Instant-on radars are only found in stationary police vehicles on the side of the road or in ambushes. But this type of speed enforcement is disliked by many officers because it is time consuming. The officer has to park, roll-down their window and "zap" motorists. Most cruiser-mounted radars are constantly on when the police vehicles are in motion or when stationary. If they are stationary, they can just turn on the gun and do paperwork, etc. until the alarm goes off telling the officer that a speeding vehicle is approaching. But, since they are constantly on, it makes it easy for radar detectors to detect them.

People don't usually contest the accuracy of the radar gun, most just plead guilty and pay their fines. Many are not even convinced of their own guilt, but do it anyway. For all you know the gun may not be accurate or the officer may have "clocked" another vehicle thinking it was yours (this is quite common!).

"Beating Police Radar and Laser Traps"

Police can only "clock" you if you are coming directly at them or directly away from them. For every degree angle you are away from them, your speed displayed on the radar gun will decrease, because it can only read motion directly towards or away from the gun, not sideways. This is a very important point. That is why you look for police directly in front of you on the side of the road, on an overpass, etc.

A real controversy, lately, is photo radar. It seems to be stirring up a lot of debates. It is used in selected areas throughout North America. Basically, it is a radar gun mounted in a mini-van that detects your speed and takes a photograph of your vehicle. You are then mailed a speeding ticket with the photo of your car and license plate. Currently, depending on your state, most of them:

1. operate on the Ka or K band at a 22-26 degree angle
2. "clock" you from the front or rear of the van then snap a picture when you pass in front
3. do not report your conviction to the DMV or your insurance company.
4. can operate when in motion or when stationary

Since photo radar only emits 0.5 to 2.0 milliwatts of microwave energy (compared to 20 to 100 milliwatts from a normal police radar), your radar detector will only pick it up at about 450 feet (the unit snaps a picture at 100 ft). This is a very short distance at highway speeds. To give you an example how effective photo radar is; in a police force of 29 officers, there were 4050 speeding tickets issued for the entire year, (approximately 11 tickets every 24 hours).


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