Radar detectors
Discussion
I'm pretty sure all radar detectors are legal in the UK for the moment, although obviously that may change! No idea which ones are any good.
You would need to take it out if you planned to travel to mainland Europe though, because they're illegal to use in most countries and illegal to own in many.
You would need to take it out if you planned to travel to mainland Europe though, because they're illegal to use in most countries and illegal to own in many.
Got nothing to recommend, but most things are laser or optical now, radar detectors aren't going to detect much. A few Gatso's which are still knocking around will use radar (if they're even turned on) but not much else really.
I presume all of the radar detectors on offer will be roughly the same, using the same components.
I presume all of the radar detectors on offer will be roughly the same, using the same components.
rampageturke said:
Got nothing to recommend, but most things are laser or optical now, radar detectors aren't going to detect much. A few Gatso's which are still knocking around will use radar (if they're even turned on) but not much else really.
I presume all of the radar detectors on offer will be roughly the same, using the same components.
Fair point mate. I didn’t realise it had switched to laser. I know some have laser detectors also built in but it depends on how far they can detect to how far the laser can reach I presume all of the radar detectors on offer will be roughly the same, using the same components.
The market leader is (and has been for many years) the Valentine 1 - make sure you get a UK version, there are a lot of US imports around and they have one of the UK bands disabled by default.
As noted elsewhere, most enforcement is now by laser, and there is no unit that will give you enough warning if you are the target, the V1 though is very good at warning on the "scatter" generated when a vehicle ahead of you is targeted - this may give you enough time.
With the V1 though you really do get what you pay for, it's north of £500 just for the unit (there are various add-ons available too) so it might be hard to justify when Waze does a pretty good job.
The second best unit (will have to be bought used now) and the unit I ran for many years is the Bel 990i (updated model was called the Euro 550) this isn't quite as sensitive as the V1, especially on the laser and false alarms a little more often (automatic shop doors are a bugger for it) but it's well under half the price.
As noted elsewhere, most enforcement is now by laser, and there is no unit that will give you enough warning if you are the target, the V1 though is very good at warning on the "scatter" generated when a vehicle ahead of you is targeted - this may give you enough time.
With the V1 though you really do get what you pay for, it's north of £500 just for the unit (there are various add-ons available too) so it might be hard to justify when Waze does a pretty good job.
The second best unit (will have to be bought used now) and the unit I ran for many years is the Bel 990i (updated model was called the Euro 550) this isn't quite as sensitive as the V1, especially on the laser and false alarms a little more often (automatic shop doors are a bugger for it) but it's well under half the price.
Edited by K50 DEL on Wednesday 16th March 16:40
Meatball said:
I’m just looking for a chance of a heads up with these hidden money making cameras. I use Waze as mentioned but it depends on the number that use it.
I know the blockers are illegal and I can’t be bothered with all that nonsense.
Use both Google Maps and Waze in split-screen as (allegedly) they are using different data source for speed traps.I know the blockers are illegal and I can’t be bothered with all that nonsense.
Range of 750 meters.
Works at night as well as in the daytime.
Makes a video recording of the number plate(s) and the actual speeding.
Logs the GPS location.
No need for the officer to stop the car.
Defeats jammers.
Save your money.
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-9...
https://lasertech.com/product/trucam-ii-speed-enfo...
Works at night as well as in the daytime.
Makes a video recording of the number plate(s) and the actual speeding.
Logs the GPS location.
No need for the officer to stop the car.
Defeats jammers.
Save your money.
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-9...
https://lasertech.com/product/trucam-ii-speed-enfo...
ALL mobile camera vans now use state of the art laser speed detection equipment.
How do I know, before I retired as a police officer I spent the last years of my service as a speed detector van operator, yes they do in fact have police officers operating them, most police forces use police staff trained to operate the cameras in the van, but my old force used police officers.
The laser has an effective range of 999metres effectively 1km, they are trigger operated which means the operator identifies a potential speaking car, targets it with the laser which is incorporated into the camera system pulls the trigger and gets an immediate speed reading, it takes milliseconds for the laser to hit the target and send the speed back.The cameras are manually set by the operator depending on what speed limit the road is.
In a 30 limit 10% +2 as per a Acpo guidelines means the camera is set at 35.
So any car targeted which is travelling at 35mph or over is highlighted by the system as speeding and the SD card that the camera is recorded on when read by the back office systems extracts the speeding vehicles only. So if you are doing 34 the system still registered your speed but does not pull it off the system as a “speeding” vehicle.
The operator also can hit a key which highlights other offences they see, so for example it they see someone on a mobile while observing traffic with the camera they hit the button, the system highlights that vehicle, the operator notes the offence manually and that is also pulled off the system by the back office staff.
As well as speeding, I have prosecuted offences such as , mobiles, seat belts, not in proper control, eg.people driving with a dog on their lap,also people taking both hands off the wheel to give the camera the V sign, caerless, inconsiderate driving the list goes on.
