OT: Radar Detectors

[keno]

My wife has requested for a holiday present a pair of radar detectors, one for her car the other for her recently acquired truck. She has the tendency to heavy-foot it, and she's now verging on having more insurance points than the San Diego Chargers. Help!

What brands and models do you suggest? (BTW, can they be found at Walmart? I'm joking, I'm joking!)

Thanks,

keno

[rePhil]

That she slows down. Just (semi) kidding of course Keno, but.... The very little I think I know is there is no stopping "instant on" detection, the same with timed detection from aircraft used on interstates around here.
I like speed I really do. I support her and you in avoidance, but if you speed you have to be ready to pay. I have an inexpensive Cobra that I have had for several years that works well.

I used to use a radar gun often in my prior occupation. On boring road trips pulling our "work" boat we would pull out the Stalker and aim it at folks we knew were speeding, watch them hit the brakes while we passed them back.

[JohnS]

I've found that if I don't drive more than five over, I don't have to watch for cops or slow down when the RD beeps. I arrive much more relaxed to where I'm going and it only takes a few minutes longer.

[CarbonTi]

No motorist can beat laser.

Radar detectors only work if the accepted method of enforcement is broadcasting K or X band waiting for a speeder to come along but the signal alerts the entire county. Only Barney Fife does it this way anymore. Instant-on radar is harder to beat and you'll be warned only if you pick up a signal from the driver ahead of you being targeted. Laser is unbeatable.

Drive it at no more than 10 above the posted speed limit and you should generally be allowed free passage. Buy a cheap radar detector that falses everything and you'll end up ignoring it. Buy an expensive Valentine and it'll tell you when you're going to get a ticket.

The enforcers have won. Save the real speed for the race track, relax and enjoy the ride otherwise.

[catulle]

I often drive on the CT and Mass highways and it never ceases to amaze me how much over the speed limits just about everyone drives. I set the cruise control thingy some five miles over the speed limit and the rest of the cars pass me as if I were parked on the side of the road.

About a month ago I drove from CT to a race in Mass and some three quarters of the way to my destination I saw a car with a cross bike strapped to the roof. I figured to follow the car to the race site but I plain couldn't keep up with his speed. Closer to the highway exit I saw another car also with a bicycle strapped to the roof and followed it but certainly not at the speed limit.

Being a foreigner and most certainly not a Republican I make a point of avoiding a Rodney King incident. However, it always blows my mind to see how fast people drive on the highways at least in that part of the country. Oh, and Florida is worse. Not only do they speed, but they drive as if they were on a grazing pasture.

[orbea65]

Ironic that this thread is appearing so close to another thread of a driver killing a cyclist while on the cell phone...
Keno, after reading your many posts on the forum, I've always gotten the impression that you are a -very- mature and smart person. Again, based on your other posts on this forum, I'm very suprised that you would want to help someone continue to drive dangerously.
Politely tell your wife to slow down!

[Elefantino]

I'm joking! (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4642482)

[david]

The enforcers have won.

i've tried several. the one i like the most is the valentine. its directional arrows help you know where the signal is coming from. for example, i sometimes get a faint, intermittent alert with the arrow indicating the signal is coming from behind. that's a pretty good sign that a trooper is gaining on me in his car with his radar on. that's saved me a few times.

but that's when the trooper is driving along with an in-car device that's routinely on all the time. the problem is that most troopers are using instant-on and that changes the game significantly.

if you know how radar works, you know the limitations of detectors. the early warning a detector can provide is a result of radar "leakage." basically, the trooper is up the road with his radar on, locking onto vehicles as they come into his field of vision - around a corner, over a hill, or tucked behind some visual obstruction such as a bridge, tree, etc. radar is emitted in a fairly wide field (compared to laser) and it travels pretty far, widenning as it goes. think of a shotgun and its pellets. your detector picks up some of the scattered signal, sometimes reflected off trees and road signs, before you drive into its sweet spot, where the radar gun can get a lock on you and the trooper can make a viz id.

