# Done for 84 in a 70, do laser/radar detectors work?



## Nice RS (Feb 7, 2015)

Just got a nice letter through the post from Humberside Revenue Generators (AKA Humberside Police) kindly pointing out to me that I was caught doing 84mph in a 70mph limit on the M180, not excusing myself, but frequent users of the M180 will know it's empty half the time!

So in short, pissed off at the £100 fine, and in theory should be eligible for the Speed Awareness Course so that I don't also get 3 nice points on my clean licence.

I bought the RS in January and thought that it was going to be a risk to my clean licence of 20 years but I didn't think it was going to be for a measly 84 in a 70!

Anyway I'm now thinking of getting a Laser/Radar detector and wanted to know from the forum whether they are worth it and if they actually work?


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## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

Hi, Once detected it's usually too late, & they've still gotcha. [smiley=stop.gif] 
Hoggy.


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## Rs adam (Mar 8, 2014)

Heard something silly years ago that if you send £101 pound they will send you back the 1 pound and if you don't cash that in , it can't go any further for some reason , may not work at all but worth a go


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## Nice RS (Feb 7, 2015)

I can't argue with the fact I was speeding, but it just feels like a cheap shot and an easy £100 for the powers that be. It was on the motorway and it was practically empty (an attempt at justification for what it's worth) and I wasn't sticking out of the crowd either, I would say 30-35% of the cars around me were doing that sort of speed.

It's just infuriating as it has taken the edge off what was other than that a nice day out in the RS!



> Heard something silly years ago that if you send £101 pound they will send you back the 1 pound and if you don't cash that in , it can't go any further for some reason , may not work at all but worth a go


That's most probably an urban myth type thing, I'll just have to bite the bullet an pay up. [smiley=bigcry.gif]


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## Rs adam (Mar 8, 2014)

I remember when I got points for doing 87 in a 60 it changed my driving style :/ to scared to speed now as I almost lost my licence :/


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## Nice RS (Feb 7, 2015)

Hopefully I'll get offered the course and no points. Just attend listen to some patronising spiel, bite my lip, and try and take something way from the course.

They really do need to revise the max motorway speeds, current limits were set in the 50s when motorways were just being built. They in no way reflect the improvements in technology and automotive safety at all. Also statistically motorways are the safest type of road.


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## ZephyR2 (Feb 20, 2013)

Was it a fixed camera or a police mobile one, do you know?


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## TT-driver (Sep 14, 2010)

Last time I was in the UK (Cotswolds) I was totally amazed how you're allowed to do 60 on single carriage ways. Often with no safety measures at all and tons of trees standing next to the road just waiting there to kill you. And on the other hand on the motorways, where there is no oncoming traffic, a hard shoulder and often a guard rail the limit is just 70. For the same perceived danger level one would have to do at least 100mph.


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## riiiiiich (Oct 22, 2011)

F****** Humberside filth. Had one pull me over once trying to claim I was doing over 100 on the A63 when I hadn't exceeded 77 at any point. Seems like they've got plenty of time to harass motorists who are doing nothing nothing wrong yet there are plenty of more important things to take care of in Hull or Grimsby...

*** Mod edit - please do not use foul language outside of the flame room ***


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## chestnutree (Jun 4, 2012)

This shows how naive I am - I didn't realise they were allowed to have cameras on the motorway apart from through the smart motorway sections where they're only on if the speed is reduced?


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## riiiiiich (Oct 22, 2011)

chestnutree said:


> This shows how naive I am - I didn't realise they were allowed to have cameras on the motorway apart from through the smart motorway sections where they're only on if the speed is reduced?


Yeah, they stick them on bridges like proper cowards. Means I now have to use some of my attention keeping an eye out for these things due to an arbitrary and obsolete speed limit rather than get on with the job.


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## Nice RS (Feb 7, 2015)

TT-driver said:


> Last time I was in the UK (Cotswolds) I was totally amazed how you're allowed to do 60 on single carriage ways. Often with no safety measures at all and tons of trees standing next to the road just waiting there to kill you. And on the other hand on the motorways, where there is no oncoming traffic, a hard shoulder and often a guard rail the limit is just 70. For the same perceived danger level one would have to do at least 100mph.


