radar detectors

**spudchucka** · 11th May 2004, 08:43

Originally Posted by Lou Girardin

BTW. Anyone else noticed the new double act on this forum. Not as interesting as Posh and Becs or as polished as Newsboy and Havoc, but practice will make perfect. What about some stage names fellas, it worked for Starsky and Hutch.
Lou

How about a special name for you too Lou, "Plonker".

**spudchucka** · 11th May 2004, 08:47

Originally Posted by k14

Pitch

Wavelength please people, pitch is generally refered to for the audible frequencies of sound (radar not being audible), thus change in wavelength is the scientific term.

I was talking about the sound a radar unit in a police car makes. It is an audible sound therefore it is "pitch" not wavelength. The pitch is representative of the "wavelength" being received by the radar.

Happy now???

**spudchucka** · 11th May 2004, 08:49

[QUOTE=speedpro] Or if they wanted to differentiate between two speeders close together they could "chirp" the transmitted pulse. [QUOTE]
The Stalker does this.

**Coldkiwi** · 11th May 2004, 13:05

Spud.. I'm hard pressed to understand why you think detectors aren't worth it. You clearly have never done much riding with one on the open road to hold such a position. Not all of your mates seem to bother with using the instant-on mode (lazy swine?-pun quite possibly intended) and a detector is a beautiful tool to help me keep enjoying my ride when they get near.

as for mounting them.. its gotta stay behind the screen to protect it from the weather so jacket and helmet mounting (besides being a recipe for injury if it grabs and snaps me around in a crash) isn't an option.

**dangerous** · 11th May 2004, 17:40

Originally Posted by Coldkiwi

Spud.. I'm hard pressed to understand why you think detectors aren't worth it. You clearly have never done much riding with one on the open road to hold such a position. Not all of your mates seem to bother with using the instant-on mode (lazy swine?-pun quite possibly intended) and a detector is a beautiful tool to help me keep enjoying my ride when they get near.

Maybe..... juuuuust mayby (cos I am realy reading between the lines here

) Spud dosent like em cos they restrict him from getting his quota in before tea......... himmmm yes/no

**merv** · 11th May 2004, 18:22

OK Spud tell me the truth. You have a TL1000s, a really great bike for trickling along at 50km/hr in a residential area and 100km/hr on the open road. You have never ever ridden it over the speed limit, right?? You never would, because its against the law, right?? Your wrists never get sore riding that sucker slow slow, right?? Because it has such a satisfactory riding position to ride within the law.

The current laws of this land are totally appropriate aren't they, so we all know that at 100km/hr we are totally safe, go just over that, or even over the 109km/hr tolerance the great HP guys "allow" us and whoa it is way too dangerous no matter what the conditions. Do you believe this?

**Coldkiwi** · 11th May 2004, 19:00

I don't think Spuds ever claimed to be saintly and not speed so you shouldn't try to pin that on him. If he thinks a decent detector is ineffective I can only think thats because he's read too many marketing brochures from the manufacturers of Stalker/Hawk who think they know and see all. The cheaper unidens etc are probably underpowered for use against modern technology but the anecdotal evidence off this site would surely be evidence enough to show that they do prevent users getting tickets (mine has saved my butt at least twice and my mates once). They're not failsafe ( I did get nicked well over the limit by a laser in january) but they help.

Merv, your point about appropriate speeds for bikes is a good one tho. Its blimmin hard riding any bike geared for well over 200kmhr under residential or open road limits if you're a half decent rider. I find the detector helped slow me down a bit by knowing that there were cops around and that sometimes they can just pop up without warning.

**Morepower** · 11th May 2004, 19:00

Originally Posted by merv

OK Spud tell me the truth. You have a TL1000s, a really great bike for trickling along at 50km/hr in a residential area and 100km/hr on the open road. You have never ever ridden it over the speed limit, right?? You never would, because its against the law, right?? Your wrists never get sore riding that sucker slow slow, right?? Because it has such a satisfactory riding position to ride within the law.

**spudchucka** · 11th May 2004, 19:02

Originally Posted by dangerous

Maybe..... juuuuust mayby (cos I am realy reading between the lines here

) Spud dosent like em cos they restrict him from getting his quota in before tea......... himmmm yes/no

I aint no quota cop so forget that idea.

