Radar

[Motu]

As much as I despise them - the cruise control in my car is pretty cool...set to 100kph,problem solved.

[spudchucka]

Hey spud,maybe you didn,t read my original post,The first part of it was aimed at you.

Which bit exactly did you intend for me?

This bit: OK, so who has any real life experiance with Radar Detectors.

Not much really, however I've seen a lot of mystified owners of radar detectors wondering why they got caught and cursing the day they bought the damn thing.

Or this bit?: Don,t bother repeating what ya, mates,brothers,cousins,mums,dad told ya,cause thats crap.And if ya, trying to sell one,keep that to ya, self to,cause thats even more crap.Who has one and how well does it work in real life,IE Camera vans,sneaky coppers hiding behind a tree,ect.

I only ever speak from my own experiences and I'm not trying to sell anything.

Have a happy new year

[spudchucka]

I disagree Spud (funny that).

Hey wicked,

I'm not trying to start an arguement but,

you are working on the assumption that the cops run their units 'properly'. With many one cop HWP vehicles - they are often too lazy to do this.

How can you qualify a statement like this, have you any experience on the other side of the red & blue flashing lights?

I have to dissagree most Highway cops take their job very seriously and are totally professional. The poor old general duties cop on the other hand is racing around refereeing domestics etc and will usually just leave the radar on constantly and chance it to luck.

As for having it stolen from your car? Surely people are smart enough not to leave it in plain sight?

Without a word of a lie there are a lot of very dumb people who own radar detectors and constantly loose them to thieves.

Go figure!!!!

Have a great new years.

[Timber020]

Hey wicked,


you are working on the assumption that the cops run their units 'properly'. With many one cop HWP vehicles - they are often too lazy to do this.

How can you qualify a statement like this, have you any experience on the other side of the red & blue flashing lights?

I have to dissagree most Highway cops take their job very seriously and are totally professional. The poor old general duties cop on the other hand is racing around refereeing domestics etc and will usually just leave the radar on constantly and chance it to luck.

I have operated police radar equipment on patrol and been on patrol with a few different officers, most are on/off users, they seldom leave them on but do use them frequently enough for a detector get gather enough radar "splash" and warn the drivers. Its actually good news that cops are trying to bust more people on the road, well good news for detector users, more "on" use, more splash, more warning for those with detectors. The officers I knew would wait until they saw a car doing a reasonable rate of knots, I think they are not so hesitant on the trigger any more.

Gots to gets me a detector!

[k14]

Yeah, definately worth the money in my opinion.

If you are getting one for your bike, get a Passport 8500. They have a headphone jack so you can hear the beeping when you are cruising. I can sometimes hear the beep when the volume is turned up to full on my Bel 985 at around 100kph if there isnt any wind and no other traffic around. But it isnt the best. I am going to try and wire in a headphone plug sometime.

I picked mine up on trademe for $540 earlier this year. I saw it is a car audio shop a few weeks later for $1300 so just keep looking on trademe for a bargain. Here's one http://www.trademe.co.nz/structure/l...on-7903550.htm

There are probably a few others aswell.

[Jackrat]

Ok so I guess the over all opinion of the better ones is good.
I did realise that there was a lot of difference between the cheap ones and the costly ones,but as has been pointed out they must pay for themselfs.
I just came back from a short ride out to Pukekawa-mercer-home in Waiuku.
I tryed out Motu,s favorite corner on the approach hill to pukekawa 110 in 100 out,There are a couple of good bumps half way round that got the XS moving about a bit ,A moden bike would love it but.
When I got down to Mercer I sat and watched a cop ping four cars in about twenty minites,He was heading toward Huntly then coming back again on the tail of a car within minites,then he would head off an do it all again.He must just love that 80Km area,an I guess none of them cars had jammers or detectors.Interesting to watch but.
Have a good new year all.

[XRNR]

I have operated police radar equipment on patrol and been on patrol with a few different officers...

Gots to gets me a detector!

I make the assumption that you like a few other people I have noticed on this site appear to be Mr Plod in sheep's clothing, forgive me if I am wrong.

