MichaelA

and ultimately concluded that the RD was more of a detrimental distraction than anything else. IMHO, nothing beats simply paying attention.

Dank

How long do you usually watch somebody speeding before you decide it is ticketable, and is that wait due to you measuring their speed, or just waiting to see if they notice you and slow down?<p>For instance, this morning when driving to work I was going 80, but since I know the stretch of road like the back of my hand, I know where the CHP hides. And sure enough, there was one hiding on one of their favorite onramps. Now, I'm pretty sure he saw me going 80, but almost immediately I slowed down to 65 (of course, with the hand brake, so no brake lights...). Now, would you say he just couldn't clock my speed and therefore didn't stop me, or (what I'd hope, but somehow doubt?) that he saw me speeding, but since I was aware enough to notice the CHP he figured I was paying enough attention to drive safely at 80?<p>It would be nice if it were the second, but who knows what it really is...<p>Dan

Gordon Martin

did that make any sense?

ErikR

Agreed again. Overconcern about tickets is probably less safe than just driving.

ChrisWB

I just couldn't stand the thought of 102" whip on the bumper of my A4, or even a magnet mount. A handheld would work, but then most truckers would probably ignore you because you sound like you're talking through a paper cup. What do you use for an antenna?

ChrisW

You actually just picked out one of my "discretion tools". I really consider myself a pretty fair person when it comes to enforcing traffic law. If I begin to pace a driver, and they notice me behind them, I let them go. That shows me they're being aware, so they get a brownie point and a freebie. Thats with pacing, radar's a little different. The CHP that was sitting on the on-ramp, a couple of things may have occurred as we can only give it a good guess. First, he may not have gotten a 'good' radar reading on you. Or, if he did, you may have been able to place doubt in his head if the speeding driver was you (esp. if you were amidst traffic) by you using the tactic with the emerg. brake. I was trained, as most radar ops. should be, if there's any doubt as to the speed or which vehicle it was, do not initiate a stop. He also could've actually had a good read on you, but also observed your speed drop, and used his discretion to let you go, kinda like I mentioned above. Or...he had you on radar, but his wife/g.friend called him on his cell; or he was picking his nose; filling out the blanks for his next tick; reading a mag.; looking at his pager, any one of these and didn't look up in time to see what car it was, you get the idea.<p>Chris

Gordon Martin

(nt)

ChrisWB

Why use the e-brake if you're coming head on in daylight? You can't see the brake lights right?

al

I may have missed your point earlier. A lot of the responses point to drivers who don't pay attention the way they should JUST because they have a radar detector. I DO agree that there is no substitute for paying attention. I'd guess "not paying attention" is the #1 cause of car accidents in the U.S. Most drivers simply don't care/realize how important it is to really pay attention to their driving. Radar detector are designed to be a tool to help you...well, you know.... They are not designed to be a replacement for common sense and paying attention. If you are going to use a radar detector, don't <B>rely</B> on it.

pdw

The question is; How about writing up a Driving FAQ including how not to get stopped and what to do if stopped. This is probably a conflict of interest but I believe it would make people better drivers.<p>The rant is; It seems that cops ONLY pull over people for speeding. People are never pulled over for not using a turn signal, blowing red lights, driving like a**holes both in the aggressive sense(not synonymous with speeding) and the non-aggressive/oblivious sense. I'd really like to see more people ticketed for this stuff.