Henry Rifle Forums

a few days ago while making a 1,000 mile road trip we saw packs of highway patrol and/or sheriff's cars running speed traps .... from the number of vehicles we saw pulled, they were clearly busy .... comments/recommendations from anyone who runs a radar detector would be appreciated

They are illegal in VA and most officers who work traffic regularly have detector detectors. Those who don't know the techniques to detect probable cause to search for them after the stop. Lol.

Virginia has been that way for as long as I can remember

Most radar detectors work pretty well. If the radar is constantly left on, they are great. If they are only used for instant on to check your specific vehicle speed, they are pretty worthless. I have many friends with detectors. They do alert you if you are approaching a radar trap if you get the kind that can recognize the on and off of the radar operator. Some tell you how far away the radar is. It might be worth the money if you put the pedal too close to the metal.

as you noted, if you are the lead vehicle and run into an instant-on radar, you are out of luck .... if they hit a vehicle out in front of you, that can provide a decent alert .... I'm not prone to travel at excessive speeds, just like to know when a radar setup is in the neighborhood

I can remember back when I was on active duty in the 80s, you would see a HUGE billboard as you crossed into VA that said, "Radar Detector's Illegal and subject to Seizure." I'm not sure exactly when that sign changed, but now the sign just says, radar detectors illegal.

I know that there were RUMORS of a few cases way back then where some Law Enforcement folks may have been seizing them, tossing them in the trucks of the cruisers, and gathering quite a collection. Once the court cases ended and the evidence chain was over ... the less honorable of the bunch... might load up their private vehicles with several boxes of "used" detectors and drive down to North or South Carolina for the weekend and sit at a Flea Market and sell them. Then... Seize another trunk load over the next few months, sometimes seizing the same detectors several times in a year's time...

Bad Deputy, Bad Bad Deputy.
So.. no more "Subject to Seizure...."

I figured out that speeding didn't save nearly as much time as you'd think, and usually set my cruise at about 5 to 7 over the posted speed limit and let it go at that. There are some jurisdictions that you are better off setting it at 1 to 2 mph UNDER the posted speed limit and gritting your teeth. They have a section of the interstate here in VA known as the Million Dollar Mile... ... there have been several news stories about the traffic enforcement and the enhancement of the budget by the jurisdiction's STRICT enforcement of the traffic laws... but to no avail. They wear out the ticket books.

http://wjla.com/news/local/hopewell-s-m ... ersy-76131

agree on (under most circumstances) exceeding the posted speed limit doesn't save much, if any, time .... when we are traveling on interstate highways in our camper we set the truck's cruise control at 62 - 63 mph .... when traveling in my wife's Camaro or my Silverado I set the cruise at the posted limit plus 4 mph .... my interest in a radar detector stems from a fascination with technology and liking to know what's going on around us

VA is famous for ghost cars! Back in the 80's they got me with a 5.0 Mustang in the middle of the night. I lived in Richmond then. Cop runs up your butt with a hot rod car with a certified speedo. When you try to pull away he mirrors you and then pulls you over.

For the most part I stay under 10 mph over and usually less. Depending on speed limit and traffic. Going fast just doesn't interest me like it did back in the day!

Before I started working patrol, and was still a dispatcher, I would ride along on midnight shift. I often rode with the traffic guys using unmarked cars. They had seized several cars from a gypsy shoplifting ring, and those cars were HOTTER than 40s moonshiner's rides. Two of them I really liked, the souped up 5.0 liter Mustang, and an Old Beater "Looking" Monte Carlo. Let's say looks can be deceiving.

I find the best radar detector is the group of cars up ahead. A pack suddenly applying brake lights is a giveaway.

In NY, many use laser instead of radar. It will get you before you ever see the cop car.

I haven't run a radar detector since the late 60's / early 70's .... technical advances came pretty quickly in the radar units, quickly followed by the detectors .... after a while the radar units were able to detect the detectors which continued to evolve so as to evade detection .... its been a fascinating evolution to follow