The article I wrote a few weeks back about the value of buying (and using) a radar detector (http://ericpetersautos.com/forums/sh…ad.php?t=15792) prompted several replies pointing out that in Virginia and DC – where detectors are still illegal – I ran the risk of being nailed by a “radar detector detector,” specifically, the Spectre III/Elite used (apparently) by many police. (See here: http://www.stalkerradar.com/spectreIV/redirect.html)
I looked into it a bit – and also have my own real world experience using the Valentine 1 (highly recommend this model; see here: http://www.valentine1.com/
) for about three years now in Virginia and thought I’d post what I know – or what seems likely – based on that.
First, I am pretty confident that the Virginia State Police and most local police in Virginia do not have the Spectre III or similar radar detection equipment. Either that, or the Valentine 1 is not detectable by them.
I have gotten away with using the V1 every single day for almost three years, on highways and secondary roads all over the state. Every time I drive – literally – the V1 has alerted me to a cop running radar, either coming at me from the opposite direction (moving car) or from a stationary unit parked off to the side of the road. Each time, I have slowed down – and sailed right past the cop without incident.
The cops don’t even look at me.
I don’t turn the V1 off, either. I usually just snatch it off the dash, where I “stealth mount” it using quick-release Velcro (which makes the unit much less visible since there’s no dangling power cord) before I get close enough to the cop for him to easily see the V1 sitting on my dashboard. However it is still on – so if the cops have a Spectre or other type of detector detector that is capable of picking out the V1, I would assume that by now at least one of them would have come after me to check for a radar detector.
But that has not happened.
It’s possible I’ve just been very lucky, but I doubt it. I drive a lot (probably 20,000 miles a year) in multiple different vehicles, all over the state.
My conclusions:
* Given that most people are cattle and will obey the law – no matter how unfair, stupid or even evil the law happens to be – the cops in VA assume that most people do not have radar detectors and so are not actively looking for them. Probably most departments – especially local ones, with more limited budgets – quite rationally conclude that there’s no real justification for spending $2,500 or more per unit to buy detector detectors, since most people are cattle and will not buy/use a radar detector if its illegal to do so.
(The side benefit here for people who aren’t cattle and use radar detectors anyway – despite the laaaaaaw – is that we have the element of surprise on our side. Since cops assume most people don’t have detectors, they don’t use tactics that assume most (or even many) drivers do have them. They just “paint” traffic with K or Ka, without much if any attempt to hide what they’re doing. This gives the handful of us with radar detectors a real advantage – in Virginia and DC, anyhow.)
* While police may be looking for them visually, they do not have effective radar detector detectors. I’ve read that the newer, top-of-the-line radar detectors such as my Valentine 1 and the Bell STi either can’t be picked out by detector detectors or their ID range is not enough for the cop to get the drop on you. If you read the technical specs. published by the manufacturer of the Spectre radar detector detector, you’ll see the effective range is somewhere around 1,000 feet out (from the cop to you). But the V1 (and, apparently, the Bell STi) is effective at much greater distances than that, so even if the cops have the Spectre, odds are you will detect them before they detect you. This jibes with my personal, real-world experience using the V1 in Virginia.
Bottom line –
It appears pretty safe to run with a radar detector in Virginia (can’t speak to the situation in DC) provided you use a high-end unit (forget about the cheap units; they’re a waste of money) and you’re careful to keep your unit low-profile by using the Velcro-on-the-dash mounting system, as mentioned earlier – which camouflages the unit and makes it virtually invisible to any lurking cop unless he’s literally right next to you. Always snatch the unit off the dash (and out of sight) when near cops or in urban areas/slow-moving traffic where your “piece” would be more visible. Most important of all – maintain high situational awareness. Be aware of your surroundings. Learn to recognize the signs of a cop. Become familiar with the types of cars they usually drive; where they typically run radar traps – and so on. Pay attention to the behavior of traffic around you. Etc.
To further stack the odds in your favor in places like VA and DC where radar detectors are illegal, do the following: When the unit goes off (especially Ka band, which is a guaranteed cop), slow to the speed limit, pull the detector off the dash and disconnect the power plug. Once the unit is off, it cannot be detected – so you’re absolutely sure of flying under the radar.
