Gotcha! LEO caught me....

[dshogman]

So yesterday I'm cruising at a respectable 80+ and cresting a rise on ID8 heading west towards Moscow, ID. As I crest the hill, I must have slowed down a bit and coming down the next hill is a car with a light bar on the top. As we get closer, the lights come on and he swings a fast u-turn right behind me. I pull over and he tells me I'm doing 72 in a 55. Long story short - we talk, he admires the bike (red, of course) and tells me to take it easy and keep it down to 55.

So HOW did he get me? I've never had a radar detector and I always thought they couldn't get you coming head on. (As my buddy says, when i was riding the HD softail I didn't have to worry about it as the vibes would slow me down before seeing the LEO would.)

I guess I need some basic education. Would appreciate it. (Especially since on my trip up from Lewiston on ID3 I was exceeding the 55 by an even more substantial number than 72!

[smiller]

So HOW did he get me? I've never had a radar detector and I always thought they couldn't get you coming head on. I guess I need some basic education.

Basic Education: Yes, radar works just fine head-on. To pass the Final Exam: Get a Valentine 1.

[ChrisA]

Whoever told you that radar does not work coming head on lied or was misinformed. I got a couple tickets this way. I believe the radar is somehow linked to the speed of the cruiser and needs to be calibrated on a regular basis to maintain accuracy.

[Schupo]

Moving radar has two beams: one aimed toward the side of the road to determine the patrol car's speed and the other aimed at oncoming traffic. The computer translates the "Doppler shift" and lists both patrol car speed and target speed on the display. With an antenna inside the back window and another one on the dash, they get you both coming and going.

 

The units are calibrated at least once a year and checked for accuracy with a tuning fork before each application.

[MysticRed]

Hello, I'm originally from Moscow! ISP a lot of time don't turn on there radar until they see someone they want to paint. But my detector helps immensely as it picks up a couple of miles away. They usually find someone in front of you to radar before they get to you. Very helpful!

[George S.]

Radar units can be more accurate when there's a definite closing speed between the unit and the target. So it does work just fine in a head-on situation.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

I just rode down from just south of Atlanta to my home in Palm Beach County, FL, today. 615 miles in just at 10 hours and I did stop for lunch and a water break every 90 miles or so. 1/2 a tank at the speeds I was running. My V1 gave me 18 warnings including one laser. 12 of those times, I could have been stopped but, it being the last day of the holiday weekend, I decided that 12 over was all I was gonna do. 70 mph speed limit the whole way except in a couple of construction zones. There were a couple of bursts in excess of that to clear lines of morons in the left lane 1/2 mile behind a slow moving truck but mostly, I behaved. I had the pleasure of watching 3 rabbits get their just deserts and one near miss as a guy blew by me doing 90++ right into the jaws of a po-po hiding in the gulley on the center divider. Asshat tried to slow and change lanes at the same time and nearly took me out. I gave him an Adventure Rider salute as we passed the LEO and could see the LEO laughing as he fired up the light show and pulled out. He waved as he went by me to pull the moron over.

[Ken H.]

always thought they couldn't get you coming head on.

I guarantee you they can get you head on, and I have a newly minted 74 in a 55 piece of paper from the Iowa Highway Patrol to prove it.