What a trip.  Left Chicago to pick up an ultra fast car in Alabama.  Posted a thread on this site about radar detectors, consensus was valentine one.  Did'nt have time to get one mailed so bought a BEL 936 at the store.  Had to drive through Indiana 250 miles each way during a period of "national security" crisis.  Indiana State Police just crushed me.  Slowest ticket received was 27 over, and I was happy about it.  How do you defend against this Ka band instant on radar?  I'll sell the damn car if I can't "drive it".  By the way, while breaking my balls, the Indiana State Troopers were total professionals, very polite and efficient, just doing their jobs well.

I've used radar detectors since the day I got my license.  Since then it has been 3 fast cars, 8 years, 150,000+ miles and zero tickets.

That said, you can NEVER, EVER, EVER rely on a radar detector, no matter how good it is.  At best it is an aide.  Avoiding tickets has more to do with paying the utmost attention to road: anticipating what is around the corner, looking for traps, identifying cars at a distance, watching the behavior of the traffic, and slowing the hell down when it is not safe.  Not to mention choosing your routes carefully and knowing them intimately.

BTW, if you are getting nailed for 27 over you are damn lucky you are not in jail right now.  If you choose to drive that fast you deserve the tickets.  If it is that important to you move to Europe or at least out west.

Hope this helps.

heehee.  that'll learn ya to scream through our state without stopping for a visit.  [:D]  

Where's a pic of the car?!?

Was  driving fast, but not dangerously.  Be aware of the environment?  Hell, the first guy that pulled me over was driving a MINI-Van!  I told him he wasn't playing fair, he was amused by that.  Also I don't think that going 82 mph down a segregated two lane highway in perfect weather is particularly dangerous.  Move to europe? F**k that.

Shotar,
You are probably right.  The Police are good at their jobs, I'm  screwed.  Who wants to buy a Z-8?

I am technologically incapable of posting a picture of the car, Sorry.  Check Z8 on google, you'll see.

Obviously the correct answer is you shouldn't speed.  I rarely speed anymore, but I've grown up some.  I drive nearly 100,000 miles a year.  The last ticket I received was 15 years ago.  Returning to reality though, there are several things you can do.

"Instant on" is just that.  You simply turn on the radar and it registers the speed.  A detector needs to receive a signal to give a warning.  No signal until nailed, no warning until nailed.  Your best use of a radar detector is with a "front door".  Find someone going faster than you, or keep pace with someone farther out in front of you and when he gets popped with the "instant on", your detector will register and you take action.  A detector is an aid to your eyeball, but just that.

Get a CB radio.  Not only will it warn you of traffic tie-ups etc, but all of us commercial drivers warn each other of where the "bears" are.  You can generally locate majority of the cops by just listening to that.  Still not 100% effective (nothing will ever be).  There's also a lot of comical stuff that goes on the airwaves.

Get a scanner.  The Uniden beartracker provide a warning signal when it picks up the carrier wave of a police radio.  This is the only electronic device that will give you a warning of police aircraft.  It's more of a proximity warning device.  It just gives you a light when a cop is within a mile or two.  Plenty of times, it doesn't work at all.  There are laws out the ass regarding the use of scanners in vehicles.  Check your local laws big time on this.  Some states will nail your hide to the wall for just having one.  

Penguin nailed the answer.  Think of a radar detector as the ECM in a combat aircraft.  If the pilot doesn't do his part, all the ECM in the world isn't going to save him.  Your tactics are far more important than any device.  

Ross

I have never been pulled over when I was specifically scanning the road looking for cops. I've got good eyes so a cop would never be able to "get my front plate in the crosshairs" until I had slowed down to the posted limit.

That being said, I've gotten pulled over and received my fair share of tickets, but still not one on my record. Thank God for lawyers.

Michael

Don't speed. It's simple. And I don't see how you can possibly say that 27 over is not "dangerous". And you said that that was the slowest speed you got tagged for.

Nice car, Mr. Bond!  [;)]

[img]http://www.jamesbond007.net/vehicules/Z8.jpg[/img]

[img]www.automobile-select.com/images/bmw-z8.JPG[/img]

On the road, the 400-horsepower, 32-valve, dual-cam 5.0-liter V-8 that's straight out of the M5 sedan is velvet-covered thunder and lightning.

