- Moderator
- #21
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2002
- Messages
- 4,315
- Location
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Corvette
- ZZ4, 700R4, Steeroids rack & pinion, VB&P Brakes
The arrows are great for when you are coming up on an active speed trap. With the exception of laser, the signal will grow stronger or weaker as you approach it (or vice versa). The arrows let me know if it's coming up from behind me, from a side street, or in front of me. It also helps me when used in conjunction with the "bogie counter", as if I'm in a clear section of road and it lights up with I'll know exactly (give or take) where the signal is coming from. Is it a hidden po-po or just a a motion detector of a storefront's auto-opening doors?
They also work in this situation, which I've also encountered:
I'm driving along the highway. Radar starts going wild. (1) lights up on the bogie counter and the arrow's point up ahead. A little further up, "ah ha!" a copper targeting from the median break. However, I as pass him, a (2) pops up on the counter and now I have an arrow pointing back AND in front still. A new signal? Sure as ****, there's another cop just up ahead waiting for all the traffic that is speeding up thinking they've passed the speed trap. But I knew better! Without the arrows or the bogie counter, all I woulda had was a single signal and no reference to it's location. The person with the regular detector woulda just assumed it as the signal he just passed that was still setting off the alarm. Sucks to be him!
Here's another example that's happened to me: There's this long sweeping curve on the highway that always causes my bogie detector to display 3 signals. What they are is traffic sensors for the traffic off the highway, over this bridge. One day I'm rolling through there and I notice the usual signals, but my counter reads (4). A new signal? YUP! Ol' Mr. Policeman sitting around that bend tagging people. With a normal detector, I would've expected just the normal sounds and said, "Ahh, regular false alarms. Keep on truckin," and that dude is gonna get tagged. With the V1, I knew there was an abnormal signal and I slowed down, correctly as it turns out.
These are not relayed stories or any that I've read. These are my actual experiences and in my book they alone are worth the price of admission for a V1. Think about it...if it saves you just ONE ticket from a scenario like that above, then it's already paid for the difference between itself and any other detector. Money well spent in my book.
Having the arrows is like having high-speed internet. Once you've had them and used them, you'll wonder how you ever got along without 'em!
To answer your question, "Do you slow down first?" Yes, always slow down first and then check your surroundings. Doing it the other way around makes no sense.
And there's also this to consider....No radar/laser detector is foolproof. You still need to use your eyes first when you drive. When an officer has instant-on, the only thing that is going to save you is your eyes. Because at that point, it's who sees who first. If he sees you first, all your detector is going to do is let you know that you just got tagged/busted, as was the case last month when I got busted doing triple-digits down the turnpike.
:L
Of course I haven't gone through the manual to see if I can disable it.
