OT.....but radar detectors

[bobbysamd]

Speeding

The cheapest, simplest, safest, and most effective way of not getting tickets is to just not speed. Best way of keeping your ten-year driving record background checks clean, too. In this market, you don't need yet another reason not to get a job.

Seconded. Just don't speed. Your career will thank you. It eliminates the worry about being honest about speeding tickets on your dream airline app because with no tickets you can be honest! Moreover, it's the right thing to do.

By the way, I had two speeding tickets a few years before I changed careers. One was seven years before I changed careers (and one year before I started flying); the second was three years before. I had to put them on an app. If I would have had more foresight about my plans for aviation, I would have matured sooner in my driving habits.

 

[Chas]

My opinion

as someone who has operated radar and laser for over 15 years I can say with laser once you are hit its game over. As far as being in the middle of the pack if you are pacing the same speed as car 1 you can be stopped simultaneously . My advice stay in the right lane as much as possible and watch out for the entrance ramps The officer can sit on the entrance ramp and hit you from the backside . The laser gun usually an LTI laser will show a negative number meaning you are driving away from him and even tell the distance he busted you at . save your money and do not get the detector In most states its only illegal to have a detector in a truck over 10,000 gross weight . Oh by the way once clocked a Huey going 115 mph near JFK .
BIGGEST TIP__ I NEVER gave a nice guy a ticket . If you are up front and courteous I give you a pass. If you are full of crap and argumentative I let the judge decide With 18 months to retire I do not write any tickets Well maybe a cell phone once in a blue moon...

 

[banned username 2]

Also this state has a funny little law that says if you're going 20 over the posted limit you win the grand prize of (self funded) trip to the slammer (towing and impound fees apply).

Which State has that?

 

[d328pilot]

I will second what Chas said. I was in Law Enforcement for a short time and if you were nice, respectful, and not doing something really really stupid, they you would not get a ticket. If you were a jerk, then I am going to look over your car as close as I can to find something else i can write a ticket for. A radar detector in the city is a waste of money..By the time it has gone off, your speed has already be caught. Funniest thing i ever saw was a guy that got stopped for speeding and just bought his radar detector at the store....lots of cussing and he finally threw it on the pavement and broke it. My favorite place to hide was in the driveway of a car dealership at the end of the row of cars...nobody ever saw me. by the way, in my state, we got 0 money from the tickets...it all went to the state.

 

[Pilotadjuster]

Tickets

I believe what Chas said, though I have gotten tickets (over 10 years ago though...) even when I was polite, called the officer sir and did everything right. Of course, I did have a sherrif's deputy who wrote me up for 5mph LESS than what he clocked me at in town so that I would qualify for Illiniois' court supervision law (go to court, school, keep you nose clean for a year and no ticket on your record). Once got a ticket in IA coming home from school in IL (to NE), for 70 in a 55--guy was probably the nicest guy I ever received a ticket from.

Of course, even if it doesn't help, it certainly cannot hurt to be courteous to the officer--being a complete jerk (ala "I pay your salary...") cannot possibly help you. I am completely floored when I see those police videos on TV showing guys who were stopped for speeding and get totally belligerent with a trooper!

I have heard as well that the "jammers" do not work. With speed limits at 65+, speeding just doesn't make a lot of sense (and I drive 30k+/year). Especially after the insurance company hits you again for the ticket...

 

[Pilotadjuster]

Sheryl

Oh well, good thing I don't have to teach em how to spell landing...

 

[empenage]

ali:
They dont work, save your money, less distractions.

 

[B737G]

ali:
They dont work, save your money, less distractions.

Actually, I have a Valentine 1 radar/laser detector and it works quite well. It has paid for itself many times over. When it comes to instant on, there is nothing that will save you. You just have to be smart about when and where you choose to speed. I am very involved with the Porsche 928 Owners Club and when we get together, some very high speeds are seen. Speeding is very safe if it is done in the right place at the right time. I will never pass another car at high speed as I in no way want to endanger someone else but, at times, I like to push my '89GT and feel it can be done safely. The car was designed to drive at high speeds for hours and I see no harm in doing so if it is done with safety in mind. It is my opinion that tickets are merely a way for a county to generate revenue and not so much about safety. The accident rate in Germany is much lower although they tend to be more lethal. Since the speed limit was increased in the U.S. from 55 on interstates the accident rates have actually gone down. The Valentine 1 is expensive but it definately works and quite well at that.

 

[Toro]

To Falcon Capt

In regards to going to jail for driving 20mph over the posted speed limit, I believe it's just about any state. 20+mph over the speed limit is one manner of defining reckless driving, and can get you a trip to the slammer. However, that doesn't mean it's going to happen, it would likely depend on the situation. If you're doing 20+ over the limit in a school zone, you can pretty much guarantee you'll be behind bars. But if you're doing it on an open stretch of a Texas highway, you're just gonna get a fat fine.

One thing to add to the guys below who have worked in law enforcement - advice given to me by my mom, a cop for eight years. True, being polite to the troop might help you out of a ticket, but it has another advantage -- trying to later dispute the ticket in court. If you're raising a big stink and being a jerk, the cop's probably going to remember you and maybe even go out of his way to show up at your court dispute.

 

[FastCargo]

Speeding...

It's funny...in my younger days I was a speeding kind of guy. But I was smart about it...open highway, alone, no weaving in and out of traffic...etc.

I actually drive pretty close to the limit now...started 7 years ago to make sure my records were clean for the airlines...now it's just habit.

Got a story though...had a 90 Eagle Talon TSi...you know, sporty 2 door, turbo , all wheel drive, etc. Back in 1992, I was driving from Sacramento, CA to Denver, CO...about an 18 hour drive on I-80...with very desolate parts in Nevada, Utah. My car didn't have cruise control, so I'm just doing foot pressure thing. Well, in Nevada/Utah...droning along...highway hypnosis...next thing I know... the speedo is reading 105 mph.

Whoa!!

But there is no one around, and I can see for miles...so I keep the hammer down for a while. However, I notice that the time between stops for fuel seems to be shorter than I remember.

It finally hits me, once I do a bit of timing and some math. Any time I am saving in going fast than 80 mph, I am losing with the increased fuel consumption! I really noticed it when I could acutally perceive the fuel gauge decreasing!

Since then, for long trips, I tend to stay around 75 mph...makes me wonder if different cars have different 'most efficient' speeds (ie a speed where you spend the least amount of time in your car for a distance traveled...assuming multiple fuel stops).

Okay...coming in from left field!

FastCargo