Radar detectors are legal in all US states, except Virginia and Washington DC. They are illegal in all Canadian provinces, except Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. In the UK radar and laser detectors are still legal (December 2005), but will soon be outlawed in the new Road Safety Bill. In all other European countries they are illegal.
No wonder that most developments in this field come from the USA. X-band radar (10.5 - 10.55 GHz) used to be the most popular, but these devices are now almost totally obsolete. Today, the majority of radar guns operate on the K-band (24.05 - 24.25 GHz) or Ka-band (33.4 - 36.0 GHz). Ka-band guns account for 90% of new radar-gun purchases in the US.
However most of the European police forces use radar guns operating in the Ku-band (13.4 GHz). This means that most radar detectors for the US market are useless in Europe. Do we have to repeat that they are illegal in the whole of Europe, except the UK?
In places where radar detectors are illegal, police forces often use radar detector detectors, as there are VG-2, RDD and Spectre II. Nowadays nearly all radar detectors are undetectable by VG-2, but almost all can be detected by Spectre II.
Which are the best radar detectors on the market?
According to SpeedZone.com they are the Valentine One, the Bel Pro RX65, the Bel Vector 995 and the Escort Passport 8500 X50. The Bel Pro RX65 can pick up Ku-band radar, which is already used in Europe and might come to the US late in 2006.
Some best budget radar detectors are the Bel Pro RX55, the Bel Vector 895 and the Cobra 9675. Two devices that can also detect Ku-band radar are the Cobra KU-6050 and the Snooper S5-R.
What if you live in a country, or have to drive in a state, where radar detectors are illegal?
You have to know that a radar detector will not warn you in time for all speed controls and that 80% of all speeding tickets are generated by fixed camera installations. In the UK most fixed cameras are installed at accident 'black spots' where four or more fatal or serious road collisions have occurred over the previous three years. In other countries similar considerations are applied for the placement of fixed speed cameras.
GPS Speed Warning Devices, without incorporated radar detector, are perfectly legal in all countries, except in Switzerland
The GPS receiver in your car determines your car's speed, heading and co-ordinates. In its memory it has the co-ordinates of all accident black spots, school zones and speed enforcement areas. Even the co-ordinates of spots where regularly are posted mobile speed cameras.
When you are heading towards one of these known spots, the system warns you as soon as you come within a certain distance to the speed camera. Often the first warning is dependant on your speed. At 80mph you must be warned earlier than at 30mph. Many modern devices know the maximum speed for that spot and if you drive slower, they do not warn you, contrary to radar detectors, that always give a warning. If you drive faster they indicate your actual speed and the maximum allowable speed.
Despite the fact that radar detectors are still legal in the UK, GPS Speed Warning Devices are very popular in this country.
GPS Speed Warning Programs and Devices
The Automobile Association (AA), in conjunction with RoadPilot, has released its own GPS Speed Warning software for pocket PCs, called AA Speedcare, which works stand-alone or in conjunction with AA Navigator or TomTom Navigator. If you want to use it in stand-alone mode, you will have to install your own GPS receiver (autonomous device, Bluetooth receiver or GPS mouse) to your pocket PC, unless you have a pocket PC with incorporated GPS receiver, of course.
Road Angel has several "Driver Safety Systems", as they call them. The Compact Road Angel is the entry level product, but it has some nice features, that otherwise will only be found on high-end models. It warns you for safety cameras, accident black spots, primary schools and congestion zones. It indicates the speed limits at known camera spots and you can even add an optional radar detector to it.
The Classic Road Angel database is split into four areas, namely Fixed, Mobile, Average and Black spot. The LCD display shows which area you are approaching and you can also store your own and new locations to any menu area. It comes standard with a Laser detector, but does not know the speed limits.
The new Road Angel with radar detector alerts you to: accident black spots, safety cameras and mobile laser guns; with an audible, visual and voice alerts. The actual model does not know speed limits, but we have heard that a new software release will add this in the near future.
