Radar/Laser Detectors

[Brade4]

Was having a conversation about radar/laser detectors in North Dakota and Minnesota the other day. Out of curiousity, are they legal or illegal in each of these two states?

[mhines]

In MN they are 100% legal EXCEPT in a commercial vehicle...........But I'd save your $$ if you are thinking about buying one.

[Brade4]

Don't work?

[mhines]

They may work..........I am a Police Officer.......I have stopped MANY cars with radar detectors in them. With the technology in today's radar and laser equipment by the time the detector goes off, it's too late. I think years ago they may have worked better. Now on the other hand if there is an Officer parked with their radar unit turned on constantly it MAY alert you before its too late. Usually Officers turn the radar on/off as traffic passes, and if you are in range of them, it will be too late.

[Brade4]

Lol well I probably couldn't hear it from a better source than an officer himself. Thanks for the advice!

[Powerstroke]

Mhines explained it perfectly. Newer radar guns allow the officer to place it on "hold" and only scan when they want to. That means the officer points the gun at you, takes the scanner off hold and zaps your car. He has your speed before your detector has even gone off. No time to react.

Save your money for your speeding tickets.

Oh yeah, and they are legal.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Driving around with a radar detector today is bout the same as a guy that still wears a pager!

[delcecchi]

Driving around with a radar detector today is bout the same as a guy that still wears a pager!

All the doctors and many nurses at Mayo Clinic still wear pagers.

With the instant on radar the only way a detector can do any good is if they shoot at a guy in front of you and you see the signal, it seems to me.

But what do I know, 70 is plenty fast for me.

[Jeremy airjer W]

o.k. how about this one

Driving around with a radar detector today is bout the same as a guy that still wears a fanny pack!

[Hookmaster]

Hey, I still wear one when I ride my bicycle.

[TruthWalleyes]

Don't work?

Sure they work...But if you've ever done the math V=D/T .....You ain't gaining much time for the few MPH's...You'll save much more money, and waste very little time - going slightly over the speed limit!

[bobbymalone]

Driving around with a radar detector today is bout the same as a guy that still wears a fanny pack!

Still? When did people start wearing fanny packs?

[Jeremy airjer W]

Oh boy!

I agree with the cost vs. the savings. The savings in fuel consumption from slowing down will out way any tickets you may avoid. Better yet if you get a ticket after you buy one that's just money down the drain.

A 200 mile trip at 65 mph = 3 hours

Same trip at 75 = 2.6 hours

You save less than 24 minutes.

[Whoaru99]

They may work..........I am a Police Officer.......I have stopped MANY cars with radar detectors in them. With the technology in today's radar and laser equipment by the time the detector goes off, it's too late. I think years ago they may have worked better. Now on the other hand if there is an Officer parked with their radar unit turned on constantly it MAY alert you before its too late. Usually Officers turn the radar on/off as traffic passes, and if you are in range of them, it will be too late.

There may still some value in alerting to fixed speed cameras if there is such a thing in MN and also, while you certainly are correct about instant on/off, those pulses can be picked up as you're checking other cars. In this regard more traffic is probably better than less. If you're the only car on the road then yeah, you're probably going to get pinched.

It takes practice and learning to use a detector to its full extent. If you just buy one and slap it on the dash expecting it to save your bacon, I agree, you're probably in for an awakening.

Laser is a bit more tricky because there is little beam spread nor reflections to rely on for triggering your detector as other cars are checked.

[Capt. H (Ret.)]

Good answer!! Officers usually look for the vehicle that is obviously speeding and focus on them. Some officers leave it on all the time, which I call fishing, and then go with what the unit says. The problem with that is sometimes mistakes can be made by the officer not recognizing which vehicle is actually speeding, especially in high volume areas.

I've run a little radar in my time and I've also driven too fast knowing what the outcome could be. I had one ticket when I was 17 and it should have been for a heck of lot more than it was but I had it coming which has been the case when I have been stopped since ( not too many times). Radar/laser detectors are used by professional speeders and I think the units are just targets for thieves which is much worse.

Law Enforcement has a lot more to worry about when approaching a vehicle for a traffic violation then they did 30 years ago.

33 years MCPD HOORAH!!!!

Mike

[LightningBG]

I use one. Have had the same one since high school, many years ago. It has saved my bacon many times. Just this past weekend I went to IA and that thing was going off like crazy. And I was moving right along, but it gave me plenty of time to slow down. I've still also gotten many speeding tickets. But at least I knew I was going to get one well before the LEO even pulled out.

[delcecchi]

Hey, I still wear one when I ride my bicycle.

Me too. And they are a good place to stash a bottle of water on a long walk.

[LightningBG]

Fanny packs have all sorts of great uses.

[JOHNBIGDOG]

poor dog.....

[echotrail]

poor dog.....

LUCKY DOG!!

Maybe someday soon they will be able to detect when someone is texting while driving. Last night I pulled up behind a guy at a stop sign and he didn't move. As I pulled around him on the shoulder thinking he had car trouble I looked at him...there he was, head down and all thumbs pounding out a text message!

[Scott K]

Better then driving down the road and doing it

[Jeremy airjer W]

Oh, now I see the dog!

[LightningBG]

What dog?