Riding a GSXR (not really a commuter bike) and a statement like Gots to gets me a detector!, it would appear that you encroach into the certain death zone of "above the legal speed limit".

How do you reconcile "I have operated police radar equipment on patrol"? with your own apparent willingness to speed?

[merv]

I have operated police radar equipment on patrol and been on patrol with a few different officers, most are on/off users, they seldom leave them on but do use them frequently enough for a detector get gather enough radar "splash" and warn the drivers. Its actually good news that cops are trying to bust more people on the road, well good news for detector users, more "on" use, more splash, more warning for those with detectors. The officers I knew would wait until they saw a car doing a reasonable rate of knots, I think they are not so hesitant on the trigger any more.

Gots to gets me a detector!

So are you a cop or have you been a cop? If so, what gets me is the fact that you say "Gots to get me a detector" presumably meaning that you too think the speed limit laws and policing of them is an ass and they are inappropriate for our country. I've known other cops that ride big bikes and speed regularly and I don't understand how they can hold down their jobs and still sleep at night thinking they have done the right thing. One guy operated a speed camera car too yet rode his Suzuki 1100 at 180+ a lot of the time. How can anyone's conscience let them lead such a hypocritical life?

I think its high time the cops concentrated on obviously dangerous driving and stopped worrying about petty speeding. Like doing 120km/hr on the Wellington motorway in quiet times is dangerous - yeah right. Do we really need speed limits at all on the open road that's the question? Long straight wide roads are much safer at a high speed than skinny little winding roads but we are told they are safe at the same speed. I don't think so. How do we get some sensibility into this issue?

Its the same walking for that matter, walk down Lambton Quay in a quiet time you can walk fast, try that at lunch hour on a work day and you are having to weave in and out of the crowds. If you start bumping into people or get close to it, that's dangerous walking. Well surely its the same on the road? When its not congested and the conditions are right you should not have to go as slow.

[Coldkiwi]

I
Riding a GSXR (not really a commuter bike) and a statement like Gots to gets me a detector!, it would appear that you encroach into the certain death zone of "above the legal speed limit".

I also
a)own a gsxr
b)own a detector
c)commute 22km's to work with both quite happily.. nay, I get immense satisfaction from it twice a day.

they're well useful commuting tools but like you point out... don't exactly discourage this 'death zone' riding.... by which I can only hope you mean death of legal riding by demerit points.

as for any cops who speed off duty (I don't know for sure about anyone here so don't take it personally if it doesn't apply) and then proceed to pick up guys doing 120 on a empty motorway... maybe you should get into politics where hypocrisy and a holier-than-thou attitude are essential for trampling others out of your way.

[XRNR]

Timber020: Okay I did get 3500 us dollars worth of speeding tickets in 2 days but I don't think that was a biggie as I was never even slightly likely to pay them...

I got pulled up on my 750 a while back, no license, no rego, false plate, no wof. Luckily I have so many classes on my license and look the part no cops ever notice that 12345 doesn't include a bike class...

I was once again not reg'd, wof'd and had a funny plate on ...

I learned alot, I am in the process of getting my full license. As for registering my bike, im still thinking about it...

Oh & also the bit, practicing racing in the hood trying to swat the birds (feathered).

Hopefully Timber020 will come clean and say its only his friends that are the lunch room monitors, not really him!

I feel similar to you Merv & plenty of others on this site. I used to respect the force but have had the errors of my ways corrected by my peers when suggested I analyse all my personal encounters with them. I have contributed a lot to the Constable On Patrol's salary over time. For what are termed MINOR traffic offences (speeding).

When thinking they would provide a reciprocal service. e.g. assistance with vehicle accidents or crimes committed, they proved more hassle than it was worth. I no longer expect anything from them but trouble.

I wonder if this a new way to reduce crime (stats), be unpleasant to the people who you have pledged to serve, so they no longer come to you for help.

What does spudchucka have to say about that?

