subject: A Quality Radar Detector Can Prevent Your License From Becoming Suspended [print this page] There are millions of drivers around the world who enjoy the use of a radar detector in their car or truck. It helps them to discover some of the times that police are monitoring how fast they are going. They know that the more times they can get such data, as soon as possible, they can react by checking their speed and slowing down, if needed, and avoid getting fined.
A ticket is representative of many things to a driver, and none of them are good. There is the loss of funds and also the mark on their driving record, which cumulatively, can lead to the suspension of their driving privileges.
If you get a traffic ticket, you always have the option to take it to court to defend yourself against the charges. You may choose to hire a lawyer, but there is no requirement to do so. You might -- as part of the verdict, or as an option to avoid getting points on your record -- attend a defensive driving course. By the end of the ordeal, you may have to pay for the fine, the court costs, your attorney fees, the time you may take off work to be in court, and also for the driving course.
Getting a ticket for exceeding the speed limit is not a insignificant event and many individuals take a strong stand on their right to take preventative efforts, including their use radar detectors. Police, along with other proponents of public safety, tend to believe that the only preventative effort to avoid getting speeding tickets that anybody ever needs is to simply not exceed the speed limit.
A lot of countries have a total ban of radar detectors. The most severe penalties can be found in Greece. If you are caught using such a device you will be fined two thousand euros and your driver's license is automatically suspended for thirty days. As if that is not enough, your car can not be legally used for sixty days, and you get 5 points against your permanent record, that can come back to haunt you, years in the future.
These devices are legal in many nations. They seem to be the most welcomed in Israel, where you can get cell phones, that have radar detection capabilities built in. For the most part, they are legal in the United States for private use. The Department of Transportation prohibits them from commercial vehicles.
They are disallowed in the District of Columbia. They're also illegal in Virginia, despite an attempt by some legislators to overturn the ban in 2010. Connecticut overturned their ban on the devices in 1992.
California, New York and Minnesota have laws against affixing items to windshields. If you were to secure it to the dash board or in your car grill, etc., there is no legal problem.
Some radar detectors are GPS enabled, and they can tell you where speeding cameras and red light cameras are known to be at. These units usually let you push a button and they will sound their alarm whenever they approach that area in the future. This feature allows the driver to mark speed trap locations.
Despite the fact that many people believe that drivers who prefer to have a radar detector, are genuine threats to public safety, a number of studies have concluded that they are much less likely to be involved in a collision. Perhaps their driving abilities are more acute. Or it may be because the state of mind of a person who is consciously trying to avoid a ticket, makes them be more alert than the average driver. They certainly are aware that these devices don't give them immunity to getting ticketed, and they generally do not have a need to constantly drive over the speed limit.
