National Ban on Radar Detectors - legislation could do it »
Posted by: sportsguy 1 year, 6 months agoLooks like some pending legislation could bring in a national ban on radar detectors. Bad news for speeders.
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jeffery11 year, 6 months ago
To be fair, the story is written very confusingly. The first sentence states: "There is proposed legislation going through the Senate right now that will ban the use of radar detectors in the US." yet Steve Oelrich is a Florida State Senator from district 14 according to his home page.
I would blame the confusion on the "journalist". The writer could have provided the details unless he/she was also not clear on the details. Then again the poster could have looked up the good Senator to uncover the problem in that first sentance.
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vulcan201 year, 6 months ago
canweallpleasethink
what a poor choice of a name for your comment.
A "radar detector" has no other purpose then to alert some one who is breaking the law that the police are about to catch them.
When is it a "FREEDOM" to break the law and risk the lives of others on the road that are obeying the law.
A person I know just lost thier son, his wife, 1 child and left another child without parents. the cause was some one doing an estimated 80 MPH in a 55 mph zone.
I have never been able to figure out why some people think they do not need to follow the laws?
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realmz2851 year, 5 months ago
Hey idiot,
Do you know France has a ban on radar detectors (and the fine is much greater than Virgina and DC, or Florida if they became illegal)? Did you know cops in France are allowed to search you for no reason at all? I'd go on and on about the things that are banned or wrong with France but I'd be writing all night.
Maybe U.S. citizens believe we are so free because we are when you look at countries like France...
(by the way, I am against the Florida detector ban)
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jp321 year, 6 months ago
How does a FLORIDA STATE senator introduce any legislation that could create a NATIONAL ban on anything? He doesn't; he can only introduce and vote on legislation that affects Florida.
I agree that such a ban would be bad and stupid, but please learn something about the topic and get your facts straight before you write about it in public.
So far, you've informed me only of your ignorance, and wiped out any credibility you might have had.
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UBCONFUSE1 year, 6 months ago
I used radar detectors for 12 years and after getting 4 speeding tickets in 4 weeks, I had a serious talk with my self about my fast and aggressive driving habits. First thing to go was the radar detector. After about 6 months of not exceeding the speed limits, I slowly returned to my old habits of driving 80 in a 55 and over 100 on the interstates. Amazingly, I did not get a ticket from April of 1996 until January of 2007, 60 in a 45, but the cop cut it to 55 in a 45 because "You have such a clean record".
I am convinced it is because I do not have a radar detector. Between 1996 and 2007, I was stopped for speeding 10 or more times, but always got a warning ticket. Good Luck?, I do not think so. A radar detector is like waving a red flag to a bull. Most cops have a detection devise which tells them you have a detector in the car. Therefore, the absence of a detector has been a good thing for me. Plus, I have fine tuned the when and where to speed and not speed.
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inthemiddleof1 year, 6 months ago
I get the analogy, but bulls are color blind. You could wave a blue or yollew flag at them and they would still charge. :)
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cleare1 year, 6 months ago
how the heck did you get off repeatedly with just warnings?
i just step one foot sideways and i get slammed.
anyway, i'm a former user of radar detectors and an advocate. there are places in the southwest where the roads are still almost completely open and there is no reason not to go as fast as you want. my brother and i once made a road trip from albuquerque to palm springs in eight hours with the help of a radar detector and a cb.
on the other hand use of such technology does require some maturity. excessive speed in traffic is deadly and we probably can't trust everyone to behave responsibly, so maybe it is better the devices be banned. many states have already banned use of radar detectors.
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LordOfChaos1 year, 6 months ago
Interesting that the article gives you the number of people killed on Florida's highways due to excessive speed, but no data on the number of people who use radar detectors without crashing or how many of those speeders were using radar detectors at the time of the accident.
Banning radar detectors is problematic as all a radar detector is is a 3-band (X,K,Ka) radio reciever, scanning for the radio transmissions transmitted by the trooper's radar gun. How do you ban radio receivers? Too wide a ban and car radios become illegal.
