Like FM transmitter one of the interesting device that I started using after coming here is the Radar detector. A radar detector is an electronic device used by motorists to detect if their speed is being monitored by a radar unit. So the driver can reduce the car's speed before being ticketed for speeding! A very useful device in freeways as well as normal roads. It seems crazy to me that a cop can just point a funny-looking laser gun at my car and magically tell how fast I'm going!
How it works?
We will split the radar science and try to understand the technology. Let’s start with what is Radar? Radar is an electronic tool which uses electromagnetic waves called radio waves to detect and locate moving or fixed objects. A radar gun is the device used by cops to measure the speed of a moving vehicle. Police Radar Guns "see" a vehicle by transmitting radio waves pulse that reaches the target and then comes back to the observer. The frequency of the transmitted pulse is compared to the frequency of the reflection, and speed is calculated by using the difference between the two frequencies. It is simple, based on how long it takes for the radio wave to hit the target and how long it takes the wave to bounce back the radar device can figure out the distance between the device and the vehicle. If the car is moving toward the radar device, the return signal has a shorter distance to travel and the radio wave frequency increases. 
Radar detectors are similar to radio receivers that are in your car or home. It identifies radar devices based on the radio waves it emits. Essentially, radar detectors simply act as radio receivers, picking up specific frequencies used by radar devices. Radar detectors in moving cars often pick up on radar radio waves before the car comes within close enough range of the police car to be tracked. It signals the driver somehow, most likely by beeping ( you can also connect to a radar jammer). I bought recently one , it was really helpful specially in my Vegas trip where you will see radar guns everywhere. But sometimes experienced false alarms also (always near the Sears, Wall mart) may be due to the large number of devices, such as automatic door opener, that operate in the same part of the electromagnetic spectrum as radar guns.There are some other technologies are used like LIDAR, and is still not as popular as speed guns using radar because of the amount of equipment already in service. Because of the radar detectors being known to every motorist, thats why we see cops are hiding, in alleyways or behind bridges in order to avoid being detected by the radar detectors.
Police have long used radars to track the speed of drivers and to help maintain safe roads. Many drivers like me have begun using radar detectors to help avoid costly fines for speeding violations. So the next question will come is it legal? Yes, it is illegal in many countries to sell or possess any products that actively transmit radar signals intended to jam radar equipment. It is legal to use this device in India and in United States(Virginia and Washington DC are the only places that currently ban radar detectors). So it is recommended to check the legel side before started using.To conclude use this device but drive safely!!!
2 comments:
As you may know, Virginia is the only state that bans the use and sale of radar detectors. There is no evidence that the radar detector ban increases highway safety. Our nation’s fatality rates have fallen consistently for almost two decades. Virginia’s fatality rate has also fallen, but not any more dramatically than it has nationwide. Research has even shown that radar detector owners have a lower accident rate than motorists who do not own a detector.
Maintaining the ban is not in the best interest of Virginians or visitors to the state. I know and know of people that will not drive in Virginia due to this ban. Unjust enforcement practices are not unheard of, and radar detectors can keep safe motorists from being exploited by abusive speed traps. Likewise, the ban has a negative impact on Virginia’s business community. Electronic distributors lose business to neighboring states and Virginia misses out on valuable sales tax revenue.
Radar detector bans do not work. Research and experience show that radar detector bans do not result in lower accident rates, improved speed-limit compliance or reduce auto insurance expenditures.
• The Virginia radar detector ban is difficult and expensive to enforce. The Virginia ban diverts precious law enforcement resources from more important duties and this ban may be ILLEGAL.
• Radar detectors are legal in the rest of the nation, in all 49 other states. In fact, the first state to test a radar detector ban, Connecticut, repealed the law – it ruled the law was ineffective and unfair. It is time for our Virginia to join the rest of the nation.
• It has never been shown that radar detectors cause accidents or even encourage motorists to drive faster than they would otherwise. The Yankelovich – Clancy – Shulman Radar Detector Study conducted in 1987, showed that radar detector users drove an average of 34% further between accidents (233,933 miles versus 174,554 miles) than non radar detector users. The study also showed that they have much higher seat belt use compliance. If drivers with radar detectors have fewer accidents, it follows that they have reduced insurance costs – it is counterproductive to ban radar detectors.
• In a similar study performed in Great Britain by MORI in 2001 the summary reports that "Users (of radar detectors) appear to travel 50% further between accidents than non-users. In this survey the users interviewed traveling on average 217,353 miles between accidents compared to 143,401 miles between accidents of those non-users randomly drawn from the general public." The MORI study also reported "Three quarters agree, perhaps unsurprisingly, that since purchasing a radar detector they have become more conscious about keeping to the speed limit..." and "Three in five detector users claim to have become a safer driver since purchasing a detector."
• Modern radar detectors play a significant role in preventing accidents and laying the technology foundation for the Safety Warning System® (SWS). Radar detectors with SWS alert motorists to oncoming emergency vehicles, potential road hazards, and unusual traffic conditions. There are more than 10 million radar detectors with SWS in use nationwide. The federal government has earmarked $2.1 million for further study of the SWS over a three-year period of time. The U.S. Department of Transportation is administering grants to state and local governments to purchase the SWS system and study its effectiveness (for example, in the form of SWS transmitters for school buses and emergency vehicles). The drivers of Virginia deserve the right to the important safety benefits that SWS delivers.
Please sign this petition and help to repeal this ban and give drivers in Virginia the freedom to know if they are under surveillance and to use their property legally:
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/repeal-the-virginia-radar-detector-ban
Tell Friends and Family about this.
interesting !! I was have a feeling that this device is illegal in all states in USA except for a few states. Thanks for enlightening me :-) ...
Also that cartoon strip was funny :-D
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