Quote:
Originally Posted by Vettephysician
Probably most of the legislators carry one in their own vehicles, LOL! What I was wondering, was not so much the concealment of the unit, but the cop's ability to detect them, ie. a detector-detector if you will. Thanks for the reply.
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I don't know of any agencies that have a "detector-detector", but in all honesty, it's usually quite easy for LEO's that are experienced with radar to know when a vehicle has a detector in use. We have a visual screen that monitors your numeric speed as well as a doppler tone that signifys speed by audio pitch. A well tuned radar unit, under optimum conditions, has an effective range of up to a mile, though most units I have used are closer to 1/2-3/4. Obviously it would be difficult to visually identify a traffic unit at that distance, especially at night, or if the unit is unmarked or hidden from view. When the LEO monitors your speed (remember, we don't all leave the unit on, I leave mine on standby until I see the vehicle approaching) it will give the speed you are traveling at before you can physically react to slow down. (the radar beam travels at the speed of light) When you hit the brakes, the doppler tone drops significantly, and the numeric display drops in the same manner, but the unit already has your speed locked on the display. The newer units even "talk" to you, identifying where your vehicle is in relationship to the traffic unit and which direction you're traveling! By being cognizant of your vehicle slowing down to the speed limit quickly, before you have the opportunity to identify the traffic unit (we pretty well know when we're hidden from view), we can tell who has the radar detectors.
I stopped a guy in a Porshe on highway 98 a few years ago in the manner mentioned above. When I asked him if he had a radar detector he told me, "No". I was pretty sure he was lying to me. I had a trainee with me. I told him to wait until I got back up to the driver and to hit the radar on button. An electronic chime started eminating from his console area. I asked him what that was? He said it was his phone. I said, "Aren't you going to answer it?" He said "No, it's just my wife". I said "It's a shame she didn't call you BEFORE you came around that curve" and gave him the citation. He just grimaced. I guess he didn't think to turn it off.
