Radar Detectors
July 19, 2007
When driving on the highways and byways, it can sometimes seem that speed traps are set deliberately to collect fines, rather than to stop speeders. We all want to follow the law and be safe, but the biggest places of error and ticketing for speeding is during speed limit changes. Purchasing a radar detector is said by the industry to reduce speeding in addition to speeding tickets by alerting the consumer to a speed change. This causes the driver to slow down (the point of speed limit changes!) and to avoid costly tickets.
There are three types of radar detectors available: GPS speed camera detectors, radar and laser detectors and solely laser detectors.
Speed Cameras are set up to take a picture of the rear of the speeding car. A ticket is later sent to the speeder.
Radar and laser speed guns are usually operated by a live person. Radar is emitted as radio waves while lasers are emitted as light waves. Sometimes laser guns and detection is also called LIDAR. The best radar detectors should come with all of these capabilities.
When selecting a radar detector it is important to check certain features such as range of detection, mounting, safety alerts, auto-muting (quiet mode), city/highway modes and the display.
Range of Detection
The range of detection is how far away you can be to detect the radar, laser gun or speed camera. This is given as the maximum distance you can be for the unit to pick up the signal. A good detector should have a range of at least 1-2 miles.
Mounting
For the detector to do its job it must be mounted in a place where it can pick up the laser or radar waves. This can be on the dashboard, or more covertly, hooked behind the rear view mirror. Some dashboard mounts will come with Velcro so it can be removed when necessary to deter thieves.
Safety Alerts
Many places have systems which transmit road hazards such as weather conditions, construction, or accidents. Detectors with this feature will alert you to these conditions, allowing you to drive more safely.
Quiet Modes
When the detector detects a lot of radar it emits a beep or noise that can test your sanity if it continues once you have reduced your speed. There are two types of quiet modes you can choose from. One is auto-muting. This causes the radar to emit beeps for a set period of time, and then to switch to a periodic beep followed by soft clicks. The other is city/highway mode. Cities will have a lot of reflection and build up of these waves, which can trigger the machine inaccurately and frequently. City mode will desensitize the machine to the waves, picking up only the strongest. Highway mode is more sensitive. By not having as many false alarms, the machine becomes quieter in general.
Display
The display is usually a digital text display. It may allow you to get a visual signal of the radar/laser strength, and safety alerts. It should show you the mode, volume control etc. The detector can come with a dim switch so that the display does not bother or distract the driver during night driving.