prior to instant-on, troopers would sit there with the radar gun on all the time, so you could pick up leakage easily. as another poster said, this method is still practiced, but much less frequently. usually in smaller towns where they haven't upgraded thier equipment, yet.

now with instant-on, you have to hope there's traffic in front of you and that your detector is picking up the brief blasts of radar as the trooper targets them. even if you do pick up those signals, they're often very short and it's hard to know whether it's really radar up the road or just some false reading from some nearby microwave.

most detectors come with the ability to adjust sensitivity so that you can dial out a lot of the false signals. but you want as much sensitivity as you can bear because you want to be able to pck up those small, instant-on fragemnts coming from up the road. you end up spending a lot of your trip thinking about and decoding chirps from your radar detector. it gets annoying.

of course, with instant-on, you have to hope there's traffic in front of you. if not, you'll get no signal until you've driven into the troopers field of view and then, bang, he pulls the trigger and all your detector is telling you is that you're busted.

laser is like instant-on in that it's instantaneous. but it's even more dangerous because it offers the ability for the trooper to pick your vehicle out of a crowd.

having said that, radar detectors are useful when driving around on country roads where you might encounter a policeman sitting by the side of the road with his radar on all the time. and they can help when encountering a patrol car on back roads with a dash mounted unit that's also on all the time.

long story short - radar detectors are okay, but the technology is heavily on the side of the police. if you speed, you're going to get caught, eventually. having a radar detector in your car when you do only makes it that much more painful.

one thought, however. i find the best radar detectors ever invented are brake lights. watch the cars ahead of you. if you see several cars hit their brakes ahead of you, chances are there's a trooper on the side of the road.
might not help you get away with routinely speeding, but it could help you from wandering into a speed trap going faster than the traffic ahead of you.

also, as others have said, keep it to less than 10mph over the limit and you're usually okay. above that, even with a detector, it's just become very hard to enjoy.

[Kevin]

Valentine makes a great radar detector. I can't live without the locator arrows. For laser you really need a Laser Jammer. The best jammer on the market is the Blinder 40.

Kevin

[Elefantino]

...even with a detector, it's just become very hard to enjoy.

I do not like Ford anymore (since they stopped being a car company) but I do like the new commercial for the Mustang.

"You couldn't find a car you liked in Germany?"

"No. I couldn't find a speed limit I liked in America."

[djg21]

My wife has requested for a holiday present a pair of radar detectors, one for her car the other for her recently acquired truck. She has the tendency to heavy-foot it, and she's now verging on having more insurance points than the San Diego Chargers. Help!

What brands and models do you suggest? (BTW, can they be found at Walmart? I'm joking, I'm joking!)

Thanks,

keno

I'll actually respond to the question rather than presuming that you and your wife are looking for licenses to drive dangerously.

The ValentineOne Detector is hands down the best detector on the market.

http://www.valentine1.com/

It is expensive, but the initial expense is offset by the upgrade policy.

http://www.valentine1.com/upgrades/

[zap]

Last I saw a test in c&d, valentine was #1.

[keno]

for the various advice. When, as Kevan puts it, she who must be obeyed speaks, I try to answer the question. After being together about 29 years, I'm here to report that helpful advise is in the eyes of the beholder. Based on what I've learned here, I may try for door #2 and see if what's behind it won't bankrupt us.

keno

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . might be to simply let her get her license yanked and go without the car and see if THAT changes her behavior.

Around here you can safely do 70-75 on the Thruway with nary a worry. Even then, so many people are blitzing past that there's always going to be a more convenient target for John Law.

But david is also right that watching for brake lights and being aware of your surroundings in general is the best protection. It amazes me how many people are just totally oblivious and show it in so many ways. Darting across two lanes to get to the exit, merging without looking, coming up in the right lane and just cutting in front of you to pass somebody. They have no idea what's going on right in front of them, much less a mile down the road if they can see that far.

It's also a good bet that if you see one trooper, there will be another one not too far away. Particularly on the Thruway where access is limited, having backup too far away can end up costing you your life if you're a trooper.

