter productive to the mission of a police officer.

I'm no expert on what is legal or not but I do know this isn't right.  in court cops are treated as impartial witnesses, yet they dispose of evedence the accused could use to clear themselves before the person can view it.  if they are being fair and impartial, then whats the harm in letting the accused view the evedence? they give no valid excuse other than 'deptartment policy'.  it's not just one department either OSP, WSP, and all of the county and municipal departments I'm aware of in northern oregon and southern washington.

  the line I get from cops who are willing to discuse it at all is "department policy, all the departments are doing it this way now, it simplifies court cases"  I bet it does, destroying all evedence that the person could use to deffend themselves would make getting convictions much simpler.

[Spooky]

Radar detectors are ok, but how about car-mounted chaff dispensers and HARM missiles ?

"MAGNUM!!"