I've used radar detectors for years and the last ticket I got (5 years ago) was because I ignored the alert I was getting as I crested a hill. If any cop asks me why I have a radar detector, I will answer, "So I can know when I am under unwarranted electronic survelliance, officer." Unless, of course, he's letting me off with a warning.
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cleare1 year, 6 months ago
yes, and law enforcement lies in wait behind hills and around curves specifically to catch speeders. speed traps. if they really cared about public safety they would be roaming the highways in search of all potential problems, instead of lying in wait. the fact is many law enforcement agencies use speed traps as major revenue streams.
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winstonsmithredux1 year, 6 months ago
It would have been more useful to also show the number of deaths on Florida highways due to elderly drivers. I am always pleasantly surprised when I leave Florida without having been rammed by at least one of them.
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palamaComment removed: User banned.
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UBCONFUSE1 year, 6 months ago
I think the cause of most accidents is inattention by the driver, not speed. However at high speed, your reaction time has to increase as speed goes up. At some point, speed exceeds the reaction time. I just love it when the Highway Troopers get on TV and say how they are saving lives by writing tickets. This is equal to Al Gore claiming credit for the internet. Troopers write tickets are for one reason; the levy of and collection of non-tax revenue. Billions flow into government coffers annually.
Collectively, the American people could end this obscene tax by just following vehicle laws, to the letter, for 1 year. The Traffic Police, collectively, along with their government sponsors would simply self destruct from lack of funds. My state says they will be adding 100 new troopers per year. State revenue collections will soar. Troopers have quotas and do not ever believe anyone who says they do not. Traffic enforcement is a business and a profitable one!
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LordOfChaos1 year, 6 months ago
I remember being told that no matter how careful a driver you think you are, a trooper could still give you a ticket depending on how rigidly he chooses to apply the law. If you don't speed, they could cite you (for exapmle) for signalling 90 feet before taking an exit, because the statute says the limit is 100 feet. Following ALL the traffic laws, to the letter, would be extremely nerve-wracking to the average driver.
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vulcan201 year, 6 months ago
I think your views a but only to a miniscule amount.
The main reason law enfocement stops people and writes tickets is to deter drivers from speeding. If you were correct in your views they would not write warnings, only tickets.
if they were not out there stopping speeders, you would have people doing over 100 in 45 MPH zones.
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UBCONFUSE1 year, 6 months ago
Further, ask yourself what purpose the cops have for putting radar speed guns, sometimes two units, in unmarked pick-up trucks, sports cars (Charleston SC had a Corvette), mini vans, red mustangs, a 545is BMW and even unmarked SUV's? The sole purpose is to write more tickets. Cops hiding like ****** roaches in cracks on the side of the road is not a legitimate function of any government. As I said above, if America followed traffic laws to the letter, the police would go into financial meltdown. The competition could get so bad between state, county and cities, the cops may have to resort to shooting at each other to protect sweet spots from being poached by other jurisdictions. I laugh just thinking about what the police would do if nobody broke a traffic law. They would be out changing signs in the middle of the night to put up 25 MPH speed limit signs on I-95. It would be a comedy.
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realmz2851 year, 5 months ago
The VAST majority of "radar scramblers" and "jammers" are completly useless. The phaser and anything made by RMR is useless. Look at the various tests, etc. done by independent agencies.
The only jammer that actually works is the Scorpion. It is 500 for the cheap and 1500 for the all band version. And sometimes it causes random readings (some cause the troopers gun to display a faster speed), as well as being illegal.
Save your money and buy a good detector. I prefer the V1.
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UBCONFUSE1 year, 6 months ago
I like your attitude. We all paid for the streets and we should be able to use them as we see fit, provided the only people at risk are ourselves. Pedal to the metal, balls to the wall!
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AngieBygrave1 year, 6 months ago
This is a big issue in the UK - are government placing more and more speed cameras and stopping radars purely to generate income? There are lots of anti-camera platforms over here that are fuming that the extra income does not get put back into the roads and quality of public transport.
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Harbeas1 year, 6 months ago
Here we go again with someones freedom being taken away. Isn't the possession of radar detectors illegal? So your freedom to break the law might be taken away. Oh my! People with radar detectors are all big speeders which makes them less than safe drivers. I don't have a problem with this at all.
