Uniden Radar Detectors (Refurbished) $229.99 - $399.99 + FS with Prime
$229.99
$399.99
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As part of Prime Days, Woot! is offering two different Uniden Radar Detectors (refurbished) ranging from $229.99 - $399.99. Log in with your Prime account and receive Free Shipping. Otherwise, it's a flat $6 rate. Woot! is an Amazon company.
For radar, these are phenomenal. I've received warnings miles in advance on the freeway. For laser it's pretty worthless like all other detectors.
Thanks. This follow up question may be difficult to answer: what percentage of traffic stops are radar vs laser? I'm surprised that law enforcement doesn't switch entirely to lasers.
There is no one correct answer to your question. It depends on so many factors. Terrain, weather, location/direction, stationary vs moving, traffic, radar band, constant vs instant-on, and more. On a straight, flat road, with no particular issues, it is not uncommon to get an alert well over a mile from the source, and generally you'd expect much more than that. But if you get an off-axis hit, it could be very short. Over time you'd get used to your detector and have better ideas, but in my experience, you'd nearly always have that much time or more with this level of a detector on most bands.
Laser is a different story. Usually if you get a laser hit , it's a ticket notifier function, because the narrow laser beam has hit your car at the time it is detecting it. Doesn't work the same way radar beams do, where a good detector will alert you before the signal will alert the LEO.
Really appreciate the detailed answer. My strategy to avoid a ticket has always been to just follow behind a guy who is going the same speed and never be the first car.
Thanks. This follow up question may be difficult to answer: what percentage of traffic stops are radar vs laser? I'm surprised that law enforcement doesn't switch entirely to lasers.
Laser isn't used that much because it's very fiddly. It requires a line of sight, and the laser unit has to be close to head on. That really only makes it useable from the direct side of the road, or an overpass. The unit also can't be moving. Radar units mounted in the police car are way more user friendly. The police vehicle can be moving. It can be hidden. It's also less expensive.
Laser units were about to disappear completely a few decades ago, because of all the negatives I mentioned above. The only reason they stayed, was Geico bought out the Lidar company and started giving the guns away for free. This allowed the police to write more tickets, and therefore Geico could raise insurance rates more.
To answer your question about the ticket notifier, we refer to laser warnings on a detector as that because if it's going off for an actual signal, the cop has your speed. Basically, you are getting a ticket if you're speeding. I turned my laser warning off because of frequent false alerts from the sun and driver's assistance systems on other cars.
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Thanks. This follow up question may be difficult to answer: what percentage of traffic stops are radar vs laser? I'm surprised that law enforcement doesn't switch entirely to lasers.
Laser is a different story. Usually if you get a laser hit , it's a ticket notifier function, because the narrow laser beam has hit your car at the time it is detecting it. Doesn't work the same way radar beams do, where a good detector will alert you before the signal will alert the LEO.
Really appreciate the detailed answer. My strategy to avoid a ticket has always been to just follow behind a guy who is going the same speed and never be the first car.
What's a ticket notifier by the way?
Laser units were about to disappear completely a few decades ago, because of all the negatives I mentioned above. The only reason they stayed, was Geico bought out the Lidar company and started giving the guns away for free. This allowed the police to write more tickets, and therefore Geico could raise insurance rates more.
To answer your question about the ticket notifier, we refer to laser warnings on a detector as that because if it's going off for an actual signal, the cop has your speed. Basically, you are getting a ticket if you're speeding. I turned my laser warning off because of frequent false alerts from the sun and driver's assistance systems on other cars.