I have an aquaintance who is a trooper stationed on the Thruway in Catskill and he says you're generally fine up to 10 over unless you're driving like an @ss. They're far more worried about DUI drivers . . .

BBD

[george]

Radar detectors are like a cassette tape with music and are quickly becoming like an eight track tape with music!!!

[Serotta PETE]

Valentine is the best one I have ever used. Additionally they upgrade as new technology comes and they also do this at a very reasonable price for older units. My is 10 years old and still has the lastest technology, I woud suggest 2 install kits/ one per vehicle and then move unit. The opponent (police) are always getting better with technology and use - so it is always a game. Ten over the limit usually is ok on highways - not using a unit. In your area with local traffic and the 80/78 area I loved the VALENTINE>

No I am not promoting them for there is no free RED!!!

[Louis]

She has the tendency to heavy-foot it, and she's now verging on having more insurance points than the San Diego Chargers

Keno,

Not to get personal here, but this has to be the worst reason to get a RD. Some people justify it by saying "I go just as fast as the rest of the traffic, not any faster, and I want to know where the cops are." I don't like that excuse either, but at least it has a veneer of respectability.

Sounds to me that in your case you're just facilitating a habitual offender. Is your wife's time so valuable that she has to go even faster than the x miles over the speed limit that we all already drive? Are a few minutes of your wife's time more important that the potential damage she might cause by her behavior? Does she even care?

Sorry if I was laying it one pretty heavy there, but I just read the "ring tone" thread and am not feeling terribly charitably toward offending drivers right now.

Louis

[Birddog]

Gawwwwwd., all this moralizing and preaching is nauseating. I'll answer the question. I have a Bel Express 935. It has saved me many times and alerted me to slow down in poorly marked school zones and some good ol' fashioned speed traps, most located in "Smallsville OK". It has also failed miserably when I got nailed for 5 over by a Lazer. I think I paid $120 at Circuit City about a year ago. I drive a lot in the wide open spaces of Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico, usually 5 and sometimes 10 over out on the highways depending on the location. Surprisingly, in New Mexico the St cops have Lazers, I don't think any do in OK. It has helped me mostly in my own suburb where there is a plethora of changing speed limits and a favorite pastime of the cops is "revanuin". The min ticket in OK is now $160! I find that a Detector actually assists me in being a better observer of the law.

Birddog

[Frustration]

Hit this site...


WWW.RADARBUSTERS.COM


I have units from them for cars and the motorcycle.

I had Valenitine. Cost doesn't always make for the best unit...

[Louis]

It has helped me mostly in my own suburb where there is a plethora of changing speed limits

Briddog, I hope you watch for cyclists more carefully than you seem to watch for speed limit signs...

[JohnS]

Keno,

Not to get personal here, but this has to be the worst reason to get a RD. Some people justify it by saying "I go just as fast as the rest of the traffic, not any faster, and I want to know where the cops are." I don't like that excuse either, but at least it has a veneer of respectability.

Sounds to me that in your case you're just facilitating a habitual offender. Is your wife's time so valuable that she has to go even faster than the x miles over the speed limit that we all already drive? Are a few minutes of your wife's time more important that the potential damage she might cause by her behavior? Does she even care?

Sorry if I was laying it one pretty heavy there, but I just read the "ring tone" thread and am not feeling terribly charitably toward offending drivers right now.

LouisIt seems that it's okay here to drive dangerously as long as you don't hit a cyclist...then the death penalty applies. I don't get this holier than thou attitude... :confused:

[Lincoln]

Valentine One. As many others have pointed out, it won't keep you from getting a speeding ticket but used correctly it will help the odds.

And to all the alarmists, lighten up a little. Unless you know more about how she drives and the conditions under which she is speeding you really don't know enough to pass judgement.

