http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthere/2010/02/va_bill_ending_radar_detector.html


Va. bill ending radar detector ban advances

Virginia's ban on radar detectors might be nearing an end.

A bill advanced in the General Assembly on Thursday that would end Virginia's distinction as the last state in which detectors are illegal, the Associated Press reported.

Only one other jurisdiction, the District of Columbia, outlaws the devices that alert motorists of speed traps.

Opponents of Del. Joe T. May's bill to end the ban first enacted in the 1970s say it would encourage drivers to speed up and make roads more deadly.

May (R-Loudoun) chairs the Transportation Committee, which advanced the bill on an 11 to 8 vote.

But May noted that some cars come with the detectors built in, and that detectors themselves slow speeds because drivers brake when the devices go off.

What cars come with them built in? Never heard of that.

Saw an older 3-series BMW with one built in once. Very low-tech in dash switch with the radar somewhere in the grill.

I wonder how much revenue they get out of illegal radar detector tickets?

Is it worth more to the state to keep this law intact? Obviously, it only affects out of staters. Who, I'm happy to have help keep our coffers full.

I would hazard a guess that if you get pulled over with a radar detector, the ability to get out of the ticket is drastically reduced.

I remember having one about 10 years ago, and feeling all jumpy every time it beeped.

I would vote for keeping them illegal for purely revenue purposes.

Do radar detectors even work? Doesn't Fairfax County and the State use Ladar or some other laser type system?

Radiophile Wrote:
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> Do radar detectors even work? Doesn't Fairfax
> County and the State use Ladar or some other laser
> type system?

They use a very complicated system known as VASCAR.

It is only out of committee. The full General Assembly more than likely will not pass the bill, and I doubt the new Gov will sign it into law.

A had a radar detector years ago and worked awesome, but the new lasar guns are difficult to pick up. I think a detector now would be almost useless because the lasar beams are so narrow.

BagODonuts Wrote:
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>
> Obviously, it only affects out of staters.
> Who, I'm happy to have help keep our coffers full.
>

That is DEFINATELY not true. There are a lot of VA residents who own detectors, not that they're worth much in FC. They use lots of LIDAR.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=laser%20pro%20park&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B7GGLL_enUS364US365&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#

WeBeJammin! Wrote:
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> http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=laser%
> 20pro%20park&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B7GGLL_enU
> S364US365&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#

What do you think the police are going to do when the gun returns an error? Pull you over and check for a jammer.

-SBS-_ Wrote:
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> There are a lot of
> VA residents who own detectors, not that they're
> worth much in FC. They use lots of LIDAR.

Yep, radar detectors are useless now.