Road Angel Navigator combines full UK street mapping with Road Angel safety camera and Accident black spot alert system. As such it is the better of two worlds. Its database contains speed limits at all camera positions. It does not have a radar detector and will remain legal, not only in the UK, but also in the rest of Europe. Europe mapping is available separately.
Another big name in the field of Speed Warning devices is Morpheous. The Geodesy Plus has some nice features, like there are the Speed Sensitivity function, which mutes the audible alarm if the vehicle is not exceeding the speed limit when approaching a fixed speed camera location. An approach above the speed limit will trigger the full audio and visual alarm. Auto Ranging automatically adjusts the range at which the first warning is given. The Awareness Beep, where the Geodesy emits a single beep when the first warning light illuminates to signal the start of a collision hotspot area.
The Morpheous Road Pilot is the Big Daddy of the speedtrap detector market, with the largest LCD screen to be found on any GPS speedtrap detector. Morpheous was the first to bring a GPS speedtrap detector to the UK and now there is the Micro Road Pilot with dimensions 47 x 49 x 12mm. The default setting for the Micro Road Pilot display shows vehicle speed and heading. This automatically switches to the hazard zone or speed camera alert display, showing the local speed limit, actual vehicle speed and proximity to the camera. Heading Sensitivity ignores speed cameras off user's carriageway. You can add Laser Pilot which gives protection against mobile laser traps. Once you buy this device, you will need to continue to pay an annual subscription, because if you stop subscribing the unit will be of no use even with the old database.
To add to the confusion: there is also a firm with the name RoadPilot, who claims to have the world's smallest GPS speed camera warning system, the MicroGo. So, you can buy a Micro Road Pilot from Morpheous or a MicroGo from RoadPilot.
The MicroGo comes ready loaded with RoadPilot's industry standard database of speed camera locations and accident black spots both in the UK and Europe. When you approach a fixed speed camera, MicroGo gives an audible and visual warning. An "Alert" sound is immediately followed by the words "Speed Camera. Speed Limit 40"... or 50, or 70 etc.
If you are driving faster than the permitted speed, MicroGo advises you to slow down until you've reached the permitted speed. If you are under the speed limit only an early warning is given.
The display indicates the permitted speed AND your actual speed at the same time. It also indicates how close you are to the camera.
RoadPilot offers daily camera location updates, quickly accessible online.
About the size and weight of two decks of playing cards, the Origin Blue i is a very complete product. The Directional feature provides warnings only for speed traps positioned to catch drivers traveling in the direction of the user. The Blue i sounds warnings only if the user is exceeding the prevailing speed limit. The Motorway feature only warns for speed traps which are sited on the motorway network. When in range of a speed trap, the LCD screen displays: the type of speed trap, the direction of the speed trap, the vehicle speed, the speed limit, the road number and the countdown in meters to the speed trap. The device is supplied with an external modem to facilitate speed trap data updates and future software improvements.
The Inforad GPS Speed Camera Locator, suitable for 12V and 24V vehicles, remains one of the most affordable devices on the market. It does not have a costly LCD screen, but warns you via different colored LEDs and audio signals. You can add your own points of interest such as schools and areas known for mobile speed traps. If you encounter a new speed camera, simply hold down the right hand function key and the location of the camera will be recorded on your Inforad. If your car has a UV protected windscreen, you can add an optional external GPS antenna. The unit can be used as a GPS receiver. The NMEA-0183 v2.0 output can be used by navigation applications. And Inforad gives European coverage. Not only for the UK, but also for France, Austria, Benelux, Germany and Switzerland.
The Talex GPS Detector warns you for speed cameras, accident black spots, school areas and congestion charging zones via sound, voice and a bright LED display. The small device 103 x 67 x 23mm) clearly announces the legal speed limit when approaching fixed camera sites. Typically warns 500 yards before a camera location and displays the speed limit for the road. Talex updates mobile sites on a weekly basis. And now there is the Talex Lite, with a somewhat liter database and also a liter price.
