Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

[SixShooter'00Camaro]

I think I jinxed myself, last week I was thinking to myself that its been over a year and a half since I've been pulled over, the streak ended today. He was hiding off the road behing some bushes, did not even see him until it was to late, my radar detector didn't even pick him up which was weird cause it dose a pretty good job of warning me. Got me doing 82 in a 65, 4 points, and $136 dollar fine.

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

What kind of detector you running?

He most likely hit you with laser, hence no result from the detector. Was there a distance written on the ticket? If so it's definitely laser. Sometimes they write the model on the ticket as well. The only defense against laser is a laser jammer. Nothing else works. Laser guns project a pretty narrow beam, only as big as the front clip of your car at about 2000ft. Many detectors have a hard time picking it up even at long distances because cops aim low at your head lights/license plate. It is astronomically unlikely (like winning the lotto) to detect laser with your detector before you're targeted (scatter off other cars). Usually when you detect laser without a jammer it's just an alert telling you to pull over and prepare for a ticket.

The other possibility is that he was using instant-on radar and was operating using the 'quick trigger' technique. This technique means the cop is shooting radar for less than 1 second at a time (usually) and as fast as 1/4 second at a time. It works best with police radar units that have very fast target acquisition times and it hurts radar detector users that have sub-par detectors incapable of picking up, filtering and properly identifying such short bursts of RF.

I made this video last year demonstrating the effectiveness of instant-on radar for someone on this forum:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICUbJye2Zqc

For a laser jammer I recommend only "Laser Interceptor" (LI for short) and "Blinder" (what I run). These are tried and true. We have two jammer meets each year in Houston and these units perform well. I believe Laser Interceptor is the best, but it was a lot more expensive when I bought my Blinder unit.

I do NOT recommend the following jammers, it is my opinion these units are worthless based on the testing that I've done and seen results of:

- Escort ZR series jammers (all models). These units work, but not well unless you have a tiny black car. Escort does make some good detectors though!
- Rocky Mountain Radar (all models). Based on what I've seen, it's my opinion all of these units are just $10 Chinese radar detectors, re-branded and sold for >$200.
- LIDATEK (all models). A lot of BMW and other luxury car dealerships offer these units. From what I've seen it is my opinion these units do not work at all.

There are several new companies making jammer units. I really don't know how good they are. I would stick to the two I know work GREAT.

For radar detectors I recommend either high end Escort / Beltronics units (same company, we call it Belscort for short) and my personal favorite based on raw sensitivity performance, Valentine 1. Nothing else is worth buying. Some of the more recent Cobra units are performing reasonably well, but they are more expensive than the rest of their units and better units can be had from Beltronics for the same money.

[ssms5411]

Re: Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

That sucks, I have a Cobra detector and it does quite well , no tickets on my record for 11 years so far so good. Can you take a class and have the ticket earsed ?, or is it like AZ have to be 2 years apart to take a class. I usually go 20+ over on the highway when I go up north , but I know where the police hide so until I get stopped I will continue my speeds.LOL

[venom3300]

Re: Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

my beltronics 995 has worked for me so far.... knock on wood

but yeah if he was off the side of the road and your detector didn't pick him up, it was probably a laser

[Red&Black_Attack]

Re: Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

How bout a better, cheaper solution?... WATCH YOUR SPEED!!! Dont SPEED! Lol... :P

Honestly if you do more than around 20+ over you diserve a ticket cause you're putting other drivers and yourself in danger. There's no excuse for it, IMO.

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

@Red&Black_Attack

Yea.. speeding while avoiding the cops is not a cheap proposition. Figure $1k MINIMUM for a nice setup (V1 or Escort Redline + LI Jammer), more if you want rear laser protection too.

But your statement can be said about anything. Like modifying V6 cars. "You want a better, cheaper solution? Buy a V8." True story. Or modifying cars at all. There's really no reason to mod cars other than because you like to do it. Just like speeding, no reason to do it unless that's what you want to do.