Enjoy the ride!
Well its May 2017 now, 7 years after this post stopped. I just bought a Cobra ESD-7570 detector, and it claims to be undetectable. It claims to detect RDD’s and shut its signal off, on top of using a range that is supposedly outside of detection range. Anyone know if this claim is true? Also I plan on using it in Virginia the home of the traffic ticked, so I want to just keep it on the passenger seat if possible. Question is will it have enough signal down that low to be of any use, or is dash or higher the only way to fly?
Smyth county VA sheriff dept can pick up on V1 and will have their radar turned off and only have their detector, detector on. I’m speaking from 1st hand knowledge because I just now got a ticket.
Hat tip for that, Angie… I guess I am lucky I don’t have to deal with those “heroes”!
I love and prefer the V1 unit.
I live in Loudoun county and was pulled over 3 times in 5 months by stat police officers with the specter unit. My detector is concealed and in none of the stops was I speeding.
I may be the most unlucky driver in Loudoun however after the third time I sold my V1 and bought an escort redline.
I’ve not been pulled over since.
Governments like a certain number of accidents. They make tax revenue off of every car part sold, plus the labor. Also, in Australia at least the government gets 2 taxes off of every insurance policy: stamp duty, and goods and services tax. Therefore our gov’ts like to see some accidents to get the tax revenue, and also to impose stricter laws and more financially scamming fines.
Most of the scam fines I’ve paid came from mobile scameras, not the fixed ones. Those are signposted and show up on nav systems. Only 2X in 26 years have I been pulled over by a cop and never going faster than 13km over the limit. Both times were in sparse traffic conditions.
Interesting to note that there is a Radar detector from Australia that can detect the Valentine, esp. since detectors are only legal in Western Australia. It’s those goddammed mobile speed scameras that need to be picked up.
Is the Excort 9500ix Spectre detectable? Good postings….Dave in Ontario
Hi Dave,
I’m aware of no reputable tests that show any radar detector to be undetectable. Even though they are passive receivers of police radar.
I use my V1 as an adjunct to my own internal “copdar.” It’s not foolproof, but by maintaining situational awareness (and not just depending on your unit) you can avoid most radar traps. In the 5-6 years I’ve had my V1, I’ve only been nabbed once.
They used to get me pretty much once a year, at least.
I am also able to drive much faster, more often – and that is worth the V1’s weight in gold!
Eric they’re not fully passive receivers. They actually transmit a tiny bit of the same frequencies they’re designed to detect.
It’s called “superheterodyne”. The receiver, while very sensitive, is not nearly good enough to detect at the levels we expect to get good warning.
So they actually produce a little radar and inject it back into their own detector, to just barely below the threshold of triggering the detector. Then, when a pig’s signal comes in the threshold is met and the detector triggers.
What they’re detecting with detector detectors is the leakage of that heterodyne signal.
Interestingly, your brain uses the same trick all over the place! Your ears are not passive receivers. The cochlea is a miracle; a real-time mechanical Fourier transformer. Your brain is anticipating what it wants to hear; for instance, a single voice at a cocktail party. So it actually signals the cochlea to pre-tension the membrane for greater sensitivity at that voice’s frequency. And it’s doing it real-time, using your knowledge of the speaker’s cadence and language to anticipate.
Then in the speech interpretation centers, same trick–pre-biasing circuits to catch words that make sense in context.
Overall the brain uses something called “stochastic resonance” to keep circuits on the knife’s-edge of firing, ready for a triggering stimulus. Basically it’s a big giant noisy place; organized signal input briefly synchronizes this frothing bowl of noise into a coordinated process.
This, by the way, is just one small reason I think the god-complex technosociopaths like Ray Kurzweil are woefully wrong when they think they’ll be uploading themselves into computers by 2032. Ain’t gonna happen, fellas; you’re stuck in a Newtonian view of the human brain but it’s a quantum computer.
They make the mistake of pure reductionism; X number of neurons, with Y interconnections firing at Z kilohertz equals A transistors with B interconnects firing at C gigahertz and voila! computational equivalence!