Exactly! On motorways we're all traveling in the same direction at roughly the same speed, there are no junctions (except for slip roads), no roundabouts, no traffic lights, no sharp bends, hills or dips, no buildings, structures or trees right beside the road, yet we're only allowed to go 10mph faster than on a road where you could and do encounter all of the above.; go figure!


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## Nice RS (Feb 7, 2015)

ZephyR2 said:


> Was it a fixed camera or a police mobile one, do you know?


It was a mobile van using one of the raised police ramps you see by the side of the motorway.


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## Nice RS (Feb 7, 2015)

This is why I'm asking if there are any radar/laser detectors that actually work, as I would seriously consider getting one if there is.


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## chestnutree (Jun 4, 2012)

Nice RS said:


> TT-driver said:
> 
> 
> > Last time I was in the UK (Cotswolds) I was totally amazed how you're allowed to do 60 on single carriage ways. Often with no safety measures at all and tons of trees standing next to the road just waiting there to kill you. And on the other hand on the motorways, where there is no oncoming traffic, a hard shoulder and often a guard rail the limit is just 70. For the same perceived danger level one would have to do at least 100mph.
> ...


Not 10mph faster, the same speed! There's sections of the A38 which is dual carriageway and national (so 70mph) which has people's driveways coming directly off the road to private houses, plus roundabouts, yet still the same speed for motorway.

I've seen police cars waiting to catch people on these slips but never mobile camera vans. I guess I'll need to be more careful from now on.

Maybe they will eventually raise it to 80mph? I know it was previously raised in parliament.

Sorry for going off topic since RS. We're there speed camera warning signs along this stretch of motorway?


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## Nice RS (Feb 7, 2015)

> Sorry for going off topic since RS. We're there speed camera warning signs along this stretch of motorway?


Not that I can remember, but seeing they put those damn signs everywhere now, even when there aren't any cameras about, I could have easily missed/ignored them. To a certain extent those speed camera warning signs have become such a common sign now that they are part of the standard/default road signs one sees on the road.


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## chestnutree (Jun 4, 2012)

Nice RS said:


> > Sorry for going off topic since RS. We're there speed camera warning signs along this stretch of motorway?
> 
> 
> Not that I can remember, but seeing they put those damn signs everywhere now, even when there aren't any cameras about, I could have easily missed/ignored them. To a certain extent those speed camera warning signs have become such a common sign now that they are part of the standard/default road signs one sees on the road.


Although you're accepting the ticket, it's worth driving back down that stretch of road and checking to see if they have warning signs or not, just in case you can get out of it 
P.S. Ignore the misspelling of were, stupid iPhone autocorrect


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## davelincs (Jan 1, 2010)

Although I know whereabouts the camera vans are sited on the m180, my snooper also knows where abouts all the fixed mobile camera sites are and warns me in plenty of time, to me the snooper has saved me more than the £120 it cost, in my eyes they are well worth the investment


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## Spandex (Feb 20, 2009)

chestnutree said:


> Although you're accepting the ticket, it's worth driving back down that stretch of road and checking to see if they have warning signs or not, just in case you can get out of it
> P.S. Ignore the misspelling of were, stupid iPhone autocorrect


Warning signs aren't a legal requirement.


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## chestnutree (Jun 4, 2012)

Spandex said:


> chestnutree said:
> 
> 
> > Although you're accepting the ticket, it's worth driving back down that stretch of road and checking to see if they have warning signs or not, just in case you can get out of it
> ...


Oh really? I was always told they were. So many rumours around speed cameras.

A cheaper alternative to one of these camera detection devices is the TomTom app. I've used it quite successfully for a year. It knows all of the fixed cameras including average speed cameras put up through roadworks. It also tells you your average speed through these sections. The way it works with mobile cameras is that you have to report that you've spotted it on the app to alert other users/drivers. So the downside to the app is that if you're the first user of the app to spot it, you won't get a warning and may get done.


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## cherie (Oct 23, 2014)

Providing you've not done a speed awareness course in the last 3 years, you should be offered one. I think the upper limit is 86mph in a 70mph limit to be offered it.


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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

On the subject of motorway cameras then, i was driving around the M25 last week and the grey boxes that sit behind some of the variable speed limit sign gantry's were flashing like mad! Must have seen over 50 flashes over the course of an hours driving. I've never seen them on the motorway before, so are these new speed cameras and a lot of people are getting caught out, or is there another explanation?