And on an empty 12 lane (6 each direction) highway at 3AM I'm endangering exactly who? ;-). I will agree the people driving aggressive through traffic are ****ing idiots though, just like the idiots that race light to light in the city here.

my beltronics 995 has worked for me so far.... knock on wood

but yeah if he was off the side of the road and your detector didn't pick him up, it was probably a laser

Good choice, the 995 is a solid unit. I've tested it before. Not bad at all! I recommend these as an entry level unit for people upgrading from cheapo detectors like Cobras and Whistlers, etc, but aren't ready to drop the cash on a ultra high end unit. The only disadvantage is the M4 platform that it's based on which is a bit slower than the S7 platform the older units used. The M4 has longer range, but isn't as quick to pickup a new signal. It's a matter of preference though, because some people prefer the longer range, while I prefer the quick response times.

[Red&Black_Attack]

Re: Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

Modding cars isn't illegal for the most part, unless you're adding illegal parts... like your laser detectors/jammers. ;)

:P

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

Modding cars isn't illegal for the most part, unless you're adding illegal parts... like your laser detectors/jammers. ;)

:P

Detectors aren't illegal in Texas nor most other states. Radar jammers are federally illegal and I do not run one. Laser jammers are illegal state to state with several states having made them illegal in the recent years. Texas has just made laser jammer operation illegal as of September 1st 2011 (yesterday.) However it's a non moving class c misdemeanor, you can be fined if they can prove it in court. My jammer has a neat parking sensor mode and no identifiable model numbers on anything. So I can see them having a hard time deciding if it's a jammer or not. As you point out, speeding is illegal too.

Secondly I drive the Camaro primarily at night about and maybe 1 or two days a month. My daily car has no countermeasures because I drive it during the day and don't really speed (well maybe +5 here and there.)

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

@SixShooter'00Camaro

Also forgot to say. You should get a lawyer and fight the ticket instead of paying. Find someone that you know gets a lot of tickets, but has a clean record and ask them who they use. I used to get a ton of tickets, but have a perfectly clean DPS record, because I always use a lawyer.

Depending on what the traffic lawyers charge in your area it's going to be comparable to paying the fine. Here they range from $100 - $300 per ticket. There are some $60-100 ones but whenever I've seen them in court they have like 80 mexicans as their clients and they're there until court closes. Mine is not too cheap, but he usually has 1-3 clients in court at a time. When I've had to go to court with him I'm usually one of the first people out of the door with a dismissed case.

Lots of people don't like getting a lawyer, because they think it's a risk or hassle. However these tickets will impact your insurance rating and your DMV/DPS record. Even if your insurance driver rating is really good right now and this ticket won't raise your next insurance premium (when you renew), it's still worth fighting. What if you get another ticket in 3 months? Then if you do go to court who's going to believe you don't speed? You already have a record saying you do. While I've gotten TONS of tickets, but I'm believable because my record is clean. I even had a ticket in New York recently that they dismissed simply because I have a perfect record here.

[ssms5411]

Re: Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

I know speeding is bad but like mentioned if the road is clear than its time for some speeding , I'll be the first to admit if I get caught that I was speeding to own up to it. I know nitrous is illegal in some states but not AZ. What I hate most is people doing 70 mph in a 75mph zone and then don't yeild to on-coming taffic behind them and pull to the right lane which is the slow lane.I know iin AZ you can have pretty much anything you want. I modded my car so I can do high speeds , which I go late at night to do some logging in which sometimes I have hit 135 mph in my car, but its on a empty road and I will drive 1 way to see if any police then turn around and do my logging, so its safe for other drivers , and for me basicly.LOL

[Red&Black_Attack]

Re: Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

I just think its kinda wrong to buy those things so you can get away with speeding... But maybe I'm just no fun, lol.

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

I will drive 1 way to see if any police then turn around and do my logging, so its safe for other drivers , and for me basicly.LOL

Haha yea I have a strip of road I love to do that on when taking the camaro out! The Westpark Tollway which is an expensive 4 lane (2 x 2) toll road that people ONLY take to go to midtown/downtown during the day and back. It has no exits in the middle since it's designed as a fast way to bring people in/out. It's basically one huge straight road elevated over the city, though the elevation does change through it. There is no way for someone to come onto the road once I'm past the final exit on one side of it and before the midtown exits start near the east side.

They purposefully price this road high so less people can afford to take it during the day. They actually had to raise the price a while ago because it was still too congested during the day and they wanted to price more people off of it.

This means at night past 2AM you can have it all to your self since no one will pay that much to drive on it at night. There are way too many alternative routes that people can take at night since there is no congestion. I'll go down one way and check for cars/cops then come back the other way. It's great for logging data and top speed runs since you can see for several miles on large chunks of it and it's straight.