GPX Navigator provides comprehensive audible and text based warnings in advance of any fixed safety camera or black spot areas. Using its built-in digital compass, GPX Navigator is able to direct you to over 2,500 UK towns and cities, providing direction, distance to destination and journey time. Additionally, GPX Navigator can direct you to all the UK's major airports, main-line railway stations and ferry terminals. With its unique POI (Points of interest) feature, you can ask GPX Navigator to find your nearest airport, main-line railway station or ferry port. You will be told the name of the location (for example Stansted Airport) and the exact distance, before directional navigation points you towards your destination. To avoid any misunderstandings: this is a navigational aid, not a complete street-routing program.
The DriveSmart GPS safety device is a fully upgradeable unit that allows new features to be added by software updates. Database updates are free for life. This device's feature list is impressive. Just to mention the most important ones:
- Gives warning distances to locations
- Displays current speed, time and direction
- European locations for continental use including South Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Holland, Belgium and Luxemburg
- Speech alerts and menu's in English, French and German
- GPS antennae compatible with all car windscreen types included in the box
- Gives your current GPS location for break down or emergency services
- Power supply for PC connection and emergency power
- Store your own locations
- 120,000 memory locations
- Navigation data output for use with all PDA'S and Laptops
- 2 year warranty and life time support
GPS Navirad is another small (57 x 88 x 17mm) GPS Speed Camera Locator for 12V and 24V vehicles. It warns you with voice alerts and through its small daylight screen. It has a connector for an optional external GPS antenna and can simultaneously be used as a GPS receiver via a NMEA-0183 v2.0 cable, provided for PC, optional for PDA.
The TR20 from Technology Driven Solutions (TDS) is their entry level GPS driver safety system. It warns you for fixed and mobile speed camera locations, accident black spots and school areas and notices congestion and toll charge areas. The screen informs you about your GPS position, longitude and latitude, shows a compass and road number identification and you have the choice between an analogue or digital clock. The TR30 has all that plus downloadable male, female and specialty voices and it has a multi-color backlight to match your car instrumentation.
The Cyclops V2 GPS Speed Camera Warning provides you with advanced warnings of up to 800 meters to all fixed speed camera locations and all known mobile laser and mobile safety camera sites. Cyclops then displays the maximum speed limit for the road via a large clear LED text display and audibly via an audio speaker. The Overspeed mode provides a continuous audio alert on approaching a camera over the speed limit.
Radar detectors in Australia
Radar detector ownership is not illegal in any state in Australia. Possession in Victoria is. However, the use of radar detectors is illegal in all Australian States. Authorities are using the Stalcar MK 3 plus radar detector detectors to detect operational radar detectors.
The Uniden GPS301 GPS Road Safety Warning System is made in Australia. After we had seen the pictures and the descriptions, we concluded that the GPX Navigator (see above) is in fact the same device as the Uniden GPS301, so we will not repeat what we told about the GPX Navigator. Except that the GPS301 gives you directions to more than 5000 pre-programmed Australian and New Zealand cities and suburbs and its database with speed traps has Nationwide Coverage.
Future developments
December 7, 2005. Webraska, a leading provider of GPS navigation applications for mobile phones, is pleased to announce the release of Webraska Navigation 6. Webraska Navigation 6 is a powerful GPS navigation application running on mobile phones and phone PDAs, featuring speed radar alerts and traffic optimized routing. Webraska Navigation 6 provides turn-by-turn guidance with voice instructions and detailed vector maps of across Europe. Webraska Navigation 6 turns phone PDAs and smartphones into comprehensive and reliable satellite navigation systems, therefore providing a smart alternative to dedicated satellite navigation systems or Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs).
Orange France is the first operator to offer this service on their SPV C600 phone. Actually (Dec. 2005) GPS Navigation is available for 17 European countries and the Speed Camera Warning System is only available for France. Many operators will follow and soon GPS Navigation, Speed Camera Warning and Real Time Traffic Information will be available on mobile phones in 22 European countries.
GPS Speed Camera Locators are more selective than radar detectors
Radar detectors can pick up signals from speed cameras on both sides of the road. This means that in about 50% of all warnings, the signal has no meaning for you, only for those traveling in the opposite direction. This plus the illegal character of radar detectors in most countries, make the GPS speed camera warning systems our favorite solution.
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