Radar detectors should not be expected to be a silver bullet against speeding ticket. They are a tool that can help prevent tickets if the driver understands how to use them properly[^]. Quite a few people have mentioned using detectors in areas where they are prohibited. If you are using a radar detector in areas where they are illegal, you should be extremely careful. There is a device called the Spectre that is becoming more and more popular. The Spectre is used by police to detect vehicles with radar detectors. All radar detectors on the market today (with the exception of one) "leak" a certain frequency that can be picked up by the Spectre. So quickly hiding the detector after you've been stopped is not always going to work. The one exception is the Bel STi Driver[^]. The STi Driver is made with a magnesium casing which does not "leak" anything, so it cannot be detected by the Spectre (or anything else that comes out). The problem is, this model is quite expensive and out of the price range of most people. Danny

I actually run a web site[^]that sells these things, so I thought I would weigh in. Laser actually gives very accurate results and it is very difficult to detect. It is rare for even a top of the line radar detector to provide enough warning against laser to save you a from ticket. Fortunately, radar is still used by police an overwhelming majority of the time (in the US and Canada). If laser is used in your area, there are some things that you can do. A laser jammer[^] is the best option (they work great, unlike radar jammers), but they are expensive and illegal in a few states. Products like Laser Veil[^] are cheaper and work by reducing the distance at which a laser gun can get your speed, giving you more time to react to a radar detector warning. You may have read something about POP radar not giving accurate results. POP is a new variation of radar technology that claims to get the speed of a vehicle before a radar detector can see it. Initially there were claims that it was not accurate, and because there is no case history built up for tickets issued with POP radar the manufacturer recommends in the manual that tickets should not be issued from speeds taken with the gun in "POP mode". In reality, the radar detector industry reacted quickly to POP (which is not very widespread). Most any detector you buy today is capable of detecting POP mode radar. Danny