**Morepower** · 11th May 2004, 19:13

Originally Posted by stevezx6r

hello all,the last tracktime i went to some cops were there to test the handheld radar and it was surprising how hard they found it to get a good lock on especially a group of bikes together,not sure if this is the same for all there radars or just the hand held ones.i frkin hate the revenue gathering ones who patrol nice open roads especially around passing lanes.for those who arent locals 9 times out of 10 there is at least one cop[3 and a van camera once]along the karapiro straights.the van is always a red mitsi/hiace type at the end/beginning of passing lanes.

Steve good point , I have used a hand held stalker unit ( not laser ) and I am not a cop by the way . Some vehicles were very hard to get a lock on even at 400/ 500 meters where as others you could get 700meters out . I could not tell you why .This was about 9 months ago. The unit was probably a little less sophisticated than the units in the patrol cars are now but it was branded "stalker". I suspect that when they are crusing in standby mode and you appear around a corner its down to reaction time . I have had the odd head to head ( I do 50000kms plus in the car each year ) and Jumped on the brakes hard and as the detector has lit up the speedometer has been close to 100kms . All you get is the lights and finger wave as the cop knows exactly what you have done but all he has seen is 100 or thereabouts.
Also worth noting is that you can be done for what the cop has seen not what is locked in.

Dave

**spudchucka** · 11th May 2004, 19:15

Originally Posted by merv

OK Spud tell me the truth. You have a TL1000s, a really great bike for trickling along at 50km/hr in a residential area and 100km/hr on the open road. You have never ever ridden it over the speed limit, right?? You never would, because its against the law, right?? Your wrists never get sore riding that sucker slow slow, right?? Because it has such a satisfactory riding position to ride within the law.

The current laws of this land are totally appropriate aren't they, so we all know that at 100km/hr we are totally safe, go just over that, or even over the 109km/hr tolerance the great HP guys "allow" us and whoa it is way too dangerous no matter what the conditions. Do you believe this?

Go back and read some of my earlier posts. What have I advocated? Ride with your eyes open, use common sense and be discrete.

I don't ride in urban areas unless I can't help it and I choose my moments for when I let the TL stretch its legs. I don't have a problem with anyone doing that. But if I get nicked speeding I will cop it sweet - no winging from me. Having said that I will never put myself in a position where I could have my licence snatched. I don't actually like going that fast. What I like is twisty roads and accelerating out of corners. The truth is I hardly ever go above 120.

Lets get one thing straight, I am no advocate of totally rigid enforcement. My idea of enforcement in relation to speed is, (look back and you will see I have said this before) if you are speeding near a school, hospital or old folks home, in a populated residential area or any where that there is heavy foot traffic then expect a ticket. If its 3.00 am and you are dong 70 you will probably get a finger wag or at worst a chest poke. Likewise if you are speeding on a section of highway that is not heavily laden with traffic.

The only exceptions to this is if the driver is a gang member, drug dealer, burglar, thief general low life scum of some sort or they HAVE A SHITTY ATTITUDE. Then they get tickets regardless.

I hope that clears things up.

**dangerous** · 11th May 2004, 20:14

Originally Posted by spudchucka

I aint no quota cop so forget that idea.

AHHH HA........... so your not a quota cop.... but you are a cop... BOUUURING, hehe

**merv** · 11th May 2004, 22:22

Originally Posted by spudchucka

Go back and read some of my earlier posts. What have I advocated? Ride with your eyes open, use common sense and be discrete.

I don't ride in urban areas unless I can't help it and I choose my moments for when I let the TL stretch its legs. I don't have a problem with anyone doing that. But if I get nicked speeding I will cop it sweet - no winging from me. Having said that I will never put myself in a position where I could have my licence snatched. I don't actually like going that fast. What I like is twisty roads and accelerating out of corners. The truth is I hardly ever go above 120.

Lets get one thing straight, I am no advocate of totally rigid enforcement. My idea of enforcement in relation to speed is, (look back and you will see I have said this before) if you are speeding near a school, hospital or old folks home, in a populated residential area or any where that there is heavy foot traffic then expect a ticket. If its 3.00 am and you are dong 70 you will probably get a finger wag or at worst a chest poke. Likewise if you are speeding on a section of highway that is not heavily laden with traffic.