Car and Driver clocked the Z8 from 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds with a top speed of 155 mph.

How is it that you can afford a $150,000 car but can't get a decent radar system for it?  There are all sorts of gadgets that you can get to make the less visible to radar and laser, giving you more of a chance to slow down before you are clocked.

Hmmm, let's see, The speed limit is 70 or 75 (maybe 55 to 65 if you're not in a rural area) and you think you know better what safe driving conditions are?  Did you simply begin to drive or did you sleep through drivers' ed?

If you're runnign at a speed more than 5 MPH faster than the next fastest vehicle on the road, [b]you[/b] are a hazard. (or course, the same goes for ganny doing 45 [:)])

It may not be particularly dangerous to you - IF you were the only one on the road.  But imagine the poor shmuck, that's tooling along at the limit, cruise control on, that gets a load of your expanding grillwork in his rear view mirror - he's going to maybe panic?  do ya think?  He sees a ton or more of steel coming at him at 20 to 30 MPH faster than himself, he just might jerk the wheel to the left to get out of your way - just as you decide to move to the left to pass him... (or if he's not so smart, vice-versa)

I just think it's fairly presumtious of you to think that the rules the rest of us are expected to live by don't apply to you somehow.  My guess is you don't think much of th ethree second rule either do you?

Here's the scary part, I'm a retired Navy Pilot well informed about electronic counter measures.  I could pick up the trace of a Soviet battle group three hundred miles away.  Now the police just drill you with better technology.  If all the needed recommendations are necessary for an even chance, then we're toast.

Guys,
I am talking about empty road, blue skies and dry pavement.  Any thought about conditions have to take into effect the current conditions.   Do you think that I would pass a school bus at a relative speed of 50 over the limit?  Of course not.  Wake up.  82 mps is not an inherently dangerous speed.

Dude, if you wanna speed, please do it on a closed course. Trust me, for a little cash, you will have the time of your life!! (And no points on your driving record to boot!)[:D]

Don't they make radar jammers now? Seems like that in conjunction with a radar detector so you can hit the brakes when it goes off...

Sure, and the deer won't jump out at you from the side of the road ...

(Wish I could learn to spell - sheesh!)

Nor was I going 50 when basically from out of nowhere someone whacked me off my cycle... yeah, tell it to da judge...

they dont work. all smoke and mirrors. the things cost you $400 and they will only pay your first ticket. just how fast do you have to be going to get a $400 i dont know.. but my firebird sure as heck wont do it.so if they have to shell out $100 for a ticket you got they still make $300. the "jammers" transmit on legal bands. they dont jam laser either. not illegal to emit light so it blasts out beams of light to "jam" the laser unit, but it just dosent work that way. the laser units weed out everything but their own signal. course there is the olf fashioned inline amp on a held down(Xmit button) cb. just flood the RF bands with garbage and you should shutdown that kojaks kodak. i dont know it it works but i imagine it could have some [I] Interesting [/I] side effects in your cars computer.. ;)

Yeah, I wish states would relax the speed laws.  Today's cars are more than able to safely handle 80+ miles an hour.  If we create 4 lane super highways across the country and designate the left two lanes as "fast lanes", what's the problem?  Granny's can drive in the right two lanes, and still pass other Granny's while the rest of us in our Vette's, BMW's, Audi's, Mercede's, etc. move a little faster and have some fun.

I guess the loss of revenue would be too much for the states to stomach.

As well as being illegal - see the FCC regs.  - The amplifier is verboten, and usually transmitting without actually talking to anyone is called broadcasting - again illegal.  Of course, the CB channels are known for being basically uncontrollable...

Taliboom - if I come across as a harsh, angry person, it's not you, it's actually your cavalier attitude towards the law.  And it is in part cause by the number of losses that I have suffered at the hands of people knowingly violating traffic law.  So I shall not mourn for you getting speeding tickets - I shall rejoice.  I shall not mourn when your sailing down the highway at 80+ and hit a deer or slide your beautiful car into the ditch, because you were in violation of the law - character isn't what you do when people are watching, it's what you do when no is there to see - and doing 80+ on a road because it's "dry, blue sky, and no one else on the road" demonstrates, to me at least, a lack of character - Ex fighter jock or no.

Sorry, just telling it like I see it.

