Back in the day I purchased my Escort 8500 straight from the web site. I wanted the one with the blue display instead of default red. After I put my order through the website it gave me a shipping date of 4 weeks but I didn't want to wait for it that long. I ended up calling them on the phone and asked them why the long wait ? They ended up locating one with the blue display in their warehouse and gave it to me for the price of the red one ($30 or $40 cheaper) plus free shipping for my troubles. I also ended up calling them on another occasion when I ran out of sucktion cups for the unit and they were also very accomodating. I really have no complaints about the Escort staff.

 

In St. Louis, they use helicopters. They got me several years ago -- they pulled over so many cars at the same time that it was hard to find a place to pull over in the break-down lane! The thing that's nice about MO is that it is easy to get the ticket "modified." Mine was modified to a parking violation, which I thought was ironic.

Over the past few days in NC I saw bright-red hot-rod Camaros being used to pull people over.

 

I guess ill need heat seeking missiles on my roof LOL

 

I was driving in Switzerland a few years back where they take speeding very seriously. I was going about 30kph over the limit and I was going faster then all the cars on the highway. At one point a dark blue Ford Transit van pulled up behind me and was keeping up. I pulled out from the left lane to let him pass but it never did. I didn't think too much of it especially since it slowed down after a few kilometers and wasn't following me anymore. About 5 minutes later I had a police car behind me with lights flashing. I pulled over and proceeded to play innocent when I was told I was over the speed limit. I figured how would the police officer know; he wasn't there afterall. Well, the blue van pulled up behind the police car and produced a video clear as day showing the speed of the van keeping up with me, the time, the day and my licence plate. I was busted with ironclad proof. I was impressed at how professional the police were in Switzerland. They were very polite and never did they argue with me. Kudos to them

 

Have you ever succesfully talked yourself out of a ticket? If so how fast were you going?

 

In nearly every case, I have been given significant breaks, including a warning. One was knocked down from 47/30 to 39/30 to avoid mandatory court and big points. One was a complete writeoff for 70/55. Another was a complete writeoff, but I don't recall the details. I've never asked for these -- they were given voluntarily by the police.

I think the best advice I've gotten is from a book A Speeder's Guide to Avoiding Tickets, written by an ex-cop. Most of the book is common sense and stuff you might already know. What helped me most, though, was seeing the traffic stop through the eyes and mind of the police officer, which involves fear and uncertainty. If stopped, I take off my sunglasses, put them on the dashboard (keeping hands in sight), put my hands on the steering wheel and do not move. Then I explain every move I make after that -- "My license is in my wallet. My wallet is in my back pants pocket." etc. I don't try any BS because they've seen BS coming from people much better at it than I am.

Generally, the exchanges are mostly pleasant. And I'd like to think that my making them more comfortable with the situation made them more willing to give me a break.

EDIT: If my recollection is correct, the book's advice is to never have your license and registration ready. First, the cop sees you digging around in the car, wondering if you just lost your gun or are trying to hide that crack pipe. Second, not having them ready gives you an opportunity to interact with the officer and to show him what a nice and considerate person you are by announcing your movements in advance.

 

I got a warning for 110 in a 65. CHP told me to keep it under a hundred. Being polite and honest go along way with getting out of speeding tickets. Dont think Ill have that luck again!

 

Wow ! Even when I'm speeding I try to stay below 90. I'm afraid that getting caught while venturing into triple digits will get me shot around where I live

I've never gotten a ticket in the US (and I like to keep it that way). My "secret" (if you want to call it that) is that you have to know when its OK to go beyond the limit. I live in Jersey and I'm almost always either sitting in bumper to bumper traffic or driving with moderate to heavy traffic that does not permit sensible speeding. Yes we have a couple of asshats who like to zig-zag between the lanes or ride your bumper but what they fail to realize is that the conditions are not optimal for speeding. I only tend to go faster then allowed if there are virtually no cars on the road or very light traffic without having to cut cars off or come across like a total tool while going faster then allowed. Some of the speed limits are completely ridicilous especially when you factor in the safety tech most modern cars have incorporated into them. While I would like to see the speed limit raised in certain areas the real, and more important issue, that needs to be addressed is the quality of driver education this country has. I don't mean to offend anyone but it is downright laughable on how easy it is to get a license in the US. Now wonder people are dying left and right on the roads; they were never instructed on proper road etiquete and how to conduct themselves in severe weather. In Europe in Canada you get massive fines if you go out with summer tires in the snow. In the US people can't even clean the snow of their car properly before their morning commute. Sorry to venture a bit off topic; just my $0.2

 

Funny, I was going to say the same. I think where I live it is straight-to-jail time.

I used to be one of those asshats until I discovered it is a LOT easier just to ride with the flow, patiently wait for those trucks to finish drag racing up that hill, etc. Being an asshat is hard work, risky (reckless driving added to speeding tickets), and the next time you stop for gas you gotta pass the same cars all over again. Some of them remember (like me) and make the passes a little more difficult the second time...

Funny thing is that every ticket I've gotten on a highway is when I was all by my lonesome, not a care in the world, and then suddenly I'm wondering "Who's that fool standing on the highway waving his arms?"

 

In that particular situation no one was around and the road/weather conditions were optimal. I never saw him coming either. I looked in my mirror and he was hot on my tail. I rarely go over 90 but I have on few occasions. Then theres always the two lane road scenario here in Missouri where you have a beat up pickup truck going 50 with 4 cars following. Passing them all in one shot rather than playing frogger requires hard accelerations with high speeds.