[keno]

from having my sorry tush dragged around for 30 miles on the bike, all miles below the speed limits with some minor exceptions, and am getting a kick out of the responses. The following two pop out for me (incidentally, I'm feeling great as my riding has more than returned from pre-summer vacation in the hospital, and today's ride was about as good as I get, so I'm just having fun here):

BBD, if my wife loses her license would you like to become her chauffeur? I know that I wouldn't want to, but this is not a volunteer army household, you see. It's not that I'm a wuss; however, I consider myself to be somewhat realistic. Nah, I don't think her losing her license is for the greater good.

Louis, you married? If you are, for how long? BTW, you didn't come close to "heavy"; no problem here. I do, however, like the idea of being a "facilitator". It sounds to me like a much more positive spin than being a door mat. Many of us long-time married guys know that "love, honor, and facilitate, in sickness, health and automobiles..." boils down over time to much facilitating. Do I hear an amen?

keno

[JohnS]

And to all the alarmists, lighten up a little. Unless you know more about how she drives and the conditions under which she is speeding you really don't know enough to pass judgement....and under exactly what conditions would her constant speeding be appropriate? Think how few cops are out there and how many thousands of cars they each see each day. Why does she keep getting singled out? Obviously, she's doing something different to attract their attention...

[JohnS]

from having my sorry tush dragged around for 30 miles on the bike, all miles below the speed limits with some minor exceptions, and am getting a kick out of the responses. The following two pop out for me (incidentally, I'm feeling great as my riding has more than returned from pre-summer vacation in the hospital, and today's ride was about as good as I get, so I'm just having fun here):

BBD, if my wife loses her license would you like to become her chauffeur? I know that I wouldn't want to, but this is not a volunteer army household, you see. It's not that I'm a wuss; however, I consider myself to be somewhat realistic. Nah, I don't think her losing her license is for the greater good.

Louis, you married? If you are, for how long? BTW, you didn't come close to "heavy"; no problem here. I do, however, like the idea of being a "facilitator". It sounds to me like a much more positive spin than being a door mat. Many of us long-time married guys know that "love, honor, and facilitate, in sickness, health and automobiles..." boils down over time to much facilitating. Do I hear an amen?

keno
Would you help her break the law if she was a kleptomaniac?

[keno]

I did not state the circumstances surrounding her acquisition of points. She is not a serial offender in the field of being ticketed and not a dangerous driver. Unless she forgot to tell me, she has never killed anyone in an accident, and has had a very few minor fender benders and never a real crash. She is quite a good driver. In fact, it is a seldom occurrence that she gets stopped, but a whopper when it happens. She's also a pretty good kid and a terrific wife to me. For what it's worth, fly likes her lots, but don't tell anyone.

keno

[JohnS]

I did not state the circumstances surrounding her acquisition of points. She is not a serial offender in the field of being ticketed and not a dangerous driver. Unless she forgot to tell me, she has never killed anyone in an accident, and has had a very few minor fender benders and never a real crash. She is quite a good driver. In fact, it is a seldom occurrence that she gets stopped, but a whopper when it happens. She's also a pretty good kid and a terrific wife to me. For what it's worth, fly likes her lots, but don't tell anyone.

keno
Justification to the nth degree. YOU were the one that said how she had more points than the SD Chargers. You're an enabler. So she hasn't killed anyone...yet. I didn't know that you got one "oops" in that regard. I hear lots of people liked Ted Bundy, too.

[Louis]

I hear lots of people liked Ted Bundy, too.

Now that's definitely laying it on a bit heavy.

[keno]

I think I like "facilitator" better than "enabler", but who am I to complain having knowingly decided to marry a could be ax murderer. Am I in danger of becoming an accessory, like a purse or earings?

keno

[CarbonTi]

This is not directed at anyone in particular but when someone/anyone says that they are a pretty good driver, the statement is a load of hooey. Who ever thinks thay are less than a "better than average - pretty good - excellent" (Pick the one modifier that suits your modesty) driver?? And yet these remarks often have no basis of judgement and are simple declarations.