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Harbeas1 year, 6 months ago
Here we go again with someone complaining about losing one of their freedoms. These gadgets allow you to break the law with impunity. Sorry, but your freedom to break the law is not constitutional right. People who use these gadgets are usually big speeders. This makes them unsafe drivers. I dojn't have a problem with this at all. Some states already ban the use of them and I hope they all do.
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UBCONFUSE1 year, 6 months ago
I formerly though it would be a good idea to just let people drive what ever speed they felt comfortable with, but when a wreck happens fine the at fault party with heavy fines in the $2,000 to $3,000 range.
I abandoned this after learning that Sweden and Germany levy traffic fines based on your income. In Sweden, the President of Nokia Telephone got a speeding ticket of about $85,000 for 12 MPH over the posted limit. In Germany, you get fined about $500 for flipping the middle finger at a slow driver.
If this was the rule in America, we would have rich people being held hostage until the family ponied up obscene fine amounts. Thanks but, no, I am happy with our system. However, you can imagine some good ones like, Jesse Jackson caught in Bunghole, Georgia or one of the Bush twins in San Francisco.
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Dsb2k61 year, 6 months ago
Cops are some sneaky bitches. I lost my liscense on my first speeding ticket ever for going 91 in a 55. I was on 285 headed into atlanta and c.o.b.b. (count on being busted) county had an officer hiding on a bridge literally sniping people with the radar gun. First of all, 285 is a 3 lane highway and the only reason its 55 is so they can bust people coming off 75 which has a 65 speed limit. I was in front of about 20 cars all going pretty much the same speed but he saw me first from the bridge. I didnt think I was gonna get caught, I was atleast 10 minutes from the time he clocked me from the time I saw blue lights in the rearview.
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Follow_the_Money1 year, 6 months ago
It has been proven that in many urban situations it is the slower drivers that cause the accidents. There was one area in Colorado, I believe, where the police started ticketing the slower drivers in a effort to clear the roadways.
I live in the Phoenix metro area and can assure you that almost everyone speeds. People trying to drive at or near the speed limit cause backups and road rage ensues. In my opinion, we need far more traffic enforcement for the speeders AND the slow drivers that get in the way. Here, at least, no one uses turn signals, almost everyone will cut you off without thinking, and talking on a cell phone, putting on makeup, and preparing and eating a meal are common practices as one drives down the road.
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vulcan201 year, 6 months ago
What a lame way to think.
The people who are driveing the speed limit are getting in the way and slowing down the law breakers.
What are you high on man.
There is not a court in the land that would up hold a ticket like that.
They were probably writing tickets for people driving way below the the posted limit.
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joeblowe1 year, 6 months ago
Speeding is dangerous and illegal. That's why I never do it. {;>)= I will note that considering that talking on a cell phone while driving has been equated with driving drunk that taking cell phones out of cars makes a hell of a lot more sense than taking away radar detectors. How's come no one is doing that? Just goes to show you, a GROUP of people (especially legislators) is much stupider than a single person. Yes?
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joeblowe1 year, 6 months ago
They aren't thinking about it the right way - make it illegal to use a cell phone in the car, then FINE the crap out of offenders just as though they were driving drunk. See... lots MORE money. Of course, there would be a lot more incidence of wife beatings as men get more and more PO'd at their women constantly getting fined...{8>D)=
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propaganda21 year, 6 months ago
Guess who buys the cities radar guns? Insurance companies..... Your insurance company (if you have one) are the ones who really benefit from these laws. They could care less about human lives...its business, money.....wake up...
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assian1 year, 6 months ago
FYI --- In California, a very good and progressive state, they don't have to ban radar detectors as the police don't have the usage of radar guns. That is, the state of California has outlawed or (banned) the use of Radar as a legal means of issuing speeding tickets. And yes, the California Highway Patrol or CHP's as they are known still issue a large amount of speeding tickets as California has somewhere in the neighborhood of ~50 million cars and trucks on the highways.
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