General

The bill repealing the ban on the use of radar detectors in Virginia is to be voted on again today. If the bill passes, it will then move to the state's Senate. By the end of the week it might be legal to own and use a radar detector in all 50 states.

In a follow-up to our last blog post, it looks like efforts to repeal the ban on radar detectors in Virginia are making some headway. According to this article the bill has now passed to Virginia's general assembly. Way to go! So should legalizing radar detectors in Washington DC be next?

According to this article radar detectors may soon be legal in Virginia. Currently Virginia is the only state where having a radar detector is illegal, though they are also illegal in DC and on military bases. Virginia's ban has long been a frustration to drivers. You have to stop and take down your detector when entering the state, in fact there are even signs at the stateline warning you of this. For many people, a concealed radar detector was their only option. This is great news for everyone that drives in Virginia! We also encourage you to write to Delegate Joe May expressing your support for his plan to legalize radar detectors.

The main reason most people have a radar detector, or a redlight camera warning system is because the fines associated with a speeding ticket, or for turning right on a redlight can be very expensive. I have met very few people that do not speed occasionally unintentionally, and those redlight cameras are designed to eventually give everyone a ticket. So a radar detector, laser jammer, or camera detector is an investment against the inevitable reality of a ticket and associated insurance premiums.

As more and more cites struggle to make money, in turn there is increased pressure on law enforcement to write more tickets, or for towns to sell their soul to a camera operator. The interesting part of all this is that there are some people that find the financial penalties a bit, well insignificant. So some countries (mostly in Europe) are now scaling the price of the fine based on the income of the driver. In this story, one such person received a $290,000 speeding ticket. He is considered a repeat offender, and is also very wealthy. To him a $200 ticket is a joke.

I wonder how long it will be before you start to hear of this in the US? While I like aspects of this, and scaling a fine to meet a person's income level is perhaps a fair approach, there is room for precedent that could be abused. Also, what would happen if all traffic fines and not just speeding tickets were treated this way? Again it would start fair, but I doubt it will make some of the outrageous fines less for most of us. We will in the end just have to pay more to local city governments because they cannot be financially sound. Many view tickets as easy revenue.

The use of paying fines to modify a person's actions, or to punish poor judgment is a good system. The amount should be enough to actively discourage people, and the risk of a ticket is a good social control mechanism. However, using tickets to make money has allowed the practice to escalate the price of an average speeding ticket to be beyond what many of us are able to pay.

In some states, the ticket for not coming to a complete stop before turning right at a redlight can result in a $450-500 ticket. I recently read on twitter about one person who said they were glad they got around $500 in gifts from their family for Christmas since they need the money to pay for a redlight ticket. With the very deceitful and corrupt practices used by some cities to make money from cameras, I wonder how long it will take for them to base the ticket off of your income? I am rather sure, the price of the tickets will not be less, they are making too much money for that. $20,000 redlight tickets perhaps? And to be clear on this, only a maniac runs a redlight on purpose. Fining them is the least of their problems.

Protecting people from expensive tickets for a lapse in judgment, inanition, or being scammed by a redlight camera vendor is why we are here. We have a large selection of radar detectors, laser jammers, redlight / speed camera warning systems and other protective items. If you have any questions about what is the best radar detector for where you live, or any other questions, give us a call or send an email.

Cobra really knows how to make a great interface for their radar detectors. It looks like the soon to be released XRS 9970G and XRS 9965 radar detectors will improve on their distinctive design and UI even further. Both detectors will feature a touchscreen display. You will be able to tap on the display screen and scroll through options and set your preferences.

This is a very interesting development in radar detectors. Most windshield mount detectors can be a bit, er, fiddly when trying to do something as simple as hit the mute button. Trying to actually change settings without yanking down the detectors is nearly impossible most of the time, and a very bad idea to attempt while driving. Cobra might be changing all of that, and we will be doing a detailed test ourselves.

The 9970 will offer all of the features of current top of the line Cobra windshield mount detectors including a GPS based camera warning system (with plug-in GPS locator, itself a very nice feature, and a lifetime subscription to the redlight camera warning service), POP detection, and voice alerts. The 9965 is very similar to the 9970 but does not include the GPS locator/service (though it should be available as an option).

We cannot wait to try out the new interface! It should be a great feature that we feel is rather innovative. Anything that makes detectors even more intuitive to use, and more effective tools as well, is a welcome addition.

Did you get a radar detector as a gift recently? Great! Most detectors come with everything you need right in the box, but for some of us we like to go a bit beyond what everyone else has. Here at Buy Radar Detectors we have a lot of accessories available for the leading brands of radar detectors. If you still cannot find the accessory you are looking or, give us a call and we will try to help!

We are still taking orders and will continue to ship them out until 6pm EST tomorrow. So no more waiting to place that order! This is your last chance to order a Whistler XTR-130 Radar Detector for $34.95, a Whistler XTR-220 Radar Detector for $62.99, or a Whistler XTR-690 SE Radar Detector for $154.95.

We will then be closed for the holidays and we will be back on Monday the 28th. We want to wish all of our friends and customers a great Christmas!

Regular readers and customers know that here at Buy Radar Detectors, we like to help you find the radar detector, camera warning system, laser jammer, etc... that is best for your personal driving needs. We work with you to research all of the products available, and we even offer services to help.

I think all of this warrants a new contest! Send an email to us at contest @ buyradardetectors.com (remove the blank spaces) briefly telling us about the time you wished you had a camera warning system, were saved by one, or a review of one of the systems. Your entry might even end up here on our radar detector blog, and the five best are going to win a free t-shirt (make sure to include what size shirt and a shipping address in your email).

So go and read the articles about redlight camera systems, and let us know if you have any questions!

The Passport Qi45 radar detector by Escort is designed to be the quickest and easiest to install remote radar detector around. The system has only three components: The antenna/receiver, the interface, and the display/controller. All that you need to do is to wire the interface to a switched power supply and connect the antenna and display using standard RJ11 cables.

Escort states that the entire system can be installed in less than one hour. If you have been looking for a remote install detector for the price or a windshield mount, then Escort may just have what you want. You can even add optional laser shifters at the same time or later as an upgrade and have laser jamming capabilities.

We have the Escort Qi45 Radar Detector ready to ship for $499.95, and we are even offering free two day shipping for a limited time. The separate laser shifter pack is $249.95. Let us know if you have any questions.

Do you know someone that loves gadgets? Is there someone on your holiday shopping list that is looking for something unexpected? Well, they might like the Whistler XTR-220 Radar Detector. The XTR-220 is unusual in that it has a remote control. This is very helpful for people with vehicles that have large windshields or dashes, such as many SUVs.

The remote is small and easily fits on a keychain. What is better than a radar detector? A radar detector with a remote control!

The XTR-220 is also a good all-purpose budget friendly ($62.99) radar detector. It has an easy to read LED display, POP mode radar detection, 3 city modes, and selectable bands. For a limited time we are offering $5.00 shipping, we have them in stock, and they ship out the same day as long as you place an order before 6 p.m. EST.