Radar Detectors
Invisiplate License Plate Cover spray can help prevent you from getting traffic tickets and complement radar detectors and keep you out of Traffic School.
What are "radar detector / radar detectors?" How do radar detectors work? Radar detectors are electronic devices that can isolate and identify the characteristic microwave radiation emitted by radar detectors. They respond to a nearby radar detector with an audible beep and display that vary with the intensity of the microwave energy detected by the radar detector/ radar detectors. Radar detector devices can keep down vehicle speeds by preventing drivers from assuming they can speed without consequence because they have purchased radar detectors.
Is the use of radar detectors constitutional? States have a legitimate interest in banning the possession and use of radar detectors, and well-written laws stand up in court. Despite claims by manufacturers that prohibiting radar detectors violates numerous constitutional principles, no court has held that the concept of bans on radar detectors, either by statute or regulation, is restricted by the Constitution. In fact, a U.S. Court of Appeals in 1995 unanimously upheld the federal government ban on radar detectors use in commercial vehicles involved in interstate commerce. In its opinion, the court wrote that the Federal Highway Administration "promulgated the rulemaking in order to reduce speeding and thereby reduce the severity of accidents when they occur." It added that, because commercial vehicles "are much larger and heavier than other vehicles, the damage they cause…in accidents at excessive speeds is much greater." Thus the use of radar detectors would promote speeding in larger vehicles.
Why are radar detectors banned in large comercial vehicles? The Federal Highway Administration has prohibited the use of radar detectors in commercial vehicles involved in interstate commerce since January 1994. Radar detectors also are banned in all vehicles in Virginia and the District of Columbia and in big truck rigs in New York and Illinois. The human and economic costs of truck crashes weigh heavily on other road users. About 5,000 people died in 2001 from injuries in crashes involving large trucks, and most were passenger vehicle occupants. Large trucks require much longer distances than cars to stop, even with properly adjusted brakes and/or the use of radar detectors. Their brakes are more likely to be out of adjustment, compared with cars -- a condition that can magnify the contribution of speed to crashes. Although large trucks accounted for 3 percent of registered vehicles and 7 percent of vehicle miles traveled in 2001, they were involved in 22 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes. Researchers measured speeds and use of radar detectors in trucks in 17 states in 1990 before the radar detectors ban and found that more than half of all trucks and half of trucks carrying hazardous materials were using radar detectors. Use rates ranged from 39 percent in California to 69 percent in Oklahoma. An earlier study in Virginia and Maryland showed that trucks with radar detectors were more likely than those without them to be traveling at illegal speeds. On interstates with 65 mph speed limits, more than twice as many trucks with radar detectors were traveling at least 5 mph faster than the limit, and three times as many were traveling at least 10 mph faster than those not using radar detectors and traveling at the posted speed limit.
Is banning radar detectors constitutional? States have a legitimate interest in banning the possession and use of radar detectors, and well-written laws stand up in court. Despite claims by manufacturers that prohibiting radar detectors violates numerous constitutional principles, no court has held that the concept of bans on radar detectors, either by statute or regulation, is restricted by the Constitution. In fact, a U.S. Court of Appeals in 1995 unanimously upheld the federal government ban on radar detector use in commercial vehicles involved in interstate commerce. In its opinion, the court wrote that the Federal Highway Administration "promulgated the rulemaking in order to reduce speeding and thereby reduce the severity of accidents when they occur." It added that, because commercial vehicles "are much larger and heavier than other vehicles, the damage they cause…in accidents at excessive speeds is much greater."
Do other countries permit the use of radar detectors? Few other countries allow car drivers to use radar detectors. Only the United States, Iceland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, and some Canadian provinces allow radar detectors. In most other countries, it is illegal to sell as well as use radar detectors. Fines for violations can be as steep as thousands of dollars, and the prohibited devices may be confiscated. Punishment can be tough if vehicles use radar detectors.
Who uses radar detectors? Research shows drivers with radar detectors are consistently overrepresented among the fastest speeders. Use of radar detectors demonstrates an intention to speed. In a reasearch poll, more than half admitted to driving faster than they would without radar detectors. Surveys of trucks in 24 states conducted before the federal government banned radar detectors in commercial vehicles involved in interstate commerce found that about half of all trucks on interstates had radar detectors in use.
Why outlaw radar detectors? Radar detectors are bought and sold for the sole purpose of avoiding speeding tickets. Drviers using radar detectors reduce their speeds by at least 5 mph or activated their brake lights when suddenly exposed to police radar. Before exposure, vehicles with radar detectors were traveling significantly faster than those without a radar detector. By one mile past the radar, more than three-fourths of the vehicles with radar detectors were traveling at least 5 mph faster than the speed limit. It is assumed that the only purpose of radar detectors is to avoid speeding tickets.
How reliable is radar enforcement or anti-radar detector guns? Highly reliable and accurate. However, it may be difficult in heavy traffic to pinpoint specific vehicles. The reliability of radar speed measurements has been repeatedly upheld by the courts. In heavey traffic situations, enforcement may use laser enforcement to catch speed violators, but some radar detectors are equipped to locate a laser signal.
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