Modern Day Radar Use/History

With USA Laws included

Throughout the middle 70s and early 80s, Radar Detectors have becomevery sophisticated, taking advantage of electronic innovations in a number of different areas, both because of state-of-the-art circuit design and the new availability of digital technology at super low prices.way back then is when the original dashboard Escort radar detector became the standard for radar detection and early speed warning in vehicles, eventually using sophistacted digital processing technology to increase their overall Distance and to improve perfomance.

With new Radar Detectors, Law enforcment began to feel out-matched once again, leading to the development in the late 80s of the Laser or also called Lidar detectors to once again measure your cars speed. Laser units work by emitting very narrow waves of Infrared light that you cannot see in quick pulsed waves; this then measures the reflections off your cars license plate bumper etc. to determine how fast your vehicle is traveling. Using this pulsed light, the speed of the targeted car can be measured in less than 1/3rd of a second! So overnight the conventional Radar detectors lacking this detection capibility became quickly out of date.

The states of Virginia, The District of Columbia, and mostt of the Canadian Provinces have banned the use of Radar/Laser Detectors, In order for these areas to enforce the laws, all of these jurisdictions/states have deployed radar detector detectors. These are called Sprectre, VG-2/VG-3 by their makers. All three work the same way by detections the local oscillator emissions of low end Radars detectors, since they usually leak this signal. This has forced most Radar companies to update their designs to hide these leaks, making them invisable to police while using these newer units. These newer Units are much more important for Truckers and users of radars in other countries since radar//laser detector use is prohibited in all commercial trucks as well as some countries.

The use of a radar detector in a passemger vehicle is Legal in all US states with the exception once again of Virginia, and Washington DC. They are also illegal in all united states Military bases

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For commercial Vehicles weighing over 10,000 lbs in Canada they are also Illegal, the only three provinces that allow their use are Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

AsI told you earlier many overseas countries also ban their use such as Portugal, Finland and Spain.

As speed limits were raised from 50mph all the way to 75mph on some highways in the US the need for radar/laser detectors seemed to diminish for awhile. Radar companies started to build in lots of additional features into the units. First came safety warning systems to help alert drivers of approaching emergency vehicles and road hazards, as well as accidents up ahead etc. This was followed by weather bands capabilities as well as compasses built in. Next on the horizion I hear is GPS capabilities.

As drivers started to increase their speeds, after getting used the higher limits and the new capabilities of radar/laser detectors that companies had added, the need for these state-of-the-art Radar Detectors has once again emerged as a much needed accessory in most vehicles on the road once again!

It is significnat to point out that traffic radar is not privileged communication; it is electronic surveillance, and citizens have a right to know when the government is monitoring their actions, espicially when that type of surveillance is being conducted with error-prone technology.

Radar detectors are little more than a radio receiver tuned into the same frequencies used by the police radars. They alert the drivers to the fact that a Radar is in use nearby, which raises his/her driving and prompts him or her to pay closer attention to their surroundings. Despite the accusations of critics, there is nothing criminal or immoral about radar detector use (it is illegal in only three places in the USA). One survey found that Radar detector users had far fewer accidents (almost 1/3rd) on a per-mile basis than the average driver that didnt use a radar detector!!!