Speed Camera Detectors in General

Let me take you back a month or so. Driving my girlfriends car, I join a very straight road, with fields either side, linking Buckhurst Hill and Chigwell. The traffic is moving at a brisk pace and I maintain that speed. Parked at the side of the road is a little red Citroen van and as we pass Lordpercy informs me there is a mini Gatso on a tripod in front of it … Bugger! Now let me bring you forward a couple of weeks, I wake up on a cold Monday to find a nice letter from those friendly chaps in the Essex Police force stating that I have been photographed at 45mph in a 30mph and what is worse in a Volvo!! May I state at this point that I do not ...  Read the complete review

The title makes it sound like I am an expert but I am not. However, I am currently shopping for speed trap detectors and thought I would pass on what I have learnt so far. Once I have bought one I will update this opinion! (June 2002) Firstly, detectors are split into two categories: i) Those which detect incoming radio waves (on the various radar and laser bands) ii) Those which use GPS. The third category would be those which just don't work! i) Radar and Laser Detectors These do just what they say on the tin - they detect incoming radar and laser and warn you appropriately. Without going into enormous detail ...  Read the complete review

I have wanted to buy a radar detector for several months due to the government's increase in the number of speed cameras and their eagerness to hand out speeding fines but the cost has always put me off. I have seen radar detectors for under £100 but they have either been designed for the American market (not UK) or have only been 4-band, i.e. they do not include Ku - the new frequency band that has been introduced in the UK. Upon searching the Internet one evening I found the Ranger Radar Detector. This is a 5-band unit for under £100 and it claimed to be specifically tuned to the UK frequencies. After further investigation, I decided to order it. ...  Read the complete review

On a whim, I bought this radar detctor in the US for about $120 (got the tax back at the airport), and it was sold to me as a device suitable for detecting the prescence of radar units in the UK. The setup and mounting are simple, and it lives on a sucker mounting on the windscreen and plugs into the cigar lighter. It seems to be not affected by the metallised windscreen of my Laguna, which will not allow my Dartford crossing tag to work. Two key issues have arisen. Firstly, I mostly drive in areas where the police do not set radar traps, and the traffic is slow (suburban london). It mainly seems to detect emergency vehicle detecting devices which live on the ...  Read the complete review

Speed Cameras. Sometimes the worst things can happen in front of speed cameras and its you that has to pay up. With speed cameras around the country becoming the norm, one has to consider, is there a way around it? I once heard that if you travel at over 102mph across the viewing area from one of these cameras, they can't pick the speed and/or the numberplate of your vehicle - but in traffic this is nigh on impossible. Another way not to get a ticket would be to actually SLOW DOWN for the camera, like other people do. I myself actually slow down (when I can see them). And this brings me onto my next point - some of these speed cameras are really hard to ...  Read the complete review