Radar (Bangor, Augusta, Kittery: cost of, law, store)

[bangorme]

Has anyone noticed a change in traffic radar signals in Maine lately? I drove from Kittery to Bangor and my radar detector went off the entire way? Exactly the same pattern and strength each time, so maybe the Socialist Republic of Maine has put out signal boxes or something?

Just guessing.

[RANGER.101ST]

nope dont own a radar detector never had a need for one.if im speeding i deserve a ticket.

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by bangorme

Has anyone noticed a change in traffic radar signals in Maine lately? I drove from Kittery to Bangor and my radar detector went off the entire way? Exactly the same pattern and strength each time, so maybe the Socialist Republic of Maine has put out signal boxes or something?

Just guessing.

I would have no idea. I suppose it is possible that there is some sort of "system" in use because if it could increase revenue to the state then it might be tried. On the other hand, I don't think there is a lot of excess cash in the state coffers to experiment with new law enforcement gizzies.

As far as radar traffic enforcement is concerned, radar detectors are worthless, especially now in the days of low power radar and instant on devices. If you get "painted" by radar and are over the limit you are dead meat: by the time you hit the brakes the trooper knows how fast you were going and his radar is of such a narrow beam, that the ONLY car that could be painted is the one he sees as he looks out the windshield.

Oh, I can hear all the nay sayers who will cite all the times that they have driven the length of Maine fifty miles per hour in excess of the speed limit without getting caught, all of which is hogwash: if you drive in excess of the speed limit and lean on a radar detector you are driving with you license hanging out the window. I spent a lot of time in the Air Force working with radar systems, and nobody's reflexes are faster than the speed of light.

[retiredtinbender]

Originally Posted by Acadianlion

I spent a lot of time in the Air Force working with radar systems, and nobody's reflexes are faster than the speed of light.

And you can't outrun a Motorola.

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by retiredtinbender

And you can't outrun a Motorola.

You betcha!

[Submariner]

Motorola is fast.

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by Acadianlion

I would have no idea. I suppose it is possible that there is some sort of "system" in use because if it could increase revenue to the state then it might be tried. On the other hand, I don't think there is a lot of excess cash in the state coffers to experiment with new law enforcement gizzies.

As far as radar traffic enforcement is concerned, radar detectors are worthless, especially now in the days of low power radar and instant on devices. If you get "painted" by radar and are over the limit you are dead meat: by the time you hit the brakes the trooper knows how fast you were going and his radar is of such a narrow beam, that the ONLY car that could be painted is the one he sees as he looks out the windshield.

Oh, I can hear all the nay sayers who will cite all the times that they have driven the length of Maine fifty miles per hour in excess of the speed limit without getting caught, all of which is hogwash: if you drive in excess of the speed limit and lean on a radar detector you are driving with you license hanging out the window. I spent a lot of time in the Air Force working with radar systems, and nobody's reflexes are faster than the speed of light.

Some of what you say is true. The modern tactic for using a radar detector is to follow a rabbit. Having gone through hundreds of radar traps over the years, it works. Nothing beats laser, but laser can only be shot from a stationary position, so isn't seen a lot. I've probably only been hit by laser three times, all in Georgia. My detector will let me know, but it's too late. Usually I see the officer before he hits me.

My goal is to go 10 - 14 mph over the speed limit. If I don't have a rabbit (common in Maine), it's 9 mph. So, I'm not what you would call a big risk taker. But it is annoying to have it go off every four minutes, and as I said, driving from VA to ME, it only happened on Maine I95.

No tickets in 40 years btw.

[kellysmith]

I don't think the conspiracy theory fits in this case. Below is a cut and paste concerning radar freqs. I'd sleep comfortably at night thinking there is an abundance of some other device operating on or near the same frequencies as your detector. I don't know how close digital cell phones are to some of these freqs, but there must be something that's abundant in Maine that's operating in the same range as the radar detectors that are affected...cut and paste below...

What are the different radar detector frequencies the police use?
With police radar, there are all different types operating on different frequencies.

X band operates in the frequency of 10.475 to 10.575 gigahertz. This was the first microwave band used by police.

This band is also shared with many other devices in the same band including your garage door opener, the door opener at your grocery store and the banks security alarm system. Because of all these other devices sharing the bands, there are allot of false alerts.

Many detectors come with the option of turning this band off to reduce these false alerts as only 20% of all the radar guns out there on the street operate on this frequency.

K band was developed for police use in 1976 and currently over 60% of all the police radar guns use this frequency. This band is in the 24.0 to 24. 25 gigahertz spectrum. There are also other devices that operate on this band such as garage door openers, but the chance of false alerts are much lower then X band.

Ka band was developed for police use in 1989 and is used by the other 20% of the police radar guns today. This frequency is in the 33.4 to 36.0 gigahertz range.

This band is the cleanest band and false alerts are rare. The range of Ka is also much shorter then X or K band.

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by bangorme

Some of what you say is true. The modern tactic for using a radar detector is to follow a rabbit. Having gone through hundreds of radar traps over the years, it works. Nothing beats laser, but laser can only be shot from a stationary position, so isn't seen a lot. I've probably only been hit by laser three times, all in Georgia. My detector will let me know, but it's too late. Usually I see the officer before he hits me.

My goal is to go 10 - 14 mph over the speed limit. If I don't have a rabbit (common in Maine), it's 9 mph. So, I'm not what you would call a big risk taker. But it is annoying to have it go off every four minutes, and as I said, driving from VA to ME, it only happened on Maine I95.

No tickets in 40 years btw.

If you drive ten miles per hour or more over the liimit in Maine, you will break your record. It is not going to be "if" but "when". Most troopers and locals will give you five over the limit. It is too hard to argue five miles per hour in court. But ten is easy, and the dollar cost of a ten mile per hour or more citation makes going to court with the officer's time. And then, out of state people usually don't show up to go to court anyway.

The Maine State Police don't do a lot with stationary speed traps because the patrol territories are so large, the cruisers can't stand still for very long. Only on the Maine Turnpike do cruisers routinely set up speed traps, and despite this, business is usually very brisk. Not many towns use speed traps either, because the cost of having a cruiser and a patrolman sitting with radar to give a citation, the money from which goes to Augusta to be parcelled out in drips and drabs is hard to justify.

So rolling radar systems are the rule, and if a cruiser "paints" you while moving, you're caught and the game is over. A cruiser will turn around and stop you for more than ten over the limit almost anywhere, unless they are late for coffee. Then it must be more than fifteen.....

[cdodge04]

I have a radar detector as well and it does go off constantly on the interstate now. I have my radar not because I expect it to keep me from getting a speeding ticket but to alert me to my surroundings. My radar tells me when there are emergency vehicles in the area and other such things that I should be aware of.