When the actual possesion of a radar detector dosen't cause you to break the law only possibly influences you, why are they illegal? If a government agency is monitoring you without a warrant shouldn't you be able to posses technology that could identify this to you?
I use to live in VA where they were illegal, I got 3 tickets, twice it wasn't even plugged in (if it's within possesion it is illegal by VA state law). I live in FL where they state government acts as it should according to the US constitution.
2006-08-09 04:05:01 · 16 answers · asked by ESPforlife 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
I just don't agree with it. I speed yes but who is to say my 5-10 miles an hour over the speed limit is more dangerous that someone going slower. I would fear a women doing her make-up and talking on a cell phone going 5 under much more then someone who is constantly scanning and analyzing every condition of the road and other drivers. They can point to flawed statistics that don't justify the individual action. I understan they are trying to save lives but I drive a lot on I-95 early in the morning around 4-5am and there is no one on the road, I should be able to go 20 miles an hour over the speed limit from a safety stand point. I have Z rated tires and a properly ispected car.
2006-08-09 04:21:52 · update #1
well, they can justify it in the name of the "greater good."
public highways are state owned, and it is their responsibility to keep those highways safe.
the only way they can really enforce the speed limit is by using radar.
if you are using equipment that allows you to go around their means of enforcement, they can call it illegal.
2006-08-09 04:11:33 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
People actually use the detector for the purpose of breaking the law. The only way to be fair about enforcing the law is to make the device illegal period. And if you don't have the device plugged in, whose to say whether it was or not?
I admit that I speed when I drive however I'd rather take my chances of getting caught rather than using a device that gives me a false sense of confidence because it makes me think that I can't caught. I am more likely to be alert and attentive when I am speeding because I am always on the lookout for a cop. If I had a radar detector I would be more likely to not think about it and end up causing a nasty accident.
2006-08-09 04:16:22 · answer #2 · answered by Joe K 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Radar detectors are built and sold with exactly one purpose -- to help people who are speeding try to get away with it. The other thing you have to remember is there is no right to drive. All 50 states in the union agree that driving is a privilege, not a right. When you sign the papers on the application for your drivers license, you're actually waiving some of your rights that would otherwise be protected by the Constitution, and in states where radar detectors are illegal, you're essentially waiving your right against monitoring by the government without a warrant.
2006-08-09 04:11:18 · answer #3 · answered by sarge927 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Kind of like they make crack pipes illegal. If they are something that can be tied to the commission of a crime (yes speeding is a crime) and show that they really have no other good use than avoiding detection of a crime, they can be classified as illegal.
This type of monitoring is passive monitoring (meaning it doesn't require an officer to look in your car to figure out you are speeding) and you are on public property when it is occuring. In these situations you have no reasonable expectation of privacy. That kind of rules our your constitutional argument.
In addition, most police officers are capable of telling you are speeding without using radar, they just use it as a back up. They are well trained in several other methods of estimating speed before they are even given a radar gun and use those methods to determine who to focus the radar on.
Why didn't you just remove it after the first ticket?
2006-08-09 04:15:04 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The justification is that the radar detector purpose is to provide an early warning against law enforcement, therefore providing the user with a means to avoid the efforts of law enforcement to enforce the law. It is basically the same as having a device that would tell you if you were about to sell narcotics to an undercover officer. Knowing that the person was a cop would make you not sell them the narcotics.
Now I am not saying that I agree or disagree with the law...I am just giving you the thinking that justifies it in their minds.
2006-08-09 04:14:54 · answer #5 · answered by The Krieg 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Why would someone need a radar detector other than to know when they are being clocked? It's only purpose is to aid in breaking the law.
There are also other traffic laws. Speeding is one. Wreckless endangerment would cover the woman doing her makeup. People like you are the ones that get people killed. You are operating a very large piece of machinery with a lot of power. You need to respect that. People seem to forget their ability to kill with a car. I think of people like you who get all worked up over not being able to speed easier and then I think of that van full of kids going home from soccer practice and I realize, I care a lot more about their needs than yours.
Somehow, I just don't feel sorry for you. Wouldn't you want to do everything you can while driving to ensure that van full of kids gets home safe? Or do you just not care about other people?
2006-08-09 04:47:33 · answer #6 · answered by Phoenix, Wise Guru 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
There are two points of view about radar detectors.
1. They allow you to speed and then quickly slow down when the police are around, and
2. They constantly remind you to slow down making you a safer driver.
Every state has its own opinion. Here in California there are usually roadside signs indicating that radar detectors are in use.
2006-08-09 04:11:37 · answer #7 · answered by Barkley Hound 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I guess my question is, why do you think that the states need warrants to monitor you with radar????
You have given the state implied permission by accepting a driver's license.
The answer to your question is the same reason that other things that facilitate the commission of a crime are illegal. i.e. drug paraphernalia.
If you don't speed, you don't need to radar detector.... get it???
2006-08-09 04:12:27 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
They tried that in the UK. It went to court but was deemed legal only if they monitor radar. The type that scrambles the signal is illegal
2006-08-09 04:09:32 · answer #9 · answered by meshan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Speed cameras are a way of making money
obviously anything which limits this revenue should be illegal
In the governments mind
2006-08-09 04:08:54 · answer #10 · answered by platermanuk 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