Someone who wants to actually be a good driver rather than fantasizing they are knows that it is a skill to be acquired and worked on. If there hasn't been an awareness and an effort made then the skill level isn't there, not matter what they'd like to believe. If the habitual focus of a driver is the environment inside the car (my cellphone call, my i-pod tunes, my caffe latte, etc etc) rather than the dynamic environment outside the car (traffic flow, cyclist, relative speed, mirrors, signal etc etc) then that driver is a random element waiting for the right circumstance to screw up.

All I can hope for as a cyclist is that I don't present the opportunity.

BTW I ride sport motorcycles also, and the motorcycle is much safer than the bike. Because for all the stupid things drivers may do, the range of errors can be minimized with the throttle, that is, controlling your spacing (Borrow from the fighter pilots credo "Speed is life..."). A cyclist is an extremely vulnerable vehicle.

[BumbleBeeDave]

I recognize you are in a very difficult position. You love this woman, and added to that though you may disagree with her, you still have to live together. But in this particular case I must politely but firmly disagree with you.

When I was in my twenties I had my radar detector and defended my right to have it and drive fast all the time because I also felt I was a very good driver. Well, guess what? It turns out I was wrong about a lot of things I thought I knew in my 20's--and my 30's, and now my 40's. I guess the only thing that's really changed is my willingness to declare what I am or am not, because experience has taught me I might very well be wrong and will keep learning things I'm definitely not right about up until the day I die.

You state that she doesn't get many tickets, but when she does it's a "whopper." Well, it really doesn't matter the exact circumstances of traffic flow, speed of other traffic, or other factors. The next "whopper" might end up killing a family of six in their SUV on the way to the beach. Or a trucker who's a father of 3 when he desperately tries to avoid the car that's just cut in front of him. Or it might be your wife herself. Now I don't know this for a fact, but I learned from my years chasing car wrecks as a news photographer what my impression of the real consequences of bad driving are. They are not just made up scenes in those scare tactic movies we used to see in driver's ed. They are real. People die who didn't need to, and it is very ugly.

If you really, really love her, tell her you are not going to buy her a radar detector, and if she gets her license yanked you are not going to ferry her around and be honest with her and tell her that you are not going to do these things because you really do love her and want her to stay in one piece. And then ask her to be fair to you and think about it for 24 hours before giving you her reaction.

I said what I said earlier because you are my forum friend and I care about what happens to you and your family, not to give you a hard time.

I also have to add that I, too, am very disturbed by the implied hypocrisy I've seen in this thread. JohnS is right on this one--driving like a bat out of hell does seem to be totally OK until you hit a cyclist. But then, boy are you in trouble . . . :(

[fierte_poser]

Keno,

Here's whattcha do:

1) "Honey, your tires are all screwed up. I'll be back in awhile."

2) Go to Tires R Us. Buy tires that are smaller in diameter than current tires.

3) Based on # of tickets acquired over the next month, step 2 may have to be repeated.

Note: This method is only effective if your better half consistently drives, say, 15mph over the posted limit. If she is the 'other' type of speeder (alpha freeway type... increases speed to make sure they are always the passer and never the passee), this method won't be as effective.

Kent

[Smiley]

How about she keeps a dozen Krispy Kemes in the front seat and when she gets pulled over she uses them donuts as a bribe :)

[Kevin]

Keno,

Never leave your wing man, or in your case your wing woman. As long as she drives sober, and keeps her speeding to the highways, she is OK with me. :beer:

Kevin

[Ginger]

Oh PLEASE. Yeah, Keno's wife could have an accident and injure someone. But so could you or I even while we're obeying the laws. Accidents happen to all of us.

Keno, radar detectors breed a false sense of security. I agree with david that the best radar detector are brake lights, and something I learned from my friends in the BMW TCD (mortocycles) is that on four lane divided freeways with higher than posted speeds, if you keep it BELOW 82mph, you'll probably be ignored. If your wife is getting tickets she needs to review her driving habits because something is tipping the police off to check her speed. Generally, dodging in and out of traffic, passing on the right, and exceeding the accepted speed of surrounding traffic by 5mph will get you noticed.