Bullshit.
‘Cuz it’s the software, stupid–and you haven’t even got the hardware right, because the equivalence above is false. The entire mode of operation is different–the brain’s a seething mass of noisy incoherent signals organizing itself to multiple tasks-at-hand dynamically. The computer is completely deterministic; noise is poison.
I sincerely wish Kurzweil, Gates, Schmidt (google), Ellison and the other “Elites” well. I encourage them to use a physically destructive brain reader to record their brains digitally for upload to their AI’s on their way to machine immortality.
Because we’ll finally be rid of them.
Except for the fanatics who will carry the “brains” around, claiming their god is still alive… (The imagery is what’s important here.)
I know of course that the brains would be networked and on every (sapceballs) wall screen whenever needed.
Thanks for that, Methylamine – lucid and concise.
We share similar views but I’ve never seen it so well expressed.
Ever read De Bono’s “The Mechanism of Mind”?
I have a V1 that’s at least 10 yrs old and got stopped by a VA state trooper on route 28 north of Dulles Airport and east of Leesburg in June of 2013 for having a radar detector. He didn’t keep the detector. The fine was 40 plus 61. I wasn’t speeding either and this about 1:30 am Sunday morning with nobody on the road but him and me and “Bobby McGee”. What a waste of tax payer money. My son is a cop in Washington, D.C and says the Va state cops are a bunch of ego inflated, prima donna jerks, altho he used another word used to describe a guy’s private part.
Got the same ticket a couple years ago, but further down on 66 near Gainsville. I keep my V1 turned off in that area all around Dulles now. I practice karate with a couple buddies right off 28 near the air and space museum.
Robert, watch where you’re pointing that thing. If Va. cops are inflated ego whatchamacallits, what are those mothermurdering DC cops?
Hi Robert,
This is purely anecdotal – based on my own experience and what I gather from people I know in other parts of the state:
You’re generally ok in rural areas; the cops there seem to not have detector detectors. I live in SW Va. (near Roanoke) and use my VI daily with no problems so far. But, as Dom notes, up in Northern Va., they apparently do use detector detectors.
That said, I suspect the reason you got pinched was because you were the only “target” on the road – so the cop was able to conclude you were the car with the detector. I think you’d be ok if you ran in a pack (I do that when I am up in Northern Va.) because there’s no way for the cop to tell which car is the one with the detector – and he can’t pull over everyone.
Also, I use mine in “stealth” mode: I put some duct tape on the bottom sufficient to stick it to the top of the dashboard of whatever car I am in rather than use the suction cups to secure it to the windshield or the clip to the sun visor. If pork is in the vicinity, I can quickly snatch it off the dash and stow it. Now, I need to do this because I go from car to car every week. But if I were just driving my own personal vehicle, I would secure/hide mount the unit in an undetectable place (short of tearing the car apart) and remote mount the display (Valentine sells this). Truckers do it this way – and I think it’s a savvy idea.
I just bought Christmas lights for the town of Cumberland, Va. yesterday. The 2 lane Route 60 from Mt. Rush to Richmond goes thru Cumberland County and the sheriff deputy’s have a new way to ambush you. They get behind tractor trailers and stay close to the road shoulders so you can’t see they in a line of traffic, that way they can nail you with radar then pop out and through the blue lights on you, and sometimes just behind a tractor trailer so close they are drafting but the radar still picks you up as they come toward you. I think I’ll invest in a V1, after reading what you had to say about Virginia area roads. Thanks Kerry
Hi Kerry,
I have been using a V1 for about six years now and it has literally changed my life. While it has not made me invisible to cops, it has made me much less visible. 8.5 out of ten times, I get advance warning in time enough to slow down for a cop hidden in traffic – and it saves me from stationary radar traps literally every week. I used to get at least one ticket every year or so. I have not had one in five years; my record is “clean”…
Thanks for the excellent review. I heard so many wonderful things about the Valentine and wondered how it worked in Virginia since I used to live there, but moved because I thought it sucked. But that’s another story. I still have to travel through every once and a while and before I plunk down alot of money for a detector I want to be sure I’m getting my money’s worth. Your review helped confirm that V1 is the best suited for my needs.