BTW, it [b]is[/b] a beautiful car - like someone else said, take it to a closed trak, you'll be safer, etc...

 [shock]  Holy crapola! Thats alot of drive-in![shock]

they don't work. and even it they did for instant on how fast is your reaction time? .4 sec is what I was told the last time I got a ticket!!!! when you are the only one on the road you are a target weather you are driving a Yogo or a Vipper. By the way taliboom I feel your pain I have a 92 vr4 twin turbo with lots of aftermarket goodies.

taliboom, nice choice of cars!!  Top speed listed on the car is 155 mph, have you had it pegged yet??  I drive a 3000gt and the max I've had it at was 165 mph with plenty of peddle to go and it felt as stable if not more than at 75 mph. People with cars that can't handle the speed simply don't understand the differance in "safety" on the open road.

idaho-ar15

Don't know how to break this to all of you. Some cops now carry instant on radar, like I do. Your radar detector is useless until I pull the trigger, then it's too late. Best bet is to look ahead, and scan the road.

LOL...think about it.  You pay a couple of hundred bucks for a radar detector and we're running various band radars that cost several thousand.  I know that our lasar radar handhelds are sweet...I don't even want to know what they cost.  

I use the same tactic as Paul ( while driving safe ofcourse ).  If you are speeding some please use your damn turning signals too.  It's stupid people don't use them anyway but not to use them when you're speeding is just plain brain dead.

I usually only speed on roads I'm very familiar with.  And on roads I'm not, I'll trail someone else and watch for radar.  I use them as bait while I troll for radar.

I just drove from Maryland to California in a little over 2 days with no incident.  I saw about 5 people get pulled over in those 2 days.

Down through I80 they lowered the speed limit from 85 mph to 75 mph and posted a bunch of Police on the route.  I don't know when they did that but I can remember cruising at 100+ through Nevada in the day with absolutely no one around on a dead straight highway for miles.

I also went through Indiana.  Encountered about 2 cops with radar.  One was on the side of the road with it on.. pretty easy to spot.  The other was turning it on and off behind me at some traffic.  I just drove in front of some cars and didn't and off I went.  I noticed that most of the police were in unmarked vehicles in Indiana.  I was glad to get out of that state.

Wyoming was a pretty hairy state too.  I went through 2 speed traps and another with someone doing instant-on.

#1) I owned a detector for a while and it was useless. Damn thing was going off all the time. Anything would set it off.

#2) If a cop is in the open and has his lights on, I have and can identify him at 2 miles (Local, Sherrif, or State.) They all have different lights.

#3) If they are hidden with lights off, you are screwed. This is how I was caught the 1st time. I was going 90+, when I spotted the cop. By the time he clocked me I was at 87 mph in a 70 mph zone. I got off with a written warning.

#4) Watch out for cops over hills. This is how I got caught the 2nd time. I came over the hill that was the county line and just over the line was a local deputy laying in wait. I was going 68 in a 55. I got a ticket for not having my registration or proof of insurance. No ticket for speeding, though.

#5) DO NOT PASS A COP WHO IS DOING THE SPEED LIMIT. 3rd time I got pulled over I did this doing 33 in a 30. In Florida under 5 over is a warning. A few minutes later, the cop pulled me over. Guess what, my plates expired a few days earlier. I didn't realize they were expired and the cop said "Never Pass a cop who is doing the speed limit." I got off with a warning.

#6) Do not make quick lane changes on Alafaya Trial (FL SR-434) through Oviedo at 2 in the morning. I did that and got pulled over for the 4th time. He lights up his flood light to blind me, then walks up to the window. It is immediately obvious he figures I'm drunk. He asks where I live since my lisence said N. Lauderdale. I said, Knight's Krossing. Big mistake. I now am getting even more attention. "Have you been drinking ?", then flashes his flashlight in my eyes. I guess after a while he figured out I wasn't drunk and let me go.

#7) Do not peel out of a McDonald's Parking Lot, becuase of the slow service. That was the 5th time I got pulled over. I got chewed by a local deputy. Some crap about kids in the area. Not to mention, school was in effect at the time so there were no kids around. I got off with a warning

#8) Always be polite and respect the Officer. That is how getting pulled over 5 times I haven't received a traffic ticket. Same doesn't go for Parking tickets, though. UCF will tow my ass if I ever show up back there again. Why, I disagreed with the damn meter that said time was up. I got out there about 2 minutes before it shoulda run out. Damn car already had a ticket on it. I paid the ones to the city, though. Becuase, those can go to warrants.