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## aquazi (Dec 24, 2014)

I have used a road angel in my car for the past 10 years... Hardwired into the car i found it really good... Even if only because it displayed my speed digitally.

Didnt bother fitting it to my TT... As i got my first ever speeding ticket on a mobile camera a couple of years ago and it never detected it!

Apparently the laser detectors are useless now a days due to the tech they use.

So sold my RA on ebay for £40 and just drive more carefully.... Tbh getting caught once in 10 years is ok by my book!!!

Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk


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## Shug750S (Feb 6, 2012)

Once your detector catches the signal they have already hit you.

2 options really. Stop your car, go back, kill the occupants of the van and then petrol bomb it, or take it in the chin and do the speed awareness course if offered.

I did one and the guy running it was so patronising it was unreal. I decided to just sit there quietly nod occasionally no get it over as fast as possible.

We had a twit on our course who wanted to argue every point, and it was clear the guy running it was quite happy to discuss everything and the course would go to max time allowed.

In coffee break a couple of us told the complainer to shut up, so we could all go home earlier.


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## Matt B (Apr 8, 2007)

Google

Target Blue Eye


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## Shug750S (Feb 6, 2012)

Matt B said:


> Google
> 
> Target Blue Eye


Not sure this will pick up scamera vans though? £700 or so as well.

I got done in September 2013, first time since passing my test 37 years ago, so I just put it down to bad luck / poor observation. No excuses.

Was done for 61 in a 50, (A road) and when I drove the stretch of road a few weeks later, realised it's a 60 limit apart from a half mile or so stretch where it drops to 50, as there's two roads opposite each other there. A month later they upgraded the short stretch of 50 up to 60 limit.


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## k9l3 (Jan 5, 2014)

Can get jammers so they cant read your speed they are illegal but you have to be caught with it.
You can set them up to be switched on or off so as soon as you have slowed down you can switch it of and will just be delayed for them to of got you speeding.


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## Sean-f (May 5, 2013)

I used to have Road angel worked very well but now use a app called waze it's free and easy to use, asfor actual detectors I think as most have said if you detect the camera it's already clocked you, jammer on the other hand I would like to know more.......


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## aquazi (Dec 24, 2014)

If your TT has the garage opener you can mod it to make it a jammer if you so wish *wink, wink*

Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk


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## Spandex (Feb 20, 2009)

k9l3 said:


> Can get jammers so they cant read your speed they are illegal but you have to be caught with it.
> You can set them up to be switched on or off so as soon as you have slowed down you can switch it of and will just be delayed for them to of got you speeding.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-yo ... e-31604908

Worth bearing in mind that the police will have a record of your registration and the fact they got an error when trying to read your speed. It's not going to take Hercule Poirot to work out what's going on and the penalty seems pretty severe.


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## chestnutree (Jun 4, 2012)

Sean-f said:


> I used to have Road angel worked very well but now use a app called waze it's free and easy to use, asfor actual detectors I think as most have said if you detect the camera it's already clocked you, jammer on the other hand I would like to know more.......


Thanks Sean, looks a pretty good app with many other features. I'll be using this from now on as my free 1 year TomTom trial has run out. 
Nick


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## robokn (Feb 21, 2006)

Laser detectors will pick it up and the physics behind it means that it will have a greater detection 
range than the signal returning back to the unit, trust me I worked in this field for 22 years in the 
RN, thats hwo we detected ships before RADAR picked you up, its called range advantage 

It means that the pulses will all travel out together and only some will have the strength to get
back to the transmitter/reciever those that are too weak i.e. have travelled past the maximum 
detection range are the ones which will trigger the warning and keep the points off


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## Spandex (Feb 20, 2009)

I understand the point with radar but does that apply to laser, where the higher frequencies make reflections much less likely? That would mean you'd generally need line of sight, and given that the modern speed guns will work at ranges of around 1km, it would have to be a very long stretch of straight road for you to detect them before they could get a ping from you.


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## robokn (Feb 21, 2006)

Higher the RF the lower the range


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## Spandex (Feb 20, 2009)

Sure, but range isn't the issue I don't think. Radar camera detectors work very well because the signal is scattered and reflected so it's possible to detect it without having line of sight to the radar gun. I'm thinking that's not possible with laser because such high frequencies don't reflect as well, so you don't get a warning until you have line of sight with the gun - The problem being that most roads won't have long enough straight sections where you could get line of sight with the gun before you're within its operating range.


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