I will say that if she's speeding while towing a trailer with her horse in it...shame on her. Those things don't have the stabilization that the truck in front of it does and she's subjecting her horse's legs to forces the horse doesn't deserve. Think about how it felt to drive in a 60's era car and you get the idea. And the horse tolerates it standing...


Oh...um...I thought of one other thing...if these tickets are "recently" starting to add up you might want to schedule an appointment with your wife's eye doc and her other docs to have everything checked out. Changes in attitude and small signs and all that. If they've been a constant...well...nevermind.
:)

[keno]

here in former paradise. Having tossed and turned endlessly, I realized, based on the various sermonettes offered, that I must have my wife committed for both her own safety and that of others. I will be spending the day looking for the best legal help I can find to accomplish this. The dilemma I face, however, is that the meaningful bonus she will receive from her employer will not be paid until February, and consequently I cannot afford to commit her before then. There is, after all, a speedy F-150 loan needing payment, not to mention the uncomfortably pricey insurance tab (I guess that I can terminate the coverage once, well, you know once what). I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed that nothing terrible happens between now and then (we'll be in Hawaii for close to two weeks during the gap, so that cuts down the risk window a bit).

Anyhow, it's a dark day here. Well, it is 6:43 and the sun hasn't come up, which may have something to do with it.

I'll also spend some time today looking for a men's group for guys with fast wives.

It's like a nightmare, it just keeps getting worse. http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2006-12-03T214844Z_01_N03420467_RTRUKOC_0_US-ECOLI-TACOBELL.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

keno

[BoulderGeek]

I have a Valentine 1 on my VFR.

It has saved me several times, in many environments.

I did a lot of research, and really didn't want to pony up to the V1's price point.

In the end,I decided that if one is going to have a radar detector, the V1 is the only worthwhile use of money. A cheapie isn't worth anything.

I use my V1 between my bike, Volvo 244ti and Jeep. It comes with enough mounting hardware to be portable against multiple vehicles.

[Kevan]

True, but I didn't say how!

I'm surprised at the lot of you, certainly you folk can come up with something better than what's been offered here so far.

Keno, pal, here's what you do:

Go to Radio Shack and have one of those guys gut their cheapest rigs and install within it a random timed switch that turns itself on until it's manually reset. Then set the timing range to be within 8 to 20 minutes of travel. Have them add more flashing lights, a small siren, maybe connect it to a vibrating seat, I don't know what else. It's a win-win situation. She thinks she's being protected, you know she's towing the line, and the preachers here can move on to the next cause.

Really folks... use some imagination.

[Lincoln]

Kevan,

Actually, I thought Kent's tire size idea was very creative. :beer:

[Kevan]

Kevan,

Actually, I thought Kent's tire size idea was very creative. :beer:

but it doesn't satisfy the gadget on the dash with blinky lights and buzzing, does it? Without the gizmo, he's a man with an unhappy wife. An unhappy wife... well, do you need me to spell that out to ya?

The man has a deliverable to contend with. Which reminds me...

Keno, you also need the guys to install a sensitivity control knob. Basically all you need is a knob that can be turned; nothing needs to be connected to it. That way should she ever complain, ask her if she has made the necessary adjustment.

Who's looking out for you, big guy?

[catulle]

How about a speed control gizmo, atmo...?

[Ginger]

How about a speed control gizmo, atmo...?
Evil.

Evil and mean.


Oh...I guess the other question would be...are radar detectors legal in your state and all the surrounding states where the vehicle would be driven? If they aren't, you can get an even BETTER ticket if they find you have one. :)

[Kevan]

How about a speed control gizmo, atmo...?

Keno should probably rethink the toggle switch for accelerator option.

I'm just saying.

[catulle]

Evil.
Evil and mean.


.

[Too Tall]

This might be the most hilarious thread in a long long time. Really.