I have been to court for not guilty pleas for various offences eg. The dog on lap, and in every not guilty plea they have either pleaded guilty on seeing the footage before the case or been found guilty.
So that’s a bit of camera van background, to answer the question laser is not radar so they won’t work on laser systems.
You can buy laser jammers, but beware, if jammed the system tells the operator it is being jammed.
As an example of the consequences... male driving Audi, speeding targeted, jammed system. Registration noted, early morning visit arrested at home for Perverting the course of justice, house searched, instruction book for jammer found, car seized, front bumper removed electrics taken apart, jammer seaized for evidence at court. Car put back together returned to owner.
Denied offence. At court said must have been in there when car was purchased he didn’t know what it was etc.
Found guilty, fined just short of £800 also because of the nature of the offence the law allows for a disqualification. He was lucky magistrates didn’t disqualify him.
So BEWARE what you attach to your vehicle to avoid been done for speeding, most of the new static cameras will be moving over to some form of laser detection in time.
Any questions happy to answer them.
How do I know, before I retired as a police officer I spent the last years of my service as a speed detector van operator, yes they do in fact have police officers operating them, most police forces use police staff trained to operate the cameras in the van, but my old force used police officers.
The laser has an effective range of 999metres effectively 1km, they are trigger operated which means the operator identifies a potential speaking car, targets it with the laser which is incorporated into the camera system pulls the trigger and gets an immediate speed reading, it takes milliseconds for the laser to hit the target and send the speed back.The cameras are manually set by the operator depending on what speed limit the road is.
In a 30 limit 10% +2 as per a Acpo guidelines means the camera is set at 35.
So any car targeted which is travelling at 35mph or over is highlighted by the system as speeding and the SD card that the camera is recorded on when read by the back office systems extracts the speeding vehicles only. So if you are doing 34 the system still registered your speed but does not pull it off the system as a “speeding” vehicle.
The operator also can hit a key which highlights other offences they see, so for example it they see someone on a mobile while observing traffic with the camera they hit the button, the system highlights that vehicle, the operator notes the offence manually and that is also pulled off the system by the back office staff.
As well as speeding, I have prosecuted offences such as , mobiles, seat belts, not in proper control, eg.people driving with a dog on their lap,also people taking both hands off the wheel to give the camera the V sign, caerless, inconsiderate driving the list goes on.
I have been to court for not guilty pleas for various offences eg. The dog on lap, and in every not guilty plea they have either pleaded guilty on seeing the footage before the case or been found guilty.
So that’s a bit of camera van background, to answer the question laser is not radar so they won’t work on laser systems.
You can buy laser jammers, but beware, if jammed the system tells the operator it is being jammed.
As an example of the consequences... male driving Audi, speeding targeted, jammed system. Registration noted, early morning visit arrested at home for Perverting the course of justice, house searched, instruction book for jammer found, car seized, front bumper removed electrics taken apart, jammer seaized for evidence at court. Car put back together returned to owner.
Denied offence. At court said must have been in there when car was purchased he didn’t know what it was etc.
Found guilty, fined just short of £800 also because of the nature of the offence the law allows for a disqualification. He was lucky magistrates didn’t disqualify him.
So BEWARE what you attach to your vehicle to avoid been done for speeding, most of the new static cameras will be moving over to some form of laser detection in time.
Any questions happy to answer them.
Can't help thinking it's a job that would be interesting for the first couple of minutes and then just about the dullest job on this planet. Which is presumably why there's such a strong enthusiasm for fixed cameras, average checks etc.
Stuck in a van all day how does the operator manage to keep focus on the task in hand? Presumably (especially these days) the vast majority of people aren't driving fast enough to get nicked so the "success rate" must be pretty limited.
On the other hand the mere presence of the vans achieves the desired objective, even if the operator's asleep inside!
Stuck in a van all day how does the operator manage to keep focus on the task in hand? Presumably (especially these days) the vast majority of people aren't driving fast enough to get nicked so the "success rate" must be pretty limited.
On the other hand the mere presence of the vans achieves the desired objective, even if the operator's asleep inside!
Condado said:
ALL mobile camera vans now use state of the art laser speed detection equipment.
How do I know, before I retired as a police officer I spent the last years of my service as a speed detector van operator, yes they do in fact have police officers operating them, most police forces use police staff trained to operate the cameras in the van, but my old force used police officers.
The laser has an effective range of 999metres effectively 1km, they are trigger operated which means the operator identifies a potential speaking car, targets it with the laser which is incorporated into the camera system pulls the trigger and gets an immediate speed reading, it takes milliseconds for the laser to hit the target and send the speed back.The cameras are manually set by the operator depending on what speed limit the road is.
In a 30 limit 10% +2 as per a Acpo guidelines means the camera is set at 35.
So any car targeted which is travelling at 35mph or over is highlighted by the system as speeding and the SD card that the camera is recorded on when read by the back office systems extracts the speeding vehicles only. So if you are doing 34 the system still registered your speed but does not pull it off the system as a “speeding” vehicle.