The only exceptions to this is if the driver is a gang member, drug dealer, burglar, thief general low life scum of some sort or they HAVE A SHITTY ATTITUDE. Then they get tickets regardless.

I hope that clears things up.

Cheers I was basically winding you up because if you have seen my comments before you will have seen I find this whole rigid enforcement thing ludicrous as well, and I have said I wonder how cops can do their jobs when I already know a few that are bikers and ride exactly like the rest of us so how do you sleep at night knowing you are enforcing a rule you don't abide by yourselves.

That's where I am with some of the other guys on this and feel the few times I have been pulled up in the car lately (haven't had a bike ticket since 1973 remember) I think the guys doing it are just right pricks. I have been booked for going slightly over the limit on wide open roads that are basically empty late at night. Highway 50 out of Napier with the trailer on all lights ablaze and vision for miles and the next time on SH1 just South of Paremata roundabout on the four lane highway. I wouldn't care if they were stopping me for going slightly fast but basically then wanting to check me for piss and then saying OK on your way. That's what they used to do up until about 3 or 4 years ago.

Now I know its the Government driving the policy, but don't you cops speak up when you are given your orders or do you just say yes-sir. I would much prefer to see a reasonable approach taken where the cop uses his discretion to decide what is dangerous in the circumstances as you will always have a law to back up your decision. Then the public would more readily accept the approach taken.

You say you hardly ever go above 120, well the two bloody tickets I have had in the last few years were for 113 and 120, so given I have been driving and riding for 35 years and never been at fault for hitting anyone or anything, nor have I had an insurance claim except for a broken windscreen from an unseen flying object in the dark on the Wellington motorway I believe my judgement has been very good. Yet while I believed I was driving those easy roads at a reasonable speed, both at around 11.30 at night, some pricks (that must have been quota cops) thought I wasn't, just because the bureaucrats tell them too. Those events did nothing to tell me how to improve the safety of my driving.

I am pleased you have an attitude quite different than that of the cops I had to deal with and that to you going 120 is no real crime. The first one on Highway 50 I was so annoyed with his approach because he decided to pull me up (i.e. first flash of his lights) some 7 kilometres passed the point he claimed he clocked me on his radar. I asked him a few questions and to save boring you with the details it resulted in me writing in. He replied through his superiors to me and blatantly lied about what he said to me. I wished I had recorded the discussion because in the end it was his word against mine and the level of fine was not worth me arguing in court over wasting my valuable time

The second guy was hiding behind a toe toe bush with the laser gun, no lights on his vehicle etc and was basically just revenue collecting, to be booking people for speeding slightly, on what is near as damn it motorway.

Also I laugh every time I am in Wellington driving the city streets and end up near an HP car cruising along. Last weekend in the evening on Wakefield Street/Jervois Quay here's the car with two on board gunning off quite quickly from each set of lights from the ped crossing at New World on. So I drive along same as them and sure enough up to 70 we go between each set of lights. Hypocrites, because next thing you know you'll get a ticket for doing 63.

We need to overcome this somehow, but the problem is the politicians wave around death and injury figures and all are too scared for their vote to speak out against the policy, except Tony Ryall, but he's only in opposition. If he were in power he would squirm too and probably back off and agree with the policies.

In summary I am sorry for you cops, having to enforce a law and an approach to it, that you don't agree with, nor abide by at all times, yet its your stinking job and you get bad response from the public over it. Nobody would need radar detectors if the discretionary approach applied so that all reasonable drivers/riders would be OK.

**Lou Girardin** · 12th May 2004, 06:58

If good attitudes get a chest poke, what kind of poke does a shitty attitude get?

**Marmoot** · 12th May 2004, 07:29

Originally Posted by spudchucka

If its 3.00 am and you are dong 70 you will probably get a finger wag or at worst a chest poke. Likewise if you are speeding on a section of highway that is not heavily laden with traffic.

That'll be the new TUI ads...... YEAH RIGHT

(as my 3 previous 'convictions' have attested)