I got popped recently for a radar detector outside of Richmond va on 64. I wasn’t speeding, had the radar detector hidden, which means he had a spectre I am guessing. This was a state trooper, I am thinking with all of them upgrading their cars recently that some are getting the spectre IV/III to nab radar detector users.. I got a ticket, no biggie.
What if you hide yours before he pulls you over and you say you don’t have one and if he then searches your car and finds one, what would he do? Would he charge you with obstruction or something for lying. Just curious, I know he most likely won’t search your car but still..
I had a cobra, with vg2 detection, which never went off, so that was why I think he had a spectre, and I know he didn’t see it. The guy was also not running radar, he was either looking for speeders going over 85 that he could visually confirm or was just looking for radar or just taking a nap there and his spectre went off..
I have had a radar detector for 15 years and have never got pulled over for it.. especially not from a radar detector detector. So maybe the state police are investing in these now.. I have researched for about an hour on google and it looks like the only way you can hide from the newer spectres is to get the beltronics sti or the new magnum. It looks like they are the only model out there that can hide from spectre detection.
Also I had the vg2 detection go off about 5-10 years ago a few times, but always immediately unplugged it. But the last 5+ years it has not gone off once, so it makes me think they are only using spectres now..
Got pulled over today in fincastle va, by a state trooper for my valentine v1. Botetourt county is just a small town with a low budget. But obvisouly they see the need in arming there cops with RDD’S. Asked the cop how he knew, he took me back to his car and showed me the new spectra rdd unit. All in all ill take the $40.00 ticket cause I know it has saved me from many speeding tickets.
Hi Chris,
That sucks, man. Botetourt is right around the corner from me – so I’m very hip to its predatory porkers. VA – as you probably know – is the only state in the Heimat that outlaws radar detectors, in spite of the robed overlords declaring such laws “unconstitutional.”
Got popped for my V1 same place, same day! Guess it’s time to get a STi Magnum or Redline!
I usually unplug my V1 when I see state cops and turn back it back on once I’m past them. I got the same ticket on Rt66 last year.
Your V-1 is a receiver. Please note that VA has passed a “law” saying you cannot own a receiver. If that’s not unconstitutional, I don’t know what is! Please post the approximate area you are located within – most jurisdictions in VA still can’t pick up the V-1, although the tech exists to do so – we all need to know where the pigs have the “new hotness.”
i live in northern MD and was traveling to VA for work. i am so used to having my detector mounted that i didnt even think of it when i crossed into VA…
i got the ticket on rt 29 about 30 min north of charlotteville in Madison near the intersection of Rt 630. (maybe around Ruth)
he was sitting in the median facing south gunning the north bound people coming over the top of the hill.
i went by him going south and traveled a good 3 miles when i noticed him coming up behind me. i moved over to the left lane thinking he would go by but he moved behind me and lit me up…i know i hadn’t been speeding and i couldn’t think of a reason why he was pulling me. he even told me that i wasn’t speeding when he came up to the window… i couldn’t believe he was ticketing me for the detector. (took him for ever to write the ticket) i bought the Valentine One because it was supposed to be not detectable.
Hi Bill,
Sorry to hear about your ticket. Va, of course, is one of only two states that still bans detectors. A couple of things in re your situation:
First, I don’t think that Valentine claims the V1 cannot be detected. Second, outside of Northern Va., I don’t think – based on my personal experience – that most cops (especially local/county) have radar detector detectors, They are expensive – and more, cops are lazy and assume (rightly) that most people are law-obeying sheep and so don’t have radar detectors. Hence little need for the detector detectors.
But – in the Northern Va. area, there is a lot of out of state traffic – and also, “law enforcement” is swimming in money. So I expect they have a fair number of the detector detectors up there.
Still, you can get a lot of use out of a V1 if you use it carefully. And stealthily. Unless a pig is running instant-on, you will get some warning – and can snatch your unit out of sight before he even sees your car. And if you are in traffic, it is virtually impossible for a cop to single you out as his detector detector (like his radar) does not have the ability to focus on one car in a crowd of several. He has to guess. And if he has to do that, probably he won’t guess right. And even if he does, if you have stashed the unit, you can claim innocence. Probably he will not push the issue and attempt to search your vehicle.
