[-BEE5-]

so i got a $900 speeding ticket a few days ago, on top of that, about 3 months ago i got a $745 speeding ticket.
(yes i know i know i dont learn and i need to slow my ass down, but the wife was at the hospital and i didnt GAF.)
i plan on fighting the ticket if i even stand a chance. or at least lagging the court as much as possible.
so now im looking at buying a radar detector because i simply cannot keep throwing thousands of dollars at the police.
my question is, does anyone recommend any specific brands or models? i need something that actually works.
my buddy told me he had a cheap $60 one in his car and it would beep for any little thing and that 80% of the time there was never cops when it beeped.
thanks for your input!! :driving:

 

[2002GLXV6]

Valentine One only way to fly! I've been using one for the last 12 years or so and won't leave home without it.
It has been upgraded a couple times over the years which is another great thing about Valentine One. No they ain't cheap, but look at what you have paid in tickets and will pay in insurance premiums.
Valentine One radar and laser detectors

 

[gostivar]

Sorry for the unfortunate situation. How is it $900? I drive like a maniac myself, but thank god It's never been when I've been driving 100+ mph. That being said, DO NOT SPEED is the BEST RADAR proven to work or your money back )

Anyhow, I personally like Valentine 1 radar. Saved me dosens of times. I had the 1.8 with pop2 euro mode but they have the newer version which is 1.85. I suppose It's much better, less false alarms.

 

[Kronenbourg]

Many Police departments these days are using instant-on ka band radar equipment to counter the use of detectors, and of course the detector can only alert you once they've just measured your speed by lidar. I drive at the same speed as all the other traffic as far as possible, but have been using Trapster loaded on a Garmin, because it alerts you to approaching work zone speed limits, road hazards, toll booths, etc, as well as known live/camera speed traps.

 

[Steve in Chicago]

Thanks for the heads-up. I just downloaded Trapster onto my Blackberry (I hate this phone). I'm going to try it out and see if it helps for the places I drive.

 

[z32drifter]

I think it's hard to beat the escort 8500 x50 for bang for the buck. I've had one for years, ready to upgrade to the 9500ix. GPS based junk filter is great for in town commuters.

 

[mrbutterz]

Cobra iRadar Review - Radar detector/Scanners - CNET Reviews

Cobra iRadar all the way! pairs with my droid (or an iphone) via bluetooth and a free app and gives speed, direction and alerts over the phone, tracks your location and lets others around you know where it detected via a map that can be displayed on the phone. It can learn from true or false detections, can alert you of cops, cameras, trouble zones ect based on what others report and you can easily change between "dashboard" (shown in the photo below) or map view on the phone and easily switch it between city and interstate modes and turn on/off any of the radar search functions through your phone.

It also fully functions without the phone being paired to it and gives spoken alerts. Not the most expensive, probably not the best, but when its pared to the phone I personally feel that there is no comparison, especially if you have a decent # of people around you using it as well.

This has easily saved me from 5 tickets in the last year (which would have paid for 7 of these babies!)

 

[SilverFlash]

Valentine One only way to fly! I've been using one for the last 12 years or so and won't leave home without it.
It has been upgraded a couple times over the years which is another great thing about Valentine One. No they ain't cheap, but look at what you have paid in tickets and will pay in insurance premiums.
Valentine One radar and laser detectors

Hands down the best here. Autoweek just published some recent testing and again the Valentine 1 was #1. They are always tops in tests except for a couple biased ones out there.

You can also get a "refurbished" one which in most cases is a return on the 30 day trial. You have to call them to get this deal though.

 

[TheColoradoRed]

How the hell is a speeding ticket $7-900? I usually go on some physics spiel in court when I fight them and get out of all of my tickets, but even so none were more than $250 (45mph in a "20mph school zone" mid day when the lights weren't flashing for the lower limit, pulled over next to a 40mph sign). Here it's pretty much $10 for every mph over the posted limit, were you going 110 in a 20mph school zone?

 

[NEWMAN'SOWN]

Valentine1 is without a doubt the only option, however in this day and age it is not enough to only utilize a detector, you have to take a proactive approach if you really want to avoid getting a ticket. Research laser/radar jammers and keep in mind that the best detector in the world won't help if you aren't paying attention to the horizon ahead and behind you...

 

[mrbutterz]

I was under the impression that radar jammers are illegal in every state by federal law and that laser jammers are illegal in most states....