I just think its kinda wrong to buy those things so you can get away with speeding... But maybe I'm just no fun, lol.

I know what you mean, but I just can't relate. Maybe I would be with you if I saw more cops pulling over people that NEED PULLING OVER. They mostly seem to want to cherry pick and get the easy tickets. So I just see these tools as ways to tip the playing field in my direction. Secondly I just don't really care about what's legal or not. I'm not hurting anyone and I'm a perfectly reasonable person capable of making good choices. I've been doing pretty well for myself so far.

In my mind it's similar to religion. I'm not a believer, but it doesn't mean I don't recognize the good ideas and ethics taught by most religions. Much the same with the law. I'm not saying I disagree with the law, **** I probably agree with 99% of it. But the fact that something is written in a book is not WHY I choose to act a certain way. For example I know rape is wrong. I wouldn't rape anyone regardless of what a bible or law book said.

If speeding was legalized, I wouldn't tear through the streets cutting everyone off at 100mph at 5pm rush hour. I don't right now either.

[ssms5411]

Re: Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

Haha yea I have a strip of road I love to do that on when taking the camaro out! The Westpark Tollway which is an expensive 4 lane (2 x 2) toll road that people ONLY take to go to midtown/downtown during the day and back. It has no exits in the middle since it's designed as a fast way to bring people in/out. It's basically one huge straight road elevated over the city, though the elevation does change through it. There is no way for someone to come onto the road once I'm past the final exit on one side of it and before the midtown exits start near the east side.

They purposefully price this road high so less people can afford to take it during the day. They actually had to raise the price a while ago because it was still too congested during the day and they wanted to price more people off of it.

This means at night past 2AM you can have it all to your self since no one will pay that much to drive on it at night. There are way too many alternative routes that people can take at night since there is no congestion. I'll go down one way and check for cars/cops then come back the other way. It's great for logging data and top speed runs since you can see for several miles on large chunks of it and it's straight.

Thats the only time I will do my logging is on a road I just went on late at night soon I will be doing some nitrous runs. My 137 mph was when I had my Powerdyne and was a M5 with 3.42's in 4th gear. Now since I moved I have to drive about 30 mins. to get to my roads I test drive on, but its worth it.

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

Thats the only time I will do my logging is on a road I just went on late at night soon I will be doing some nitrous runs. My 137 mph was when I had my Powerdyne and was a M5 with 3.42's in 4th gear. Now since I moved I have to drive about 30 mins. to get to my roads I test drive on, but its worth it.

Yea.. I'm on the NW side now so it takes me a good 30 minutes to get there too. One cool feature of it being a toll road is, you get cool confirmations of your speeds in your toll log on their web site based on the times you went between toll sections. The downside is that a few runs all the way through is going to cost you like $10 in tolls haha.

[Red&Black_Attack]

Re: Damn, got a speeding ticket today.....

I know what you mean, but I just can't relate. Maybe I would be with you if I saw more cops pulling over people that NEED PULLING OVER. They mostly seem to want to cherry pick and get the easy tickets. So I just see these tools as ways to tip the playing field in my direction. Secondly I just don't really care about what's legal or not. I'm not hurting anyone and I'm a perfectly reasonable person capable of making good choices. I've been doing pretty well for myself so far.

In my mind it's similar to religion. I'm not a believer, but it doesn't mean I don't recognize the good ideas and ethics taught by most religions. Much the same with the law. I'm not saying I disagree with the law, **** I probably agree with 99% of it. But the fact that something is written in a book is not WHY I choose to act a certain way. For example I know rape is wrong. I wouldn't rape anyone regardless of what a bible or law book said.

If speeding was legalized, I wouldn't tear through the streets cutting everyone off at 100mph at 5pm rush hour. I don't right now either.

I definatly agree with that... It's bs speeding tickets that drive me nuts.

Like my only ticket for speeding for example. This cop was literally parked a few feet away from a speed limit change known as a speed trap. Was 45 then went to 30 and he pulled me over and ticketed me for doing 45 in a 30. THATS plain wrong. I even told him I didnt know it changed but no mercy was given. :bs:
I wish I had been given that advice about a clean driver record woulda got me out of it! I'd still be clean of any tickets, so far thats my only one at all.