Radar Detectors

[theraidenproject]

Yourself. It's not just for protecting others, it's for protecting you.

Here's the text of a DOT study.

http://www.ibiblio.org/rdu/sl-irrel.html

Highlight:
"Data collected at the study sites indicated that the majority of speed limits are posed below the average speed of traffic. Lowering speed limits below the 50th percentile does not reduce accidents, but does significantly increase driver violations of the speed limit. Conversely, raising the posted speed limits did not increase speeds or accidents."

[rkjunior303]

they are illegal in MA. You can actually get in MORE trouble having one.

[Alpha]

Reason number 14973 why I am movign out of this God forsaken land ASAP.

Heres what you gotta do.

<ake your car angular from every direction (Like a stealth fighter). Use fiberflass or carbon fiber.

Get some iron carbonyl-ferrite, and mix it into your favorite auto paint. Spray it onto your car in nice even layers.

Voila, instant F177A car.

[nippinout]

Here's the text of a DOT study.

http://www.ibiblio.org/rdu/sl-irrel.html

Highlight:
"Data collected at the study sites indicated that the majority of speed limits are posed below the average speed of traffic. Lowering speed limits below the 50th percentile does not reduce accidents, but does significantly increase driver violations of the speed limit. Conversely, raising the posted speed limits did not increase speeds or accidents."

I don't feel like going through my Mn/DOT data sheets, but every road fatality costs the rest of us over a million dollars. Your death may not personally affect me, but it affects my wallet.

What point are you trying to make with the bolded text?

When speed limits are set, the road's functional classification (road type) usually sets the speed limit, along with design speeds for road geometry. When setting a speed from a study, the 85th percentile speed is usually used. From that 85th percentile, the 10mph pace with the highest number of vehicles travelling at that pace is used for the speed limit, aiming for the upper end of the 10mph pace.

Why doesn't speed increase on certain roads when the speed limit is increased? It is due to the fact that we are accustomed to not wanting to die while driving at unsafe speeds. The same is true for decreased speed limits. We are able to determine what speed is safe.

71mph on a 55mph is not safe. You may be fully confident of your driving ability, but you cannot be certain of the conditions of your vehicle or road. Sharp turns are sometimes marked with a yellow diamond shaped sign. These signs are not even required.

The safety of the road is not just the conditions of it's surface. The road's geometry determines the speed at which you can travel safely. The design speed is used to determine how sharp a turn can be, or how much a hill can crest or sag for visual and reaction times and the physical limitations of your car actually stopping.

[theraidenproject]

From the same text "Speed limits were posted, on average, between 5 and 16 mi/h (8 and 26 km/h) below the 85th percentile speed."
Also, I drive that highway EVERY DAY in a NEW, WELL-MAINTANED CAR. That particular day was sunny with little to no traffic. If I remember it was around 10am on a Saturday morning when I was clocked at that speed on a SRAIGHTAWAY. So you have absolutely no grounds to tell me my speed was unsafe there. It was not.
Anyway, thanks for the few relevant posts here, I am watching some ebay auctions for the passport 6500/belx65 (same model, in effect). To the rest of you, if I had wanted an argument about speed limits, I would have made a thread, "LET"S ARGUE ABOUT SPEEDLIMITS"

[nippinout]

From the same text "Speed limits were posted, on average, between 5 and 16 mi/h (8 and 26 km/h) below the 85th percentile speed."
Also, I drive that highway EVERY DAY in a NEW, WELL-MAINTANED CAR. That particular day was sunny with little to no traffic. If I remember it was around 10am on a Saturday morning when I was clocked at that speed on a SRAIGHTAWAY. So you have absolutely no grounds to tell me my speed was unsafe there. It was not.
Anyway, thanks for the few relevant posts here, I am watching some ebay auctions for the passport 6500/belx65 (same model, in effect). To the rest of you, if I had wanted an argument about speed limits, I would have made a thread, "LET"S ARGUE ABOUT SPEEDLIMITS"

So you only speed on roads that are straightaways in fair weather?

I would say that those low speed limits were due to uninformed politicians and the general public looking for a way to fix a problem that didn't exist.

[AcemanPB]

My friend spent 300 dollars on a really nice radar detector. Since then he has spend nearly 4 times that much on speeding tickets. Radar detectors don't really work that well, they do detect radar well but most cop radars have that instant on button. So as soon as the radar detector picks up the radar signal you've already been clocked.

From what I seen radar detectors are the most effective on the interstate, and while they do work they are certinaly not fool proof. It only takes a couple tickets to make them not worth the money.

[deathstalker]

Yourself. It's not just for protecting others, it's for protecting you.

When did we give the goverment power to protect me from myself? Last I checked, the gov't has not this power. Research the power provided to the government. NOWHERE will you ever find that it is the government's job to protect me from myself.

As for radar detectors, I've owned everything from the cheapest to the most expensive (V1). I thought the V1 was incredibly overpriced for the features and returned it during the 30-day guarantee. It still registered false alarms in the same places as the $80 Uniden I use, so I don't think the premium price is worth it.