[spiderlake]

No preaching here. I don't have a radar detector but the "going with the flow" of traffic seems to work well. People in Michigan enjoy driving fast and it isn't unusual to find the "flow" to be 85MPH in a 70MPH zone. This is especially true on 131 between Grand Rapids and Traverse City. I have also noticed our friends on the east side of the state really enjoy their speed as well.

Anyway, as long as you aren't weaving in and out of traffic and not standing out then I think the cops will leave you alone.

[Ginger]

No preaching here. I don't have a radar detector but the "going with the flow" of traffic seems to work well. People in Michigan enjoy driving fast and it isn't unusual to find the "flow" to be 85MPH in a 70MPH zone. This is especially true on 131 between Grand Rapids and Traverse City. I have also noticed our friends on the east side of the state really enjoy their speed as well.

Anyway, as long as you aren't weaving in and out of traffic and not standing out then I think the cops will leave you alone.

To bring this back to Serotta. A particular Serotta personality was giving presentations in Michigan and had to cross the state from Grand Rapids to Clarkston. He said he was running late until he figured out that people in Michigan drive left, pass right....

Sad thing is that he's correct. (Will the mini van doing 65 in the fast lane please get out of my way? Thank you in advance.)


Keno Keno Keno. You can't commit your wife. She's provided the community, the state, the nation...nay..the WHOLE WORLD a great service....
Yes, she's kept you off the streets and out of trouble.
For that we're forever thankful.

banana

[Tom]

Look around and buy her a car that goes really fast, is fun to drive but doesn't look like it ought to be so. She won't get speeding tickets. I drove a white Civic Si hatchback for 11 years without one single speeding ticket. If I was less than 15mph over the speed limit at any given time it was because something slow was in front of me. I can think of at least four occasions when I was above 90 with no cover and saw a cop with the radar out. Brake hard, no problems.

It was a small white car. White. Not red, not black, white. Totally harmless.

I replace it with a red Element. Within four weeks I had a speeding ticket. It was a stupid one, too, pushing the pace to get by a Winnebago before the truck lane ran out, up in Vermont.

So. Buy her a really nice small car, painted some nice neutral calm eye-soothing color but make sure it has a fire-breathing 400 horsepower motor, giant brakes and the tightest suspension this side of Formula 1. If the front is shaped so a radar signal can't get a grip on it, so much the better. Just make sure that when you look at it doesn't even whisper the word 'speed'.

[keno]

Ginger, actually, scrapping the commitment idea became obvious to me when I realized that she would probably take out a contract on me.

Tom, the red Ferrari is a non-negotiable. Her idea of roughing it is using a black telephone.

Overall, though, I feel that we've made great progress in this thread. I will have to leave you now (with apologies to some, I'm sure, as not in the grander sense) as the next therapy group has arrived.

keno

[William]

Keno,

Move up here to RI. where 80 mph is the average and you only see the State Troopers out on I-95 a couple of days every month. Slow drivers sit in the fast lane and every one else passes on the right. Motorcycles ride wheelies down the interstate, cars weave in and out of traffic, people will tailgate you, or slam on the brakes if you tailgate them. They will ride your backside, gun around you, cut you off, then turn onto the very next street. And then don't forget the Rhode Island shuffle: Don't wait for an opening to get out into traffic, just stick the nose of your vehicle into the lane to block every one, then slide in. Your wife wouldn't be noticed at all.


http://www.914club.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/MDB2.gif

William

[Ginger]

Keno,

Move up here to RI. where 80 mph is the average and you only see the State Troopers out on I-95 a couple of days every month. Slow drivers sit in the fast lane and every one else passes on the right. Motorcycles ride wheelies down the interstate, cars weave in and out of traffic, people will tailgate you, or slam on the brakes if you tailgate them. They will ride your backside, gun around you, cut you off, then turn onto the very next street. And then don't forget the Rhode Island shuffle: Don't wait for an opening to get out into traffic, just stick the nose of your vehicle into the lane to block every one, then slide in. Your wife wouldn't be noticed at all.


http://www.914club.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/MDB2.gif

William

Hey...you live in Michigan...don't you.