I live in VA and have successfully used my V1 every day for the past five years.
PS: IIRC the Supreme Court ruled years ago that the radar detector ban was unconstitutional because a detector is a passive receiver and so not subject to the laws governing devices that transmit on the public airwaves. I am also pretty sure that the ticket can be beaten on this basis – if you pursue it in court.
just got pulled in VA…officer said that i wasn’t speeding but he was pulling me over because his radar detector detector said that i was running one. he asked if i had one and i pointed at my valentine one sitting on the dash.
he asked if he could see it, took it back to his car, and came back and handed me my valentine and my ticket $40 fine and $61 court costs. $101 fine for not even speeding…. highway use tax strikes again…..
Got the exact ticket last year!
I’m surprised he detected it, I thought the V1 was such a low-leakage design it couldn’t be picked up.
I received a similar ticket inside of a small town called Botetourt, Virginia which happened to me. I was not speeding, actually, I was coming from a car wash and leaving to get back on the road to North Carolina and so happened to be an unmarked vehicle using Spectre RDD detected I had a radar detector in my vehicle. Normally, when I travel through Virginia I turn Valentine One off once I get to the state lines. Unfortunately, I was exhausted and forgot I had crossed the Virginia lines and was pulled over by what appeared to be local deputy using Spectra RDD. He pulled me over took my babe (Valentine One) and explained he would bring it back and wrote me for a ticket – $40.00 ticket plus $61.00 court cost for the infraction.
Got my V1 in the mail today!
Freaking pumped now!
Code of Virginia
§ 46.2-1079. Radar detectors; demerit points not to be awarded.
This section shall not be construed to authorize the forfeiture to the Commonwealth of any such device or mechanism.
The smart move is to do all you can to not be in the position of having the cop find it – so that he doesn’t take it. Call me paranoid – but I would not be surprised if the temporarily confiscated radar detector is returned in less than perfect operating condition. Wouldn’t be surprised if it “accidentally” got dropped a few times; maybe had some coffee spilled inside it…
Didn’t happen…Still works.. Just spoke to Valentine, working on a solution….Seems to need beter shelding,,, We’ll see
Is there a points penalty for having a detector?
I am pretty sure the answer is yes. Let me check into it and find out fer sure!
Not in Va…$40.00 fine
Yeah, I think Nick is right. I searched for a bit last night. Isn’t it fucking amazing that anyone can find all the porn, anarchy cookbook, and everything else with the greatest of ease on the internet. Then when actually looking for something with a SMALL bit of importance, like say the laws/penalties/and fines, it’s damn impossible to locate!
It’s a misdemeanor $ 40.oo fine I have the summons ! And they return it after writting the summons ! You can have one in your car, BUT you cannot have a power cord to it.
They return on the spot right?
Just to be 100% clear. This V1 is $400 and I don’t wanna lose it.
If need be I’ll be hiding it like a mad man when I get pulled over! ha
You are absoutly correct !!! We’re on the same page !!! I was only trying to impress how fast/ Quick the Z really is. Top end is irrelevent ! I could not have said what you said any better…Thanks
I’m not addimmiting to anything, But there’s not a police car in the state of VA that can ever gain on me, IF I ever decided to run ! I knew a State Trooper years ago who had a TT Z. His advice , You have 3 min to make yourself invisible, Catch my drift ? Valentine is working on a soultion.
I just ordered a V1 last night! -dammit
See what ya’ll done made me do.
I’ll agree with you on stabbing the gas and going without hesitate can help sometimes. Been there done that.
Fact is it doesn’t matter if you are running 27lbs of boost on race gas bro, you ain’t out running the radio/CB!
Let me Be more clesr…3 min to get off the road ! And HIDE GET IT ? The Z is So Quick 3rd gear 115 4th 148 top end 170.
I’ve successfully run from cops a few times. It can be done, but speed is not the essential ingredient. Unless you live in a rural area, with wide open roads, 170 on the top is mostly theoretical. Go that fast in a crowded area and the odds are good you’ll wreck and kill yourself and/or other people, too.
