| I hope this is considered to be on topic! :-) There are always those people out there who are radar detector nay-sayers... saying how they don't work or they don't give enough advance notice, or how "instant-on" is gonna nab ya, or how they can't compete with just "being alert", laser is gonna get you, etc. ... I am going to try and tackle your best arguments here. OK, so if you only speed at 7 mph over the limit or less, you can quit reading now. Clearly, you are not in the market for a radar detector and you will never get a speeding ticket (because, well, you don't really speed). If you have no intentions of speeding, this post is not directed towards you. For those of you who are able to use good judgement and selectively defy local speed limits, you ALL should have some sort of radar detector. Plain and simple. Let's examine the more popular arguments.
argument: I can't afford a radar detector.
rebuttle: Then you can't afford to speed. Getting caught speeding will cost you more in fines and insurance premiums than a detector would cost. argument: Detectors won't save you from laser or "instant-on" rebuttle: There may be some moments where laser will "get ya", but more times than not, a good detector will pick-up scattered laser from the cars in front of you as they get pegged. Many times my V1 has detected some sort of laser before I can even see the speed trap, I slow down, and sure enough, I get pegged with laser too (but fortunately I am going the speed limit, thanks to the advance notice). Same thing with short bursts of radar. If I see my detector go from quiet to apesh!t and back down to quiet, I slow down and keep a slow speed for a couple of miles. Many times get hit with it myself about a mile up the road, but THANKFULLY I was aware of the sneaky trap before I got there. OK, so if you are the only car on the road, or at front of the pack, you might get a ticket, but that will be true whether you have a detector or not. A radar detector will not worsen your chances of getting hit with instant-on radar/laser. A good detector can MANY TIMES help. argument: Just being alert and good eyesight is all you really need. Rebuttle: Sure, being alert and watching for speed traps is always a good idea. It can also save a detector owner from "instant-on" types of traps. But truth be told, some cops are very stealth in where they camp, and this is compounded at night time.
So, in summary: A radar detector will NOT make you invincible to radar, but it WILL help in MANY situations. It is a tool, and can be a very useful one at that. It is not a replacement for being alert or smart about your speeding, but it can and will give you more advance notice than the naked eye ever could.
Is it worth it? I think so. A local buddy of mine was caught going 60+ mph over the limit in Atlanta, and now he is looking at $2k in fines, 45 hours community service, probation, increased insurance premiums, and SEVEN DAYS IN JAIL!!! I dunno about you guys, but I would gladly pay $400 for a detector than spend 7 days in jail. Got any more anti-radar arguments? Please post them here. I would love to tackle them.
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23:39:07 03/04/05
