Radar Detector

[leadfoot]

"You mean I can use the speedometer to avoid traffic tickets? My, a ticket avoidance system built into every motorcycle"

drive the speed limit in commuter traffic in LA or SAN DIEGO. be an organ donor.
in the late sixties, early seventies, i went years without a car. more hostility now.
MOST DRIVERS ARE VERY POLITE. 1% are cretins. i am an agressive rider. i am willing to pay the tickets. no problemo

A sensible rider will obey the speed limit. A smart rider knows when to travel with the flow of traffic. Agreed that in certain situations it makes absolutely no sense to obey the posted limit. I do not think you will get too many arguments from a "seasoned" rider regarding this, just some other options for dealing with it.

[GSAddict]

Where I live there is moving radar which my Detector has saved me numerous times. Then there is Laser which the Detector is simply announcing that I have just gotten a ticket.
The 2 officers working this part of the coast are long time career tax collectors and the local town receives 75% of the revenues from the provincial government. We even have proof of a 'secret' contest for # of tickets written in 1 year. They are very petty and would have no hesitation to write up their own mothers.

It's pretty tough to speed and get away with it but Radar detectors do work/help and all 3 vehicles in our family are equipped with them. I would not ride without one.


"Bad Cop - no doughnut!"

[wezul]

Seriously, are we still doing this?
It's a crap shoot kids, with all due respect to you techno geeks.
You's pays your money and you's takes your chances, OK?
And if you get caught be a human being and admit it and I think we are done now!

[rocketman]

While it obviously involves managing a higher level of risk (no roll cages, sheet metal, airbags, seatbelts, bumpers, safety glass, crumple zones, etc. to protect us), HOW we manage it will go a long way in determining how safe or unsafe riding our motorcycles will be.

Speed is not "inherently unsafe." It is simply velocity. But equations are never constructed of a single component - many factors are present.

With respect to posted limits (and accepting the consequences of violating them!), ride at a speed you're comfortable with, based on your experience, training, equipment and environment (surface, traffic, hazards, weather, etc.).

Just remember: never let your speed become so reckless that it endangers your passenger or another user of the roadway.

Riding a motorcycle fast takes very little skill......they teach circus bears to do that.

Riding a motorcycle safe, regardless of speed, can earn you a cool title like rocketman!

Ride within your comfort level and conditions? What an amazing idea! I like it!

What is that saying about Fast is smooth, smooth is fast (enough for me anyway!)

Well cut corners and good line, minimal hard braking and a proper setup for each section of road makes one look faster even when you're not really riding (that) fast. Plus there is nothing more satisfying. 45 years and STILL learning, if I ever feel like there is nothing more to learn I should probably quit riding.

RM

[Serazin]

I have a V1.

It works very well to detect constant radar signals. It will even pick up a stray POP or two. The LIDAR warning will just tell you that you should stop for your performance award.

What it does really well it warn you about the upcoming brake check that the 200 cars ahead of you are about to do because they see a LEO.

On I5 here in the central valley I often start to get KA alerts 1 or 2 miles before the screeching tires start. I just hang back and let the cars do their acrobatics.

[sibud]

and (in WI), I can visually estimate excessive speed (as long as I am stationary) and cite based on that alone.

I'm surprised that there have been no comments on this snip.

I had a good friend that was a LEO. We went out in his car and sat overlooking I 64 in S. IL. He turned the display so he couldn't see it and visually estimated the speed while I looked at the read out. He NEVER was off by more than 1 MPH and most of the time was dead on. I asked him how he did it. Answer? 30 years experience.

I still wonder why I'm asked "Do you know how fast you were going?"

I never admit to a number. I do say "I guess fast enough to get your attention. Sorry."

At a motorcycle "Safety Check Point", my BMW riding buddy and I, ATGATT, were waved past while every cruiser was waved in for an inspection of their license, registration, insurance etc.

About doing things that are illegal but "safe" such as passing on the double yellow etc. I have a lot of respect for those who do it and admit that it is illegal, take their lumps w/o complaining or looking for a way to try to get off.

I speed. Sometimes I get a performance award.

Ride Well
Ride Often
Ride to Eat

[Harrington]

7. +10 is pretty safe. +7.5 is real safe. This is called being reasonable in breaking the law (which I don't get all upset about since it isn't MORALLY wrong to speed, despite what prosecutors and LEOs sometimes express. There is no commandment "Thou shalt not speed..") Anyway - how fast do you gotta go? Almost any police department has an unwritten policy of not writing tickets for less than 10 over - just because it's a hassle.. too many people decide to fight them. The ideal ticket is one for +11 over, and it's paid by check, and the cop/prosecutor never have to come into the courtroom.

OK Deilenberger - you got me - I can barely type, I'm chuckling so hard. You made my morning!

Seriously, about 90% of what you wrote is an excellent perspective on this topic (and it's only a topic - no arguing needs to occur here - just friendly banter).

But the 'logic' of "it's OK to break the laws that aren't morally wrong" takes rationalization to a stratospheric level.

Over my career, I interacted with about 5,000 new people every year, and have kept a sort of mental glossary of rationalizations for illegal behavior. But yours is absolutely precious, and instantly breaks into the TOP FIVE.

"Have a nice day, and drive safely now."

Speed limits on Calfornia main Highways generally have a 15MPH buffer. I asked a CHP years ago during a performance citation. My wife was nervous about me asking the question. I told her there was nothing to worry about because I was already getting the ticket. He told me about the 15 mph over Mason/Dixon line. For the most part he wouldn't pull somebody over for that or less. I've found that to be the case on the major state highways.