Ok, so now all the speed traps should have cops with the lights on... you'll think they're already busy, and they won't have to turn those lights on to chase you [:)]

Just slow down!

I've always hated speed limits. And speeding tickets are just a revenue source, not a safety tool.

I speed all the time. Not super fast, but usually 10-15 miles over the posted limit. Never had a problem handling the car.

Got pulled over one time for going 64 in a 40. It was a construction zone at 1am. I was tired and I forgot about it. Funny because I knew there would be cops there, as I always see them sitting there.

The last time I sped through Indiana, I was driving a truck that had Hawaiian plates that were registered with my Puerto Rico driver's license.  I received many tickets.  
I'm not too worried.

Hmmm..are you a resident of NY or PR?
You can only have a license in one or the other, and if your primary residence is NY, you have to switch to a NY license within a couple of months of moving here.
As for not "having to worry", if you decide not to may those tickets out in the midwest, I assume that state is like NY and will suspend your priviledge to drive in their state if you ignore the tickets.

If you are in the military, you can register a car in Hawaii without a Hawaiian license.  I did this with a P.R. license that I had acquired from a previous residence.  When travelling across the US, back in '95, this was the stuation.
Puerto Rico, had recently passed a law returning the official language to Espanol.  This meant that when a ticket from the mainland arrived at the PRDMV, they ignored it, unless it was in Espanol.  
Plot the course of said ticket.  First they sent it to Hawaii DMV (idiots), then Hawaii (if they can figure this out) sends it to PR, who (if it really gets there) shit cans it.
When I left Hawaii, I had some last minute business with the DMV.  I struck up a coversation with the clerk (who had never left her island state)about cross country travel.  She told me that when crossing the country, I would have to stop at every state and register my truck.  Not too bright. Ergo no worries.
I later switched the PR license to a NY license without a hitch.

Indiana is notorius for their unmarked black 'vehicles'. I have seen them in mini-vans, Buick Regals, Cameros, you name it.

Also in Indiana... don't pass a cop on a motorcycle w/o your helmet on. They have a helmet law there (I found out the hard way).

Good arguement......

Wait in Germany,

Insurance is mandatory.

Driver's Ed cost about $3,000, if you fail your license test you get to re-take driver's Ed.

Cars have to pass annual inspections. NO body rot or fluid leaks are allowed.

Replacement parts on vehicles have to be built exactly to OEM specs, no modifications are allowed, except through a certified "re-maunfacterer".

No pick-ups or SUV's, except work trucks.

$5.00 a gallon gas.

Automated speed enforcement and red light enforcement.

DUI .08 and above loss of license 5 years. .04-.07 loss of dl for shorter period. Penalties go up drastically. German Polizei are trained to draw blood............ they will do it any time they suspect DUI. Motorcycle DUI .15 and above, who say the Germans don't have a sense of humor. Also they figure blood alcohol differently, their results have higher numerical value.

Roads are much more costly, but far better constructed and maintained.

German Polizei:

don't need to give a reason why the stopped you.

They carry sub-machine guns and some provinces issue automatic pistols as sidearms, yes I mean machine pistols.

They can have a beer while on duty.

They drive BMW bikes, VW, BWM, Mercedes and Opel patrol cars that can go.

If you get in a crash with a Polizei vehicle with its lights and siren on, It's your fault.

Germans:

Believe that if you can't afford a license, insurance, and a decent car you can't afford to drive.

Do not drive with their head up their ass. If you have that kind of restricted vision they WILL take that license away and quickly.

Have ridicuosly low speed limits inside city, village limits, and strictly enforce thjose limits.

Have a marvelous mass transit system, most people take that instead of driving to and from work.

Who cares if you hate speed limits, they have been around for a while, and chances are they are going to stay. So get over it. Ya it may be a revenue issue, but oh well, I like chasing people after I clock them...

Friends of mine who served in Germany have told me that when cars over there DO smash up, it's horrendous due to the speeds involved and the lower crash standards for their vehicle construction.
Thats what speed enforcement comes down to: being proactive to cut down on the number and severity of accidents.
They also have fewer private vehicles as I recall, plus the more stringent testing requirements as outlined above.