The operator also can hit a key which highlights other offences they see, so for example it they see someone on a mobile while observing traffic with the camera they hit the button, the system highlights that vehicle, the operator notes the offence manually and that is also pulled off the system by the back office staff.
As well as speeding, I have prosecuted offences such as , mobiles, seat belts, not in proper control, eg.people driving with a dog on their lap,also people taking both hands off the wheel to give the camera the V sign, caerless, inconsiderate driving the list goes on.
I have been to court for not guilty pleas for various offences eg. The dog on lap, and in every not guilty plea they have either pleaded guilty on seeing the footage before the case or been found guilty.
So that’s a bit of camera van background, to answer the question laser is not radar so they won’t work on laser systems.
You can buy laser jammers, but beware, if jammed the system tells the operator it is being jammed.
As an example of the consequences... male driving Audi, speeding targeted, jammed system. Registration noted, early morning visit arrested at home for Perverting the course of justice, house searched, instruction book for jammer found, car seized, front bumper removed electrics taken apart, jammer seaized for evidence at court. Car put back together returned to owner.
Denied offence. At court said must have been in there when car was purchased he didn’t know what it was etc.
Found guilty, fined just short of £800 also because of the nature of the offence the law allows for a disqualification. He was lucky magistrates didn’t disqualify him.
So BEWARE what you attach to your vehicle to avoid been done for speeding, most of the new static cameras will be moving over to some form of laser detection in time.
Any questions happy to answer them.
Thanks for the time in giving such detailed reply. How do I know, before I retired as a police officer I spent the last years of my service as a speed detector van operator, yes they do in fact have police officers operating them, most police forces use police staff trained to operate the cameras in the van, but my old force used police officers.
The laser has an effective range of 999metres effectively 1km, they are trigger operated which means the operator identifies a potential speaking car, targets it with the laser which is incorporated into the camera system pulls the trigger and gets an immediate speed reading, it takes milliseconds for the laser to hit the target and send the speed back.The cameras are manually set by the operator depending on what speed limit the road is.
In a 30 limit 10% +2 as per a Acpo guidelines means the camera is set at 35.
So any car targeted which is travelling at 35mph or over is highlighted by the system as speeding and the SD card that the camera is recorded on when read by the back office systems extracts the speeding vehicles only. So if you are doing 34 the system still registered your speed but does not pull it off the system as a “speeding” vehicle.
The operator also can hit a key which highlights other offences they see, so for example it they see someone on a mobile while observing traffic with the camera they hit the button, the system highlights that vehicle, the operator notes the offence manually and that is also pulled off the system by the back office staff.
As well as speeding, I have prosecuted offences such as , mobiles, seat belts, not in proper control, eg.people driving with a dog on their lap,also people taking both hands off the wheel to give the camera the V sign, caerless, inconsiderate driving the list goes on.
I have been to court for not guilty pleas for various offences eg. The dog on lap, and in every not guilty plea they have either pleaded guilty on seeing the footage before the case or been found guilty.
So that’s a bit of camera van background, to answer the question laser is not radar so they won’t work on laser systems.
You can buy laser jammers, but beware, if jammed the system tells the operator it is being jammed.
As an example of the consequences... male driving Audi, speeding targeted, jammed system. Registration noted, early morning visit arrested at home for Perverting the course of justice, house searched, instruction book for jammer found, car seized, front bumper removed electrics taken apart, jammer seaized for evidence at court. Car put back together returned to owner.
Denied offence. At court said must have been in there when car was purchased he didn’t know what it was etc.
Found guilty, fined just short of £800 also because of the nature of the offence the law allows for a disqualification. He was lucky magistrates didn’t disqualify him.
So BEWARE what you attach to your vehicle to avoid been done for speeding, most of the new static cameras will be moving over to some form of laser detection in time.
Any questions happy to answer them.
I had a look online and from what I can see the police technology by far beats the over the counter products to give an early warning.
Very boring..Yes..
It’s known as the old mans job in police circles we had 8 police officers on the unit all within the last 3/4 years of service. Had our own allocated van quite comfortable, heating etc. Had to visit 3 sites per day spend 2 hours at each site. No target figures if 1 or 100 speeders were detected it made no difference.
And yes I did have the occasional snooze especially in winter months.
We were left alone by the bosses and although it was an awful job, for an officer who had done all their service on the street it was a really easy job to finish your service.
It’s known as the old mans job in police circles we had 8 police officers on the unit all within the last 3/4 years of service. Had our own allocated van quite comfortable, heating etc. Had to visit 3 sites per day spend 2 hours at each site. No target figures if 1 or 100 speeders were detected it made no difference.
And yes I did have the occasional snooze especially in winter months.
We were left alone by the bosses and although it was an awful job, for an officer who had done all their service on the street it was a really easy job to finish your service.
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