What is essential is knowing when it’s feasible to run.
It’s feasible to run if you are in a situation where you have “the drop” on the cop. For example, he’s coming the other way and has to stop (or nearly stop) before he can turn around and come after you. Or he is by the side of the road as you pass by. This gives you a window of a few seconds to disappear. No more than that. The longer you stay on the road, the greater your chance of being caught. If you can get out of his line of sight, then turn off and hide someplace for an hour or two – then it’s reasonable to go for it.
But you need to be calm, know the roads – and have the judgment to know when to go for it.
If you have an easily identified car (or personal plates) your risk level is much higher. Don’t forget that the cop does not have to catch you. He just has to ID you. If he gets your plate, you are toast. They’ll just be waiting for you at your house when you eventually get back there.
“Eluding” (including “attempted” eluding) is a felony. They will also tack on “reckless driving” and and other charges, too. It is not to be fucked around with; they will take you to jail and if you are convicted, you will go back to jail, pay thousands in fines and probably not have a license for years.
I would only (and only have) run when I am already doing something bad enough to get into similar trouble – like running 100-plus – and I am pretty damn sure the cop didn’t get my plate and that the car I am in is not the only one like it for 50 miles around…
Just my 50 cents…
First off, that is total bullshit! How does everyone else only have 2 cents and you get 50?
In my couple successful runs having the drop and knowing the roads made it happen!
Never really got going with any amount of speed worth mentioning.
You are absoultley correct !!!
I agree totally…. I was trying to impress just how FAST/ Quick this Z is top end is irelivent .
Thanks Guys
Be patient Valentine is working on this problem !
What problem?
There is a Radar detector from Australia that can detect the Valentine ! Valentine is aware of this and is working on a counter soultion
OK, OK, you guys are a hoot… The only tint is on the OEM front Windshield,about 4″…Understand it cannot be seen ! You have to have proable cause… to look for anything..NEVER has happened in 15 years.I’ve already spoken to Valentine…Their working on the problem Chuckle.to be continued. Oh you’ll love this ! My tag… SUPER-Z
Ha.. I’m suffering from premature geezerhood!
Your license plate alone is probable cause. -just messing
I’ve lost my license three times in my life and don’t want to do it again, so I don’t leave anything to chance that I can easily avoid. Just don’t like to have ANY reason whatsoever for the man to pay me anymore attention than anyone else.
Just to let you know I have my rear window on my toy car blacked out and the side windows at the legal limit (which is damn near no tint at all).
I didn’t read before that you mentioned the front window is tinted at the top. That doesn’t seem like too much of an attention grabber. Also, just noticed you mentioned the calibration is off. You can get out of jail with that excuse once. I say go for that and bring the paperwork with you. I’ve actually used that one twice (was lucky).
So the fine for a radar detector is only $40 and no points?
I’m considering purchasing one.
P.S. Have you checked out the forum?
You’re right that “probable cause” can (in practice/reality) be pretty much anything the cops wants it to be – these days. My point is, why do anything to arouse attention? Things like tinted windows (“4 inches” or not) and custom/vanity tags make you more noticeable. That custom tag may come back to bite you someday if you ever try to run from a cop. Or, your car (and you) get a “rep” because of the tag. Then they’re looking out for you. Bad news.
Again, just saying. My advice to you as someone who has been doing this a long time – and learned from experience what not to do!
Tinted windows are a big NO NO in my book.
I was young once and thought they were the shit, but man did I pay (literally) for them each time I got pulled.
dom, just came across this and had a good laugh. Why? Depends on where you are. Tx. DPS stops you. Was I speeding? No, I stopped you because your windows aren’t titnted. You some kinda commie, a bum, got no money to tint your windows? Na, it’s just an old work truck. I can see that, so what’s your excuse? Well, just seemed like a lot of money. So you are broke? No, not broke, just frugal. Well, gonna let you go this time. I wouldn’t get caught out here again without tinted windows though. XYZ in town is pretty cheap and does a good job, just tell my BIL I sent you, 10%discount. How can you stand that sun anyway?