 

[NEWMAN'SOWN]

I was under the impression that radar jammers are illegal in every state by federal law and that laser jammers are illegal in most states....

So is speeding...

 

[onepoint8tee]

I have an Escort 8500 x50 and love it. I wouldn't spend the money for a valentine, because even with the best radar detection.. the cops are a still a step ahead of you. If I were you, I'd check craigslist and forum classifieds, you can usually find a good deal on a used one. Bought mine for $175, 3 months old in box, would've been $300 new.

As Newman said though, you still have to keep an eye out. For example, I got pulled over doing 80 in a 65 because he was on top of a hill, I at the bottom. My radar went off, but way after he clocked me at 80.

 

[2002GLXV6]

I have an Escort 8500 x50 and love it. I wouldn't spend the money for a valentine, because even with the best radar detection.. the cops are a still a step ahead of you. If I were you, I'd check craigslist and forum classifieds, you can usually find a good deal on a used one. Bought mine for $175, 3 months old in box, would've been $300 new.

As Newman said though, you still have to keep an eye out. For example, I got pulled over doing 80 in a 65 because he was on top of a hill, I at the bottom. My radar went off, but way after he clocked me at 80.

That's because the guy selling the Escort on Craig's List had just replaced it with a Valentine One! :lol:
More than likely a Valentine One would have picked up that cop on the top of the hill a few miles in advance as he sampled other cars. But, you do have to pay attention, be alert, and understand what the detector is telling you. :thumbup:

 

[Twista]

yea Im tryna figure out how a speeding ticket is 900 dollars???? Ive only gotten one speeding ticket before which was on my motorcycle and it was a 20 over but the ticket was only 195 and I didnt even get any points....

 

[jwjensen356]

"Left coast". California or other?

John

so i got a $900 speeding ticket a few days ago, on top of that, about 3 months ago i got a $745 speeding ticket.
(yes i know i know i dont learn and i need to slow my ass down, but the wife was at the hospital and i didnt GAF.)
i plan on fighting the ticket if i even stand a chance. or at least lagging the court as much as possible.
so now im looking at buying a radar detector because i simply cannot keep throwing thousands of dollars at the police.
my question is, does anyone recommend any specific brands or models? i need something that actually works.
my buddy told me he had a cheap $60 one in his car and it would beep for any little thing and that 80% of the time there was never cops when it beeped.
thanks for your input!! :driving:

 

[SlikRik]

In response to speeding ticket prices, I have seen the up side of down and everything inbetween. I'm a native of CT, and the first two tickets I got were both on state highways, one for $254 doing 78 in a 55 and the other $225 or so for doing 84 in a 65. These were probably 3 and 2 years ago respectively.

This past June I was driving in South Carolina and got pulled over doing 65 in a 35. I appologized to the officer and explained I was speeding in an effort to make my sister's wedding on time. He was real nice and in the end handed me a ticket for a non-moving violation for $288. He explained that had he levied the full penalty of my infraction I would have been paying $1088 and had 6 points put on my license for what would have amounted to reckless driving. Then told me that $388 was the non-moving violation fee before going to court, where if you went to court you'd get $100 taken off. But since I was from out of state paying the minimum $288 was the "best that he could do." I thanked him and moved on, taking with me this lesson about speeding:

Don't speed if you don't want to get pulled over.

That being said, I bet a radar detector would have helped in probably all 3 of those situations.

 

[mrbutterz]

So is speeding...

:lol: Touche

Should have seen that one coming.

obviously I have a radar so I fully support having one. At the same time, be careful not to get a false confidence because of it. Like the majority are saying, you have to be cautious, eyes open, ect. I always assume my detector is going to miss something (like the instant on KA bands) so that I hopefully don't rely on it 100%

 

[doyles-1.8T]

Still interested in OP's explanation of $900. Did you crack a joke about his mom's weight or something?

Always a good one:

 

[NEWMAN'SOWN]

:lol: Touche

Should have seen that one coming.

obviously I have a radar so I fully support having one. At the same time, be careful not to get a false confidence because of it. Like the majority are saying, you have to be cautious, eyes open, ect. I always assume my detector is going to miss something (like the instant on KA bands) so that I hopefully don't rely on it 100%

This is 100% correct, a radar detector isn't going to help you if you drive like an ass. It is meant as a tool to be used responsibly.