I have plenty of speeding tickets. Some were given without a detector, some with. It's still a chance you take. If you want to travel over the limit, your best bet is to do it in areas with which you are very familiar. It's rare I drive to an area I don't know, but when I do, I take it easy. Last speeding ticket I received was for 45 in a 35, with THREE lanes in each direction. I was a bit ticked, to say the least.

[wad04]

aceman you're completly right, it just doesn't make sense its called lidar, the type of lazer the aim at your car and fire like a gun, no way of detecting it. lots of police use those now.

[BobTheCow]

When did we give the goverment power to protect me from myself? Last I checked, the gov't has not this power. Research the power provided to the government. NOWHERE will you ever find that it is the government's job to protect me from myself.

Suicide? Drugs?

[Lohman446]

I don't endanger anyone, buddy. If you're not tailgating, where's the endangerment? There is a huge difference between driving over the posted limit and being reckless. I was pulled over for 71 in a 55 in the left lane with no one on the road. Who is in danger there? Was what I was donig wrong?

Yes it was. There is a very sound logical argument that points out you do not have the authority to decide what laws to follow. If you have decided that the speed limit is not a law to follow, why should anyone be expected to follow any.

Its a good argument, that being said the police officers around her seldom enforce until 15+ over the limit, and most of them are on pretty good terms with me . So no, I'm not taking a moral high ground, but don't try to justify your actions, you are breaking the law, you deserve what you get.

[Lohman446]

When did we give the goverment power to protect me from myself? Last I checked, the gov't has not this power. Research the power provided to the government. NOWHERE will you ever find that it is the government's job to protect me from myself.

Last I checked the state governments did have that authority and, under current law, it is they who set the speed limits. The argument that the federal government made about INTERSTATE highways having to do with interstate travel and commerce, and thus falling under there enumerated powers of the Constitution was shakey, but not as ridiculous as some powers they claimed. A Constiutional Libertarian argument only works well when discussing the federal government and there overstepping of power, when you get to a state and local level it tends to unravel.

Besides, the government does, to some degree have a duty to protect others. Your speed does not only endanger yourself, but everyone else on the roads. They have not consented to that degree of endangerment. Even ethical hedonism arguments have an issue at justify speed.

That being said if you look at it as speed limits being a punitive restriction, then you start to gain power in the argument. If you have not caused an accident then how can they "punish" you by forcing you to slow down. Theres a strong argument that can be made there.

Speed limits - why is the limit the same for a 05 Corvette and a 88 Taurus. One can handle better at 120 than the other can at 70. It also has better braking ability along with that handling.

[PyRo]

Let me start by saying every time I read a thread in this forum I loose that much more hope in humanity.

Speed limits - why is the limit the same for a 05 Corvette and an 88 Taurus. One can handle better at 120 than the other can at 70. It also has better braking ability along with that handling.

I'm going to make two points but if you think about it really hard, use both of your brain cells even you should be able to think of 50 other reasons this idea is stupid.

If one is going 70 and the other is going 120 you are just asking for trouble. Difference in speeds, road rage when one is slowed down.

The biggest factory here is your tax dollars. It would cost trillions and take years to hire engineers to set a safe speed limit for each vehicle on each road in each weather condition. Now you have the problem of teaching officers these rules. It's impossible to retain that much information it would be equivalent to memorizing a dictionary cover to cover word for word.

[theraidenproject]

Yes it was. There is a very sound logical argument that points out you do not have the authority to decide what laws to follow. If you have decided that the speed limit is not a law to follow, why should anyone be expected to follow any.

Its a good argument, that being said the police officers around her seldom enforce until 15+ over the limit, and most of them are on pretty good terms with me . So no, I'm not taking a moral high ground, but don't try to justify your actions, you are breaking the law, you deserve what you get.

A law simply being on the books doesn't mean squat. If it isn't enforcable, not realistic, morally repugnant, it won't be followed. There are plenty of laws I and many other people simply ignore. You ever jaywalk? Drink underage? Get a BJ in one of many states where it's still tachnically illegal? Do you do your taxes 100%?

And Bob - the government shouldn't do anything on those fronts either. Until you get behind the wheel, you should be able to do as many drugs as you want. And why not let people kill themselvs? Suicide is illegal, but that doesn't stop anyone from doing it. If you want Dr. K to come when you're on your deathbed, no one should stop you.

[SlartyBartFast]

How did I know I was going to get retarded answers like "don't speed." I don't need to justify my driving behavior. But if you think driving the speed limit all the time is reasonable or realistic, you're an idiot.

No, you sir are the idiot.

It IS NOT your responsibility to judge what is a safe speed or not. Granted many roads can be driven safely at higher than posted speeds. But how much do you know about whether the limit is based on road wisth, turns, hidden entrances, the presence or absence of hard shoulders.....

From personal experience and observation, those that claim to be the better drivers are often just puffed egos and all talk. So unless you've taken expert driving courses, you should lose you inflated self-value and follow the same rules as everyone else.

Study after study shows that driving the limit doesn't get you to your destination noticeably later and you get there far more relaxed.

Hope you buy a detector AND get busted. Your resulting financial problems might get you off the road.