Depending on your budget and how much laser is being used in your area you might want to investigate a laser jammer in conjunction with a radar detector.

 

"pop" mode is unlikely to solve your problem. I believe the term was coined by a manufacturer that sells radar guns with a mode that they called "pop". I'm pretty sure it is not widely distributed, not legal to write a ticket when the mode was used, and rarely used by cops.
If you're seeing a short burst of radar (not laser) and your detector is not picking it up, then you are likely seeing some form of QT ("quick trigger") which is also not really legal to write a ticket from, but is much more widely seen. Your only shot at picking that up is a v1. There have been tests and more tests conducted on this, there is something about the patented sweep pattern or some crap on the v1 that allows it to pick up super short bursts that others cannot.

 

Radar detectors are a weak defense. They only help you if a cop is constantly pulsing the radar to measure cars in front of you. A well trained and well hidden cop will nail you almost every time. Detectors aren't worthless but they are far from fool proof.

 

Is it true cops can confiscate your radar if they see it? For those of you who have been pulled over and have radar, do you hide it?

 

^ Depends on your state ^

V1 and 9500 and such have laser and radar DETECTION. You need a laser JAMMER with good range and properly aimed heads with a combination of a good detector to give you a good chance to avoid a ticket.

 

^ Depends on your state ^

V1 and 9500 and such have laser and radar DETECTION. You need a laser JAMMER with good range and properly aimed heads with a combination of a good detector to give you a good chance to avoid a ticket.

 

I agree they aren't a strong defense, but I wouldn't say they are a weak defense either. Ultimately it is driver awareness and alertness that will yield the best results at avoiding being clocked, but when you add a radar detector on top of an alert driver it is highly unlikely you will ever be clocked before you have a chance to slow down.

The only time I can see myself being clocked is under an extreme set of circumstances:

1) Cop is using instant-on
2) He is hidden completely from view such as between two buildings (?)
3) I'm being an idiot driving too fast in an area where a cop can achieve #2

#3 is key. If I don't speed excessively on a stretch of road where a cop can be completely unseen, I will never be at risk. Cops are so predictable it's not hard to figure out how they operate. The most common camping spot is behind an overpass support beam in the median on a split highway. If the median is wide enough that it could hide a cop, I slow down ahead of time.

 

^^^
Pretty much this.

Radar Detectors arent "fool-proof" (see what I did there?)

I've got a V1 and have gotten a couple tickets but EVERY time they were from instant-on or laser.

Instant-on can be avoided if your paying attention because it has a shorter range than regular radar from my experience. So you can usually visually see the cop before you get in his range.
While laser is pretty much hopeless, your best bet of avoiding laser is to catch some "scatter" from other cars ahead of you so you can slam on your brakes before the cop points the laser at you.

Typical rule of thumb with a radar detector is make sure there are cars a head of you so that if theres a cop, they get hit with the instant-on / laser before you and you'll pick up that signal and give you the opportunity to slow down before you get in range of the cop.

 

i stopped using a radar detector because it just clutters up the car (even with a "hidden" mount) and no longer helped in my driving context

where it would be good: low-medium density traffic, long stretches of road (--> added driver fatique)

now i drive in medium traffic city highway where driving smart (line of sight, following distance, pacing, etc) is way more effective

 

Purchased my Escort 9500 a few years ago and haven't been cited for speeding since. It's paid for itself at least a few times over.