[Marmoot]

About Timber020 (if he is a cop), I suppose there comes the difference of "personally living the role" and "just doing a job". I mean, if I were a cop, I would inevitably speed because I am normal but I would also book people up for 120 because it is in my job desc. Can't argue about that. The cops aren't the one setting the law. the MPs that YOU SELECTED are the ones. Maybe it's just the downside of democracy, eh? Besides, I heard that cops can't exercise roadside discretion for speeding offence anymore (e.g. giving warning only, etc)..... And with the "performance-measure" system in place, I am sure it is a hell lot more difficult for them compared to 3 years ago.
Well, I just think that 100kph limit is too low in some parts. And they should ticket slow-drivers more often, not just the fast drivers. If we get $450 for driving 40k above limit, the same should apply for 40k below limit. Afterall, The Most Referred Infalible Andy Knackstedt said once that speed limit is there to minimize speed difference between cars.

About radar, Jackrat, I suggest buying the best your money can afford. That doesn't mean forcing it (borrowing money, etc), but if you have it to spare, buy the upper class such as escort8500, Valentine1, or Bel985/995. The lower ones (Unidens, Stalker, etc) gives significantly lower detection range and that could mean 2-3 seconds at the very least. It is quite marvelous how those seconds mean when you're braking.

For Bel985, I talked to Glen (Boyd Honda, Hamilton) and he got the importer (I think in Christchurch) put an earphone jack in it for free when he bought it. He just said to them he is using it for bikes. Doesn't apply for purchases from US through Internet though, but you can try anyway.

[spudchucka]

Oh & also the bit, practicing racing in the hood trying to swat the birds (feathered).

Hopefully Timber020 will come clean and say its only his friends that are the lunch room monitors, not really him!

I feel similar to you Merv & plenty of others on this site. I used to respect the force but have had the errors of my ways corrected by my peers when suggested I analyse all my personal encounters with them. I have contributed a lot to the Constable On Patrol's salary over time. For what are termed MINOR traffic offences (speeding).

When thinking they would provide a reciprocal service. e.g. assistance with vehicle accidents or crimes committed, they proved more hassle than it was worth. I no longer expect anything from them but trouble.

I wonder if this a new way to reduce crime (stats), be unpleasant to the people who you have pledged to serve, so they no longer come to you for help.

What does spudchucka have to say about that?

Sounds like the original thread has gone and this has turned into a "whinge about the cops" thread.

[Jackrat]

Sounds like the original thread has gone and this has turned into a "whinge about the cops" thread.

Yeah it normaly does,even if you ask for it not to,but then you were the first to step over the line anyway

[Timber020]

I havent ever been a cop and am not a cop, (I wish my job was that safe)I happen to have done patrolling with cops at a time that I was looking at joining the police (hey I know in the long run I cant beat them so.....). I spent a week or so with cops on various types of duty.It was very informative and very interesting. I still have friends who are in the force and have a few very good sources of info further up in the management structure.

Gotta say I met a few cops who were pretty much arrogant scum or complete idiots. There was a senior officer who when drunk as a skunk would drive home as he said "I just put the car in "D" for drunk". Or the system that allowed good rugby players to get placement years ahead of those in the normal waiting list as the local police rugby team wanted better players....etc etc etc. Some of the people I know who have got into the police were some of the most mentally screwed up, ignorant, alcohol dependant, racist, self esteem nightmares you have ever met. But there are some damn good ones there to.
In alot of cases, those who can do, those who cant, police.

Useless piece of info for you on the radar, the air cond fans on certain model commodores messes with the radar unit really bad, with the fan on I clocked a stop sign doing near the speed limit! I dont know why it does it but the police couldnt run the air cond and operate the radar at the same time, at least with the ones I rode in. OH some of the jammer units actually help the cops get a better fix on you as well as set off everyone elses radar detectors!

I will admit, on a bike I break most of the laws out there, alot more so since my insight into the police. I have done some damn stupid things but out of the saddle im a law abiding citizen.

[Timber020]

Check this cool toy out!
http://www.trademe.co.nz/structure/l...on-7958854.htm