Understand I’ve been pulled other times for other reasons 15 years ! NO one has ever seen my radar ! The wireing travels through the cars moulding, You cannot see the unit from the outside front or back.
The Z is very low. The interior is black, the unit is black. There has never been any reason to pull and hide.The times I’ve been pulled I turn it off so ther’s no squawk. Never given an officer” Any reason “to look for anything ! You would understand if you were faimiler with the Z’s profile. It’s perfect.
Dude, I’m just saying it’s probably not a good idea to have the radar detector hard mounted in your car in Virginia. If your unit is not stowed when the cop walks up to your car, you are asking for him to notice it – and hit you with a big ticket/take the detector.
The whole point here is to avoid calling attention to yourself; to “fly under the radar.” You want to fade into the background; to be just another car in the crowd.
By driving a red 300ZX – with tinted windows – you’re already a target. Fair or not, like it or not, a cop is going to notice your car and look at it more closely than he would a silver Camry. The tinted windows give him legal probable cause to pull you over incidentally – even if you are doing exactly the speed limit. And then he’s going to look at your car much more closely, to see if he can find ticketable/chargeable offenses.
That’s reality.
I’ve been test driving new cars for almost 20 years – everything from the lowliest economy cars to six figure exotics – and I’m telling you, what you drive matters almost as much as how you drive.
If you’re going to drive a car like yours, then extra precautions should be taken. That means being super discreet with the radar detector – and (my advice) lose the tinted windows.
Rule 1: When you see a cop, slow down immediately. If the unit doesn’t go off, it just means the cop’s radar isn’t on – yet. He is (by law) supposed to make a visual estimate of speed first (in other words, he thinks you are speeding) then he paints you with the radar. You start with a major strike against you by driving a red sports car – because any cop nearby is going to focus on you in any pack of cars, even if you’re not the fastest moving one. So, you need to add more layers of defense. Don’t be the lead car; let a “rabbit” take point. If there’s a cop ahead running radar, the rabbit will get radar’d – and the V1 should warn you in plenty of time to slow to legal speed.
PS I was traveling North, the Trooper was traveling South, he hit me with instant on, I was within the speed limit within a few sec. when he hit me again from the rear, He crested a hill out of sight I breath a sigh of releif, about 10 sec. later I saw him come ovet the hill crest & he was Bookin!Rolled up behind & lit me up…When he ruturned the unit he said here don’t use this again, I replied ,Dam thing dosn’t work anyway, he chuckled, patted me on the arm, said be careful out there..I replied ,thanks officer.
We’ll you guys are right…Frist though they do not confeicate the detector. They take possession right down the Brand and serial No. and return it on the spot. Seconed ,The fine IS $4o,oo ! I drive a 1996 Red Nissan 300ZX TT stage 4 Pristine conditition ! The Unit has been permanently mounted top center next to drivers visor. You cannot see it from outside due to tint ! 15 years two upgrades. Two other tickets in that time Instant on rounding a curve, I just feel vulnerable considering the how we like to RUN..Know what I mean guys .We think we can get some slack cause the speedometer is off due to larger wheels 4 mph at 70 already been calabrated..Due in court Feb. 17.Thanks
I don’t think you should have it permanently mounted anywhere. Should do like E-roc and velcro it on the dash for quick removal. If you have it permanently mounted you are basically permanently requesting a ticket for that same offense each time you are pulled.
$0.02
Nick – The permanent mount is a no-no in Virginia. It’s like having an open liter of Jack Daniels rolling around on the floor. If you get pulled/have to deal with a cop for any reason (including “safety checkpoints”) they’re gonna see it and you are screwed. My recommendation is a stealth mount system; I use Velcro to attach mine to the dash. Not only does this hide the power cord and make the unit itself virtually impossible to pick out visually unless the cop is literally right next to you – you can easily snatch it off the dash and stash it, if you see a cop or think a pull-over is imminent/possible. You could also mount it inside a Kleenex box or similar. The point is – do not let the cop see the unit!
That sucks, Nick – sorry to hear it.