 

We've all been that asshat at some point or another

 

Huge grin inducing accelerations

 

Can you elaborate on your experience with Distronic Plus?

I am considering a higher end (grill mount) radar detector. I have a 25 mile commute that is all expressway. I just got a ticket (Lidar) that's going to rob me of half a day (in traffic school).

My question is regarding Distronic interference. For me turning Distronic off is not an option - it's my favorite option and makes my commute bearable. I understand Distronic uses K band and I suppose I could disable that band on the detector. From what I recall from an old passport detector, Ka is used most often. I do live near Midwest Engineering, thought I saw somewhere that they may have a solution.

Thanks for any input

 

I've read on both this board and others that some radar guided cruise control systems interfere with the operation of radar detectors by giving them false positives or by just rendering the radar detector useless by constantly interfering with it. My Escort 8500 and Distronic Plus happily coexist on together on my current car. They both work flawlessly without stepping on each others toes. Here's an experiment you can try out for yourself. Drive on the highway in the middle or right lane at the speed limit with your Distronic Plus turned on. Keep your eye out for drives passing you on the left lane at a high rate of speed. There will be some drivers whom will step on the breaks as soon as they pass the nose of your car. Those are the people who have radar detectors that your Distronic system will interfere with
Where I live Ka is still the preferred band used by the police. It is the oldest and everyone has equipment that uses Ka band signals. The downside of Ka is that at time I get a few false positives because of wireless access points at rest stops that fall into the Ka band and also some trucker CBs fall into that same band also. Some states use the more advanced Xa band which, I believe, is exclusively reserved for the police, very rarely I get POP alerts from ancient radar guns. My detector does alert me for LIDAR (or Laser) but thats all it does. The 8500 (and the 9500) does not do anything with the LIDAR signals just alerts the driver that he/she has been tagged.
If you want to get all fancy with the radar detection system in your car I would recommend you check out midcity engineering since they can integrate the radar detectors interface into the LCD display in the dash (http://www.midcityengineering.com/InterfaceDevices.htm). YouTube has tons of videos of all the great things mid city can do to cars. Here is just an appteizer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uE7fl1BJPs

 

Thanks I just spoke with Mid City. They use an integrated 9500 and can disable the small portion (<10%) of the k band that Distronic uses. The rest of k is left active on the radar detector and they have no problems. Sounds like a perfect solution, though quite expensive ($2500).

Thx again

 

Honestly I don't think you even need to disable that small portion of the K band. When you get your setup done with Mid City check back here. Me, and I'm sure others too, would love to see the final result.

 

90 in a 55 on I-40 in Tennessee. It was 1983 and I was driving an Alpha Spider, top down, listening to "Born to be Wild." I had just finished my undergrad degree from University of South Carolina, the "Gamecocks," and was on my way to my first military assignment. I had a bumper sticker that read "GO *****!" As he came around the back of the car, he saw the sticker and ordered me out of the car. He apparently did not know about the USC mascot, called me a "queer," made me peal the "****" sticker from the back of my car, pointed West and said "The State line is 20 Miles That way, LEAVE!"

 

I have one and like it very much. But mine is not a "stealth" detector. This means that radar detector detectors can key in on it. SO if you are driving through a state that does not allow them, you pretty much have to unplug it and put it away. I like the Qi45 with laser jam and may bite on that one after our quarterly taxes settle out.

One other consideration is that Escort has a $80 trade-in with ANY radar detector for a new Escort/Passport detector. So if you have an old outdated unit, it's not a bad deal at all. Here's a link for the trade in option:

http://www.escortradar.com/trade-in-...q_v=5100ef1a18

 

I oddly enough ordered a Beltronic RX65 blue light, without GPS. Retail is around the three hundred. The price for V1 and Escort seem to high and since most of my commuting is highway surrounding rural towns, I decided I do not need to know locations of redlight cams since they dont have many in small towns. Additionally the learning capabilities of false radar locations can be a good spot for the cops to hang out and zap you anyways. I think the V1 and 9500 are better suited for city drivers. If anyone is interested Ill let you know how the RX65 performs on open highway, as my 80 miles RT usually encounters at least 3 marked and unmarked police cars daily.

 

Several years ago when I was single and stupid, I owned an Infiniti G35 and was leaving the hospital post-call... an NBA player was leaving the downtown area in a CLS AMG and we were both merging onto the interstate.
He decided to wave a bubbye and gun it... I decided to follow... the interstate was pretty empty at 7am on Sunday and we raced at speeds up to 135 mph and long story short, I got pulled over by a really hot (female) State Trooper, who got called of our shenanigans by an unmarked off-duty officer who told her he had accelerated to 110+ and we were pulling away.
I was dressed from work, flashed some ID, was apologetic, and she let me off with a warning. I fought the urge to ask for her number (had no shot anyway).
But I did turn around as she was walking away and ask her, "So what happened to the guy I was racing..."
She looked at me like, "Are you kidding me?!" chuckled, and said they pulled over the dude the next exit down.
True story

 

[quote=DefKhan1;4639834]Several years ago when I was single and stupid, I owned an Infiniti G35 and was leaving the hospital post-call...
I was dressed from work, flashed some ID, was apologetic, and she let me off with a warning.

LOL I was post-call as well in my scrubs and flashed my badge. It happened to me again couple years later this time 100 in 65. Once again coming back from an ER shift.I flashed my badge and got off with a warning. I worked at gun and knife club ER's so our interactions with law enforcement was on a daily basis.

 

Where can us investment bankers and lawyers on here get one of those er badges? Sounds better than a radar detector.