I just visited Germany a couple months ago, and I have to say I prefer our interstate highways to their autobahns, despite the speed limits.  The mix of various speeds on the autobahn is insane.  Of the three lanes, the right lane is filled with SLOW trucks and the middle lane has SLOW trucks passing SLOWER trucks mixed with other traffic.  The left lane has people going 90-100 kph (60 mph) passing the trucks in the middle lane mixed with other people going 130-150+ kph (90 mph).  It's horribly stressful and you'd better pay attention.  The benefit is that you get where you're going as fast you want.

Oh, stop persecuting this guy because he likes to drive fast.  Out west there are miles and miles of wide open roads and there should be no speed limits on them.  My advice for driving fast is to do it in a car that is capable, but that doesn't draw attention to yourself.  Cops like sporty cars too, you know?  Use your head and hope for better days.  Matter of fact, with the way things are going in this country, they're going to be *telling* us what car we can own before long.  So you might as well get the fun while you can.

I knew it...a white scarf aviator!  Geez...you deserve that bust!

Beautiful car though.  I'm sure you can enjoy it at 75 as much as at 100.  It'd look really crappy crushed by an accident like the one that's going to happen to you if you keep speeding like that.

My wife's I-30 will do 135+ but I damn well don't push it that fast.  When you are flying along that fast, in a sea of plodders, you are REALLY putting your life and ours at risk.  Slow down before you kill yourself or somebody else.

Go back to your days in the cockpit...just try to imagine yourself flying a Turkey or Hornet at zone 5 through a big gaggle of Orions or C-130s.  Get the idea?  Sort of a relative motion mismatch, huh?  Granny out for her Sunday drive to the beauty parlor and here you come at mach 1+.

For the record, I was just like you once.  When I returned from 'Nam in 1966, I went out and blew all my [tax free] combat pay on a brand new Shelby Cobra GT 350.  I put another 2-Large in the engine and away we went!  I was burning up those California freeways...and playing the game with the CHPs.  Within a year, I had enough speeding busts that the judge damn near put me in the slammer for a month.  Fortunately, my Shore Patrol report from my command and a fast talking lawyer saved my butt.  That judge did lighten my wallet some though...that hurt.  I slowed down after that.

Just a bit of advice from an Old Black Shoe destroyer driver who wants to keep on living:  Slow down.  You'll like yourself for it in the long run.

[soapbox]

(I'll bet it's still a rush though!)[whacko]

to everyone who thinks driving fast is both fun and cool.

can i borrow a spleen, a healthy lung and six months of your life? because i lost mine breaking the speed limit by about 20mph.

fortunately, i wised up and no-one else was seriously hurt, other than all those who love and car for me who weren't told for nearly a week whether i was going to come home alive.

i cannot show pictures of my accident but here is someones elses misfortunes, in a german supercar noless:

[url]http://home.swbell.net/cbrofman/page2.html[/url]  

oh and while im thinking about it...
just imagine how you would feel if your wife, girlfriend or mother had been killed by my speeding, or if you read in the newspaper that i had killed a pregnant mother or an elderly lady or a policeman 2 hours before he retired.  i used to always say that i could accept that i might get killed because i drove fast, but you have to accept the lives of innocent people who might get killed or injured as well.  my recommendation for those with a need for speed, join a local autocross event or take it to a local dragstrip. theres always enthusiasts to share your hobby with there, and it will benefit your normal driving skills to boot.
sorry to ramble on, but this is very near and dear to me as you can imagine.  i thought my car and my driving skills were top notch. you all can see how far that got me.

So, I was wondering . . .

Let's say that you had a shotgun shell loaded with powder and chaff (designed, of course, with a length equal to the wavelength of the radar band).  If the firing mechanism were connected electronically to the radar detector, the discharge of the chaff would be nearly instantaneous.  The radar gun would either get radically high readings if the radar were to the front, or bizarre negative readings if it were pointed to the rear.  The only problem, other than firing off shotgun rounds while driving down the road, is that you trade a $100 dollar speeding ticket for a $1000 littering ticket.  Oh well.

The best radar detector is your own eyes but you might try one of these babies out.

[url]http://www.escortinc.com/srx.htm[/url]