Virginia considers repealing last radar detector ban in America

[wilnevrbbiased]

Delegate Joe May (R - Loudoun & Clarke Counties)If one veteran Virginia legislature gets his way, the last state to ban use of radar detectors will repeal its ban too. Delegate Joe May (R - Loudoun & Clarke Counties), Chair of the powerful Joint Committee on Technology and Science in the Virginia House of Delegates has introduced HB 674 to repeal Virginia's radar detector ban.

According to the National Motorists Association (NMA),

"[d]espite the lack of any positive benefits, Virginia is the only state that bans the use of these common devices. In the past three decades, there were over 100 attempts in 33 states to enact similar bans, but only in Virginia and Connecticut did these misguided efforts succeed. Connecticut repealed its ban in 1992, and it is time for Virginia to do the same."

Delegate May believes that radar detectors tend to cause drivers to slow down. In a previous Winchester Star interview May rhetorically asked, "Is your objective to keep people in the speed limit, or is your objective to issue citations?" The NMA has an online petition to support May's bill here.

Do radar detectors promote public safety?

Radar detector proponents contend that radar detectors often reduce travel speeds, aid enforcement, and promote safer driving. In fact the1987 "Yankelovich Clancy Shulman Study" appears to support these claims when it found that the accident rate for radar detector owners was actually 23 percent lower than it was for other motorists.

And American City & County Magazine, “the voice of state and local government since 1909,” reports that

"Since 1991 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has allowed use of unattended radar transmitters to trigger radar detectors and thereby warn drivers of hazards ranging from highway construction zones to road maintenance. . . . At least two studies have shown that drone transmitters capable of setting off the current generation of radar detectors are effective at slowing traffic in construction zones . . . We believe this technology has much untapped potential. Enhanced transmitters, when they are coupled with `smart' radar detectors, will let the driver differentiate between various types of road hazards."

[EscortRadar]

Originally Posted by wilnevrbbiased

We believe this technology has much untapped potential. Enhanced transmitters, when they are coupled with `smart' radar detectors, will let the driver differentiate between various types of road hazards."

This technology has been around and we have supported it in our products for a long time.

I find it rather telling that this proven relatively simple and cheap technology has gone untapped by governments while revenue generating cameras have spread like wildfire even in the face of reports which question their effectiveness at increasing safety

[kcordell]

I drove from Durham NC to Richmond yesterday on I -85 to I - 95 and on the way up from NC, I saw no Leo on I -85, until of course I crossed the state line entering Va....unfortunately, I had to unplug and put away my 9500 IX and continue my journey....I know, I know....get a Redline....

Coming back on I - 85 I saw several Va SHP tucked away in the median and when I crossed the boarder, after I was able to use my IX again of course, I saw only 1 NC SHP between the state line and Durham county....

I have been making this drive for many years, and can't recall a time when I didn't see at least one VA SHP on that stretch of I - 85 between the Va state line either going North or South....Needless to say, Va may be for lovers - as the saying goes - but it's no place for RD users.....unless of course you have a Redline or STI-D or one of the other stealth units....

I really hope they're successful in repealing this ban on RD's.....it is more than obvious to me and others that it's simply a revenue generator and little else.

[bigwes]

It's hard to believe that no one has challenged the RD ban before. That law seems un-constitutional to me. Lets hope it does pass.

[Nine_c1]

Originally Posted by bigwes

It's hard to believe that no one has challenged the RD ban before. That law seems un-constitutional to me. Lets hope it does pass.

Constitutional? Don't even bring that one up.

Their still bent from losing that war in 1865.

No offense bigwes as I see you live under Virginia's Radar Detector lock down rule, but lifting the RD ban might be considered the final step in assimilation into the Union.

[scarlott]

I use my 9500I in VA all the time but it's well camouflaged I have only had 1 VSP ever show interest as when I get an alert or see a LEO I unplug the unit.
the one Time I drew interest I had a drunk driver playing games and as the VSP drew along side I plugged in about 1.5 sec unpluged as I saw his dash light up he touched brake checked out pickup and started to leave I plugged in again He dropped in between us and pulled over the drunk. killing 2 birds W 1 stone.

[bigwes]

They're supposed to vote on this next week according to the news. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Sheriffs, Insurance Companies & State Police are supposedly against the repeal, they say it will encourage speeding. Sounds more like a revenue issue to me. Hey, What do I know right?

[kcordell]

I work for an insurance company and I would think they'd be neutral on this if you look it from a revenue prespective. We all know how much our rates go up once we get a ticket.....

Originally Posted by bigwes

They're supposed to vote on this next week according to the news. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Sheriffs, Insurance Companies & State Police are supposedly against the repeal, they say it will encourage speeding. Sounds more like a revenue issue to me. Hey, What do I know right?

[sdurgan]

I pass through VA and DC several times a year and always (except for one time 15 years ago) put mine away so as not to lose it. However I thought Escort/Passport was undetectable by LEO? Am I wrong? As a former LEO in another state I was radar certified and alwyas thought that radar detectors were simply radio recievers, not transmitters and therefore did not emit radio waves that could be picked up by another unit. Please educate me as I am obviously misguided in this regard.

[Nine_c1]

Originally Posted by sdurgan

I pass through VA and DC several times a year and always (except for one time 15 years ago) put mine away so as not to lose it. However I thought Escort/Passport was undetectable by LEO? Am I wrong? As a former LEO in another state I was radar certified and alwyas thought that radar detectors were simply radio recievers, not transmitters and therefore did not emit radio waves that could be picked up by another unit. Please educate me as I am obviously misguided in this regard.

All Radar Detectors use superheterodyne circuitry to maximize their sensitivity to weak signals. A superhet circuit generates it's own internal signal, using a Local Oscillator, to mix with the external signal to make the detector more sensitive. It's like using a cup to catch the signal..........the LO fills the cup up to the brim so that just one drop of external signal makes the cup overflow and set the alert.

The LO (local oscillator) inside the detector bleeds microwave energy back out through the antenna and is itself a weak microwave signal..........usually between 11 - 15 GHZ.........that can be detected by Radar Detector Detectors. The harmonics of the LO signals (a harmonic is a multiple...x2, x3....of the fundamental frequency) often set other radar detectors off on K or Ka Band as well.

The only detectors that do not emitt detectable energy are the Escort/Bel detectors that use the M3 antenna platform. The M3 used in the RedLine, STi-Driver, STi-R, and 9500ci, was specifically designed to eliminate these unwanted emissions.

By combining the use of LNA's with a unique horn design and special radar absorbing materials and gaskets, Belscort was able to reduce the microwave emissions of the M3 down to virtually nothing. This is patented technology, so they should have the only stealth detectors out there for some time to come.

Other detector manufacturers have just been moving their LO freqencies around to escape detection. The folks that make the RDDs are smart though, and keep updating their Spectre RDDs to find the new LO frequencies.