Isn't it also correct that traffic studies effect future speed limits? That means that the law (max speed limit) is directly effected by drivers actions as well as legislative action. I'm sorry but I just don't place 5MPH over even in the same boat as spitting on the sidewalk.

[greenwald]

I'm surprised that there have been no comments on this snip.

I had a good friend that was a LEO. We went out in his car and sat overlooking I 64 in S. IL. He turned the display so he couldn't see it and visually estimated the speed while I looked at the read out. He NEVER was off by more than 1 MPH and most of the time was dead on. I asked him how he did it. Answer? 30 years experience.

I still wonder why I'm asked "Do you know how fast you were going?"

I never admit to a number. I do say "I guess fast enough to get your attention. Sorry."

At a motorcycle "Safety Check Point", my BMW riding buddy and I, ATGATT, were waved past while every cruiser was waved in for an inspection of their license, registration, insurance etc.

About doing things that are illegal but "safe" such as passing on the double yellow etc. I have a lot of respect for those who do it and admit that it is illegal, take their lumps w/o complaining or looking for a way to try to get off.

I speed. Sometimes I get a performance award.

Ride Well
Ride Often
Ride to Eat

In Wisconsin, during my Radar Certification from the State DOT, it was required of me to accurately estimate the speed of instructor vehicles 90% of the time. Takes some practice, but it is a learnable skill. And of course, 30+ years on the streets has given me a bit of an edge too!

Love the 'Ride to Eat' tagline!!!

[tommcgee]

Seriously, are we still doing this?
It's a crap shoot kids, with all due respect to you techno geeks.
You's pays your money and you's takes your chances, OK?
And if you get caught be a human being and admit it and I think we are done now!

No crap shoot unless you aren't paying attention. Radar isn't magic. If you've got a good receiver, you know when there are radar signals in the area. For some reason, many LEO's don't believe this. Their choice.

Tom "military radar tech"

[greenwald]

No crap shoot unless you aren't paying attention. Radar isn't magic. If you've got a good receiver, you know when there are radar signals in the area. For some reason, many LEO's don't believe this. Their choice.

Tom "military radar tech"

You're correct on a number of points, Tom.

Many of my fellow LEO's seemed to think that the expensive radar they operated was some sort of 'magic wand,' and would outsmart any countermeasures used by drivers motivated to speed.

A quality radar detector will always alert you to the signal present. However, a quality law enforcement officer will withhold that detectable signal until you cannot react fast enough to escape notice.

Consider all the tools in our LEO tool box: radar, laser, Vascar, aircraft, pacing, unmarked vehicles, visual estimating, timing lines or fixed objects, etc. and you can be the most alert, best countermeasure-equiped rider out there, and if I need to document you speeding, I can get the job done - no problem - really.

Fortunately, I worked for a department that (at least until shortly before my retirement) emphasized safety over statistics, and I wrote an embarrassingly low number of citations compared to neighboring agencies.

Safety is what it should be about, vs. revenue. Sadly, that is not a universal concept in law enforcement, and for that I apologize.

Ride Safe (and according to Bud - eat well too!)

[igofar]

OK everyone, What is a good radar detector without spending an arm and a leg. Where is a good source to buy?

...and back to our original question....
Adaptiv. Made for motorcycles. Big buttons that are easily handled thru thick winter gloves. Weatherproof. $300. Advertised everywhere. I've had mine for a couple of months now and the only flaw I've found is that the external notification options are mandatory. The beeping can't be heard over Rob Zombie screaming out of my speakers thru 80 mph wind noise while the wife is shrieking for me to slow down.

There are MANY wise words in the prior posts. It's just a tool: But that tool works quite well with rabbits, experience, and forethought.

[RINTY]

...can't be heard over Rob Zombie...igofar

Can it be heard over just wind noise?

[tommcgee]

and you can be the most alert, best countermeasure-equiped rider out there, and if I need to document your speeding, I can get the job done - no problem - really.

The only time I've ever been tagged in two million accident-free miles was when I wasn't paying attention to the speedo, radar receiver or not. None of us can pay attention to the speed indicator 100% of the time, on either side of this confrontation. And especially on the bike, when I take my eyes off the road to look at the speedo, I feel like I'm putting myself at risk.

As I said early on in this thread, practically every cop car in my part of the world is radar equipped and (especially) for those of us who do a lot of miles, it's impossible to avoid getting painted every time a LEO turns a corner.

And you're right. LEO training is better and the radar transmitters and other gear are better. And yeah, I was a Navy ECM tech too.

[igofar]

Can it be heard over just wind noise?

If I keep to the speed limit, and keep the sterio off, the Adaptiv is loud enough to give warning. That's on a 'LT with a tall windshield. There's little hope for hearing it with more background noise than that.

[PGlaves]

With all due respect to the LEOs here and elsewhere I sometimes tire of the methodological explanation I hear. For example, since aerial timing of a vehicle between two points is considered a "speed trap" in California I am told that what the troopers do is pace the car exactly with their airplane and time a wing strut between those two points marked on the road. Oh, sure they do!

I have been told numerous times that the officer's observation is the primary evidence and that they then just turn the radar on to verify their observation. Oh, sure they do. In that case I can recall numerous times that the officer's observation skills were somewhere between very poor and bad, since they saw me approaching on a motorcycle and turned on the instant-on radar when I was going between 5 and 10 mph UNDER the speed limit.

What they saw was a lone motorcycle approaching and figured I was a sitting duck. If what is claimed is true, and if the observing skills are so sharp they would never turn the radar on an approaching vehicle well below the speed limit - but they do it all the time.

Makes a guy wonder about the tales one hears ...

In some jurisdictions, some officers have the motto "To Serve and Collect."