Ouch. That'* a pain.

Ah, radar detectors.

I'm probably one of the oldest farts here. Next Monday, 12-2, I'll be 44.

In 1978 I bought a very clean 1964 GTO. I had a commute of 63 miles and had to be at work at 5:30 AM. My best commute time was 38 minutes. At that point in time, I had collected a number of speeding tickets. In fact, the Georgia Dept. of Public Safety sent me a warning letter, saying that another point or two on my drivers license would result in a suspension!

Please keep in mind that this was in the time of the dreaded national mandatory 55 MPH speed limit. I had never caused an accident or a dime of insurance claims, yet I paid terrible insurance premiums, by 1978 standards.

55 MPH on almost-empty interstate highways at 5 AM was just not an option.
Come on, I was 19 and driving a Goat......

In March of 1978 I bought my first radar detector. It was a “Fuzzbuster II”, the first unit available offering detection of both X and K band radar.
The Fuzzbuster was one of the best purchases of my life, up to that point. Back then, the radar units used by cops had to be “warmed up” when turned on. When the old police units were ready to clock the speed of traffic, they threw radar frequency out in large quantities and in all directions. An active police radar unit would set off a radar detector over hills, around curves, through trees, and so on. The Fuzzbuster detected radar long before any cop had me in sight.
Having detectors let me know when cops were around is a primary reason I have never spent the night in jail. (Back then, one had enough advance radar warning to get their clothes back on and / or dispose of various contraband.)
Hey, I was just a kid.
It was so easy then, radar-wise. The good old days......

Since 1978, I have never driven a personally owned vehicle without using a radar
detector. I am currently using my 8th or 9th? radar detector. It’* been close to 25 years, so forgive me for being unable to remember the exact number of units owned.

A few years after I started using detectors, the other side upped the ante with cloaked, or “instant-on” police radar units. This advancement was, and still is, celebrated by cops everywhere. This innovation can be deadly to us fast drivers because the cop’* warmed-up radar unit is invisible to detectors until the officer pushes a button. Then, all of a sudden, a nearby speeder’* detector will instantly raise Hell, but now it’* too late!

WRONG!!!

Have faith, fellow drivers, this old juvenile delinquent will help you see the light:

When a radar unit clocks you, it actually sends out three (usually) pulses from the cop car to your vehicle, and then times the reflection of those pulses bouncing back to the police car. The radar unit will compute variables such as the speed of the police car and then AVERAGE THE SPEED OF THE THREE RADAR PULSES.
One must understand that radar is not too fast. Experience has shown me that while parked, the detector keeps chirping for a few seconds after a distant cop turns the corner. With a little distance, it literally takes a couple or more seconds for the radar signal to make it from the police car to your car and back to the police car.

The PROVEN strategy:
If an alert driver with fast reaction times has a radar detector go nuts- an instant full-strength signal, he or she should STAND on the brakes right away. Of course, one should make sure that no one is following too closely....
Here is why such a tactic works: The first radar hit clocks you at say, 80 MPH. Since you stomped the brakes at that time, the second radar hit clocks you, now rapidly de-accelerating, at 60 MPH. The third radar hit clocks you at 45 MPH. The police radar unit will now average the three speed calculations for an “accurate” reading, but since the three speeds recorded are so different, the cop’* radar unit will go into an error mode, giving him NO READING AT ALL!

I have beat “instant-on” radar with this method HUNDREDS of times.
I have had many cops shake their finger or fist at me after pulling this little ticket-avoiding stunt. A few have even pulled me over, knowing that they have no proof of my speed, just to yell at me for such behavior.
Know this now: no cop would show up in court after his very expensive and taxpayer-supplied radar unit FAILED to clock an errant driver such as you or me.
Heh, heh, heh heh.......

I drive a lot of miles, 30,000+ per year, and I do it a high speeds. I exceed 80 MPH every day, and exceed 100++ MPH more than once per week, on average. I’m not a maniac, just a very experienced and competent driver who has places to go and people to see while conducting business.
I have always used powerful and competent vehicles.
My driving has never hurt another car or any person.

How can I back up this rant? Try this:

SINCE 1978, I HAVE RECEIVED EXACTLY TWO SPEEDING TICKETS DUE TO RADAR.

One radar ticket was due to my general inattention and the lower-than-assumed speed limit in another state. The other ticket was from a quick and crafty cop who clocked me while I was VERY distracted.
Ha! She was so hot (my passenger, not the cop), and that ticket was worth it!!

Does my strategy work? An average of one radar ticket every 12 years is acceptable to me.....

Willwren, I have never tried running dual, or front and rear detectors. Makes sense, I suppose, but my solo detector record satisfies me. Whatever floats your boat, I suppose.

Since I went to the trouble of composing the above mess, I think I’ll start a whole new thread with it. Maybe this long- winded tome can help some drivers out there......

As for laser. That is a whole different matter, and yes, I have been nabbed a couple of times due to the insidious police laser units.
Traffic laser and it’* detection is a whole other story, and I may eventually post on that subject, but not now and not here.

Randy

If you wanna beat laser, you came to the right place. I work in an R&D laser lab. I know all the tricks. Laser or Ladar is still relatively uncommon, but will become more prevalent with increasing cancer cases in law enforcement, and lower costs for the ladar units themselves. If you know the basic principles, it'* a snap.

Willwren: Sounds like you are the person to consult for anti-laser techniques.

Please share them with the rest of us. I for one can use more "laser insurance".

Thanks in advance,
Randy

Maybe ADTR should develop an anit-cop Nitrous Kit. Beat that cop the next off-ramp with the touch of a button.

Will that Anti-Cop Nitrous Kit come with bail money?


I never had a fast enough car to make it to the next exit ramp - maybe I do now