[catulle]

Don't you save gas when you drive at 50...? Just asking...

[William]

Hey...you live in Michigan...don't you.


Michigan's scrappy little brother. ;)




William

[bcm119]

Just don't move to the northwest. We all live in constant fear of the cops out here, no one drives more than 10 over, people stop for pedestrians when they look like they might be considering crossing the street, and school zones stretch for a mile in either direction. I was in Seattle last weekend and noticed a strange phenomenon downtown: crowds of people waiting at the crosswalk for the signal to say walk, even though there were no cars coming.
In 6 years of living in CA I was never pulled over, but I've been pulled over 3 times in the last 2 years here in OR, getting a ticket once for not having my seatbelt completely fastened as I pulled out of a parking spot downtown. My significant other received a speeding ticket for $679 a few months ago. I guess thats why Oregon has the "best" drivers... although "most frightened" seems more appropriate.


*this was mostly in jest; I'm thankful as a cyclist we have some of the safest roads in the country here.

[Ozz]

...I was in Seattle last weekend and noticed a strange phenomenon downtown: crowds of people waiting at the crosswalk for the signal to say walk, even though there were no cars coming. ....
That's cuz the cops hand out jay-walking tickets...apparently this is easier than busting the crack dealer on the next corner.

You'd think the "smartest city in the country (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13278190/)" would have citizens smarter than a walk-signal? Of course, I got one of those tickets a couple year ago, so I must be dragging down the average....

[christian]

Oh PLEASE. Yeah, Keno's wife could have an accident and injure someone. But so could you or I even while we're obeying the laws. Accidents happen to all of us.

This line of argument assumes that the propensity to have an accident and the severity thereof is independent of speed. Which is patently false.

I also think that most drivers are terrible and that Keno's wife, based on his charitable descriptions, is probably not an exception.

That said, if she wants a radar detector, she ought to get a V1.

- Christian

[William]

Second year in a row for the dumbest/most dangerous drivers in the nation. They even beat Michigan. :banana:

So if I'm from Oregon, but now live and drive in Rhode Island, what does that make me???


William


http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=12273

[Kevin]

Keno,

Move up here to RI. where 80 mph is the average

William


Correct me if I am wrong, but at 80 mph I believe that you can drive from one side of the state to the other in under an hour :banana:

Kevin

[flydhest]

I personally think that keno's wife is wonderful. She's charming and gracious and a lot of fun to be around.

I came to this opinion long ago, and well before I found out that she thinks I'm hot.

[Kevan]

I personally think that keno's wife is wonderful. She's charming and gracious and a lot of fun to be around.

I came to this opinion long ago, and well before I found out that she thinks I'm hot.

What's your point?

[BumbleBeeDave]

That's cuz the cops hand out jay-walking tickets...apparently this is easier than busting the crack dealer on the next corner.

You'd think the "smartest city in the country (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13278190/)" would have citizens smarter than a walk-signal? Of course, I got one of those tickets a couple year ago, so I must be dragging down the average....

You'd think if they were all so God-d@mned smart they could figure out to look to see if there's a cop around before they jaywalk! ;)

BBD

[William]

Correct me if I am wrong, but at 80 mph I believe that you can drive from one side of the state to the other in under an hour :banana:

Kevin

At 60 mph you can do it in 45 minutes (no traffic). http://www.914club.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/MDB2.gif




William

[keno]

What's your point?

this may be the seed of an interesting concept here at the forum. What is, unrelated to my wife's accomplishments at the wheel, a "point"?

keno

[William]

this may be the seed of an interesting concept here at the forum. What is,....a "point"?

keno

http://cloudking.com/artists/caryn-drexl/works/exclamation-point_l.jpg

[Kevan]

http://www.pointless.net/images/point2.gif

[Ozz]

You'd think if they were all so God-d@mned smart they could figure out to look to see if there's a cop around before they jaywalk! ;)

BBD
...and so the difference between "smart" and "educated" is demonstrated. :cool: