Radar detectors for road speed-trap avoidance

Anyone have pro-con comments about using radar/laser detectors and scramblers??? Theres the ON THE DASHBOARD types and BUILT INTO THE GRILL AND BUMPER types...

I know it sounds strange since autobahns have no speed limits BUT every other country does...! Nothing more fun than 200kph through the italian alps!

...but only if you can get away with it...!

They're illegal here.
As in "lose-your-license-for-having/using-them" illegal.

And there are speed limits all over the Autobahn system.

woof.

there is no discusion and the courts/police will not look kindly on you having it. expect trouble. also i have a feeling that slowly the germans have woken up to the fact that their autobahns are vital lanes of transport and communication and nor playgrounds for (mostly) men who endanger the public. they've just increased fines for not leaving enough distance between you and the following car, and expect greater control. funny enough is it just me or have the germna autobahns become civilsed. i just drove to rotterdam and back, and although i was doing only 160 the whole way i was only pushed out of the way once by one impatient man.

Well maybe, but 160kph is still pretty fast. Maybe that's why you weren't pushed out of the way. Our little Golf won't even break 170 unless we're going downhill. People are still as rude as hell as far as I can tell on the autobahn.

Andy

Over the last seven years, I actually think it has gotten steadily worse. Of course, there is now a lot more construction going on and quite a few more cars on the road. One thing that has happened is more 120 and 130 signs have gone up due to all the Schumi-wannabes on the road. I just want to strangle the ass behind me with his little blinky light just a going and riding my ass as if he owned the road. The situation: I am doing 180, the two left lanes are jammed up trying to pass a truck, there are three other cars straight ahead of me and I keep 3-5 car lengths between me and the car in front of me and at 180, if I moved right there would be a wreck.

OH. girls do it too! Two of them in a spider, similar situation as above. Ten kilometers later, we passed them and saw it was two girls? Although, the driver did look a little butch.

My father in law wanted to buy a detector in the states and bring it back with him. I think he realized that he really didn't need it. On the autobahn, the only places where they set up is where there are many accidents and it is dangerous (it is written in the law this way). Therefore, you shouldn't be speeding in these places anyway. You might kill yourself, but worse, you might kill me!

Trying to be a contestant for the darwin awards? Or simply born dumb and reckless and didn't learn much since?
You can legally endanger yourself and other likeminded individuals on race tracks. Nobody gives a shit if you kill yourself in the process of having fun, but if you endanger others then some people (those with the badge and gun and handcuffs) hopefully will.


Thanks for openly admitting that you are a reckless driver who doesn't deserve the privilege of driving a motorized vehicle. Let's hope no innocents will be affected when your luck finally runs out.


No need to, they can be found here too. And contrary to the ones from the US those might even work here due to different frequencies being used, but I wouldn't count on it. You might have realized that most of the speeding traps do not involve the use of radar.

i got blitzed today less than 200m from home. doing about 79 in a 60 limit. by the Polizei not the Stadt.

I for one will be sad to see the HEMOGONIZATION of German autobahns. IT was a unique thing about Germany, an honour to its proud mechanical excellence - soon to be extinct. Extinct is a perfect word since it took decades to develop a driving society that harmoniously ebb and flow allowing 100kmh Lorries to share the road with 200kph "normal" people and still record far less fatalities that US. I LOVED IT! It took me 10 min to learn the patterns and Germany was forever etched on my memories. Once the society learns a new pattern (like having a heart attack when it goes under one of those speed control rader/cameras) then all is lost. In US we have 6 lane freeways with 1 person in each lane going 50mph side by side. You could have 20 lanes and the same problem. Some people, sad lonely people with no friends NEED to be high-beamed and "trained" to be considerate to the flow of traffic.

Yeah Yeah I know its not practical, its NOT EFFICIENT to allow speeders. Its not FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE to prosecute people for unsafe driving. Rather have a lewsuit fearing beurocrat decide some arbitrary limit and then force me to abide!

No smoking in public, on planes, no cell phones, no this, no that, no speeding, ... Soon they will raise drinking age to 21 and Germany will be exactly like US. IF this is truely the public trend the take my advice and become a lawyer like 1/25 of Californians. There will be a HUGE demand.

Maybe I should have made it more clear that is was in regards to this situation and not everyday driving habits. The ass behind me would not allow anything more. Not only did I have to worry about the cars in front of me, but I had to try to keep a "safer" distance from the idiot riding up my ass. Then I have to worry about the mentality of the drivers in the middle lane who see an opening and move over in front of me simply because it is there. Are they doing 180, NO, they are doing 120 and then I have to slam on my brakes thus causing the asshole behind me to rear-end me. At those speeds, driving is not one dimensional.

Which is pretty much what the guy you're tailgating is thinking...

woof.

I am talking 5 American sized cars here, not 5 Smarts!

Nervously playing with your brakes works wonders against tailgaters (although it's illegal). If you're mean and brave and the situation is safe enough so no others will be endangered you can even slam them the second or third time causing that other driver behind you a heart attack. It's quite dangerous though.

This is something I don't get...

If someone wants to go faster than me, I just get out of the way and let them go through. What's the issue really?

Jules, try moving over into a lane doing 120 while your doing 180! It is not as easy as you think! There is a big problem not to mention the physics of it all.
Yomama, been there and done that. I am particularly mean and brave enough when I come up along side the asshole an hour later in stau and say "HI, remember me fuckwit? You about ran my ass off the road and where are you now? Idioten!" I tend to get alot of middle fingers when I do that (which is also illegal, the middle finger that is!)
I am a lot less brave these days as I have a son in the car with me. Becoming a Dad will tame your ass, but I still love to smile real big and wave to the idiot as I pass them by in stau because they picked the wrong lane to jump into. The lane hoppers are the worse!
I also find it funny that going down hill, I get passed by the Opels straining to do 200 and going up hill, I pass them like they are standing still!

Yes of course occasionally there will be that "asshole" moment - These are unavoidable no matter what laws are passed.

I was proposing the idea that official policy not "detail us to death". Germany was the only country I knew that said "Dangerous drivers will be busted - period" thats it! Everywhere else on earth its an arbitrary number that gets lower in proportion to the number of unemployed lawyers in the region!!

I agree all the construction blows it though. I hope when the dust settles The speed limits will still be "suggested".

their are very few sections left any more with no limits. I find the variable speed limit to be a real pain, with heavy traffic now I find my self not going much faster than 140 anymore. I also traded the Audi in for a Van so it doesn't run as fast anymore.

I do like the road royality here, people usually pull to the right to let you pass. My own rule is if they are on my tail they want past, so I will pull over, if they leave a good distance they won't so I stick to the left lane.
Problem is in heavy traffic its hard to pull over and let someone past is you really booting along. If I stuck to the above rule the person behind can make it past me in good time so I can pull back out without having to break.

Thanks guys for reminding me how much I enjoy not having a car. After 25 years of daily driving in the US, I have been without for 2.5 years here. Great stuff, this public transportation system they have here.

I tend to go to Austria a lot and have noticed the number of Dutch going on holiday (skiing I presume) that sit in the outside lane doing all of 150kph with nothing at all, for a least a km or more, on the inside lane.

If you sit at a safe distance they dont move, its dangerous to tailgate so I do a bit of the old American driving and blast by at 250, full beam on, horn going, on their inside.They tend to move to the correct lane quite quickly.

Most people that complain about tailgating tend to sit in the outside lane doing what they consider to be a "quite adequate speed" and that everyone else should wait for them. They also tend to drive slower cars so despite telling the world and their dog that they dont care about the type of car they drive, they still have a strange feeling of inadequacy and consider their sitting in the outside lane, holding up people with faster cars, as a form of "revenge".

The answer is to regulary check your mirrors, move over if safe to do-so for vehicles that are making faster progress than you.(I do, even if it means using the brakes!!). Buy a faster car. (I may change my attitude if I trade my current car for a, considerably slower Range Rover sport though)

By the way, an automatic garage door opener, when it is active, jams all the latest european police speed trap stuff. Seen it on TV in the UK when it was tested by the coppers. 100% jamming rate but its highly illegal to use it to jam their equipment!!

Wrong answer. Why the hell should I have to brake in order to let you go by without breaking? Schumi you ain't, slow your ass down to 200 before you kill somebody.

@Eurovol...why should I slow down? It is perfectly legal and safe to travel in excess of 200kph when conditions allow. Why should I slow down for some self-righteous idiot that is sitting in the outside lane for no particular reason other than they think that their speed is "quite enough".

I have seen a documentary over here whereby the police book people for "causing an obstruction" when they are performing the aforementioned driving style.

Check your mirrors and get out of the way before you cause an accident!

I don't sit in the left lane and I am also passing up 99% of the cars on the road and when doing so, I don't need an ass on my ass with his blinker going which is also illegal. If I could get over safely, I would, but I ain't gonna if I have to break to do it. That ain't safe no matter what you may think. There actually is a suggested "speed limit" and that limit is 130. Now, I will continue to do 200 and pass cars and drive responsibly and from what I gather, you will continue to think everyone no matter what should get out of your way. Continue thinking that you have the right to pass no matter what the traffic dictates and you will soon be involved in a wreck if you haven't already bumped into someones rear-end and tried to blame it on them for impeding your holyness?

So, Eurovol, when you check your mirrors and see a car in the distance that is making more rapid progress, you think it is dangerous to brake and tuck in to let him pass??!! I dont. It is just that if I am doing 200, 150 250 kph, I dont think, self-righteously, that my speed is quite adequate and everyone should wait for me. I also do not think my self-imposed limit of 250kph should be sufficient for everyone else. I do not sit on peoples tails with indicators going but it is tempting when someone in front, doing 150kph just sits there as they have to get around the next vehicle on the inside lane that happens to be 250 metres ahead.

On the flip side, when you are doing 250 and see someone up ahead in the left lane passing cars, why don't you just take your foot off the gas a bit and give them that extra bit of time to finish passing and get over before you come screaming up on their tail?
Sorry, but I have just had enough of people flying up and riding my ass when I am at the tail end of three cars in the left lane passing the cars on the inside two lanes and there is nowhere for me to go and they are looking so damn self righteous with their blinker just a going. For the majority of the Abahn, the two most dangerous types on the road are those going less than 120 and those going more than 220. That is simply the dictate of the road with the types of cars and the amount of traffic on it.

Yep. I ease off when I can see that there is nowhere to go (although some dont and I have encountered a few of them tailgating me) but my "beef" is the ones that insist on sitting in the outside lane, causing a tailback, when there is nothing in the inside lane. I dont think that we will agree on this topic.

Just stick two fingers up at them... (UK style) most dont understand what that means. Another trick is pulling up alongside and staring at them (they always try to look dead ahead) it is even better when all your passengers do it too

250's too slow - BMW's limiters allow 'em to do a bit more than that. I'd suggest a self-imposed limit of around 265kph, thus making you faster than nearly anything else on the road.

Not in Austria it ain't..

I know that. I have to drive through Germany to get to Austria though and do so most weekends as we have a house in a ski resort. Its not worth speeding in Austria as you will almost certainly be picked up as you are not a "local"