Some departments have detectors, some don’t. If you got 15 years of use out of your V1, it’s still a good deal. It probably saved you from getting a dozen tickets during that time. If they confiscate the V1 (or fine you) you’re out a few hundred bucks – one time hit. Two or three tickets would cost you a lot more – and not just the once. Your insurance co. would have probably jacked up your premiums – doubling or tripling the total costs. So, all in all, you’re still way ahead.
How did you mount your unit? It’s possible he saw the V1 and just told you he had a detector….
I just got busted in tappahannock va…The officer said he clocked me 71 in a 60 & in use of an illegal Radar detector…My Valentine 1 THAT I USED ROR 15 YEARS !!! I asked him how he got me…He replied We have new dectector dectectors !!!! $ 40.00 fine…WELL ?
Thought the fine for having a detector in Virginia was $500?
Still can’t believe the law in Virginia states they are illegal!
As you may know, Virginia is the only state that bans the use and sale of radar detectors. There is no evidence that the radar detector ban increases highway safety. Our nation’s fatality rates have fallen consistently for almost two decades. Virginia’s fatality rate has also fallen, but not any more dramatically than it has nationwide. Research has even shown that radar detector owners have a lower accident rate than motorists who do not own a detector.
Maintaining the ban is not in the best interest of Virginians or visitors to the state. I know and know of people that will not drive in Virginia due to this ban. Unjust enforcement practices are not unheard of, and radar detectors can keep safe motorists from being exploited by abusive speed traps. Likewise, the ban has a negative impact on Virginia’s business community. Electronic distributors lose business to neighboring states and Virginia misses out on valuable sales tax revenue.
Radar detector bans do not work. Research and experience show that radar detector bans do not result in lower accident rates, improved speed-limit compliance or reduce auto insurance expenditures.
• The Virginia radar detector ban is difficult and expensive to enforce. The Virginia ban diverts precious law enforcement resources from more important duties and this ban may be ILLEGAL.
• Radar detectors are legal in the rest of the nation, in all 49 other states. In fact, the first state to test a radar detector ban, Connecticut, repealed the law – it ruled the law was ineffective and unfair. It is time for our Virginia to join the rest of the nation.
• It has never been shown that radar detectors cause accidents or even encourage motorists to drive faster than they would otherwise. The Yankelovich – Clancy – Shulman Radar Detector Study conducted in 1987, showed that radar detector users drove an average of 34% further between accidents (233,933 miles versus 174,554 miles) than non radar detector users. The study also showed that they have much higher seat belt use compliance. If drivers with radar detectors have fewer accidents, it follows that they have reduced insurance costs – it is counterproductive to ban radar detectors.
• In a similar study performed in Great Britain by MORI in 2001 the summary reports that “Users (of radar detectors) appear to travel 50% further between accidents than non-users. In this survey the users interviewed traveling on average 217,353 miles between accidents compared to 143,401 miles between accidents of those non-users randomly drawn from the general public.” The MORI study also reported “Three quarters agree, perhaps unsurprisingly, that since purchasing a radar detector they have become more conscious about keeping to the speed limit…” and “Three in five detector users claim to have become a safer driver since purchasing a detector.”
• Modern radar detectors play a significant role in preventing accidents and laying the technology foundation for the Safety Warning System® (SWS). Radar detectors with SWS alert motorists to oncoming emergency vehicles, potential road hazards, and unusual traffic conditions. There are more than 10 million radar detectors with SWS in use nationwide. The federal government has earmarked $2.1 million for further study of the SWS over a three-year period of time. The U.S. Department of Transportation is administering grants to state and local governments to purchase the SWS system and study its effectiveness (for example, in the form of SWS transmitters for school buses and emergency vehicles). The drivers of Virginia deserve the right to the important safety benefits that SWS delivers.
Please sign this petition and help to repeal this ban and give drivers in Virginia the freedom to know if they are under surveillance and to use their property legally:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/repeal-the-virginia-radar-detector-ban
Some Police Departments use Radar Detector-Detectors(RDD) such as VG-2 and Spectre. VG-2 is not used much since it can only detect older radar detectors(RD). Spectre is the newer RDD in use. Only 3 RD’s are undetectable by Spectre…Escort Red Line, Beltronics STi and STi-R(Remote).