Combo GPS/Radar/Laser Detector

holy cow...

Detectors are illegal there. You'll have no GPS use throughout the state (legally)....

?????

A GPS isn't legal to own/use in Virginia? That seems strange. Other than it's the law, why would that be? I just spent the last hour on Virginia's DMV web site and was unable to find any law stating the ownership/use of a GPS as being against the law. Possible you could post a link showing us where it is so. Much appreciated.

Nuvi1300 (Who didn't realize GPS's were illegal in Virginia.) WTGPS

He said DETECTORS are illegal. They're also illegal in Canada (except BC, Ab and Sk) and can be seized and fines imposed even if not in use.

I was only using the GPS feature.... Good luck with that! (and yes, I was referring to the combined unit, not standalone GPS devices)

Interesting info.

That is a neat looking device, I hope the price comes down a little.

My first thought was not positive about a combo device. But looking at the screen shots, it looks intriguing... albeit pricey.

I'd like to get my Valentine1 hooked up to my nuvi now!

Three questions I'd have:
- I saw the pictures, but I couldn't quite tell if it would pass as simply a GPS for those states where detecters are illegal.
-- do you get free updates for the Defender database?
-- whose GPS software are they using? I'm presuming they contracted it out.

The police also have Radar Detector Detectors, so you could get nabbed for using the detector, possibly by default of the device, and lose both your radar detector and your GPS, plus the fine, that you'll have to pay.

Try to proof that to the police officer (that you have used only GPS feature, not the Radar Detector)

Wow I would love to try this very very cool device. Never had a radar detector, so this might be my first.

i find it hard to believe that they could take your GPS - even if it has the detector feature.

They are confiscating the radar detector which can also function as a GPS. That's a problem with converged devices. You can't separate them, so if one function is, in this case, illegal, you loose the entire device because you can't separate them and surrender the illegal device. What we don't know is if the detector can be shut off when in those jurisdictions where they are illegal.

Hey thanks for the heads up this unit looks kind of nice..

Perhaps Passport has thought of the problem and offers some way to operate the GPS but turn the radar detector off. Obviously here's a whole lot more info needed before most (knowledgeable) users would make the purchase.

That said, Virginia (and DC where detectors are also banned) is only a teeny patch of land compared to the area where detectors are legal. Heck, there are probably neighborhoods out west that are larger than the state. So, maybe Passport just isn't concerned about it.

The price seems high at this point in electronic history but I recall paying that much for just a GPS not so many years ago. The price will come down, especially when the unit starts being stocked by places like BestBuy, Amazon and CostCo.

Cheers

According to Escort website, you can turn the detector off. That would make the unit non-detectable by a radar detector detector. Escort has technology that may fool the detector detector. Also, the unit does look like a gps, not a radar detector.

Doesn't mean you won't pay the fine, just less likely.

They *could* handle it like time-zone switching. Since the GPS knows where it is, it could automatically shut off the radar detector or at least prompt you to shut the detector off because you were entering a region where it was illegal.

I doubt Garmin will ever put radar detectors into Nuvi's.

Won't help; it's illegal to HAVE the radar detector in your car in VA, not just use it. Specifically:
"Except as provided in subsection B of this section, the presence of any such prohibited device or mechanism in or on a motor vehicle on the highways of the Commonwealth shall constitute prima facie evidence of the violation of this section. The Commonwealth need not prove that the device or mechanism in question was in an operative condition or being operated.

B. A person shall not be guilty of a violation of this section when the device or mechanism in question, at the time of the alleged offense, had no power source and was not readily accessible for use by the driver or any passenger in the vehicle."

http://leg1.state.va.us/000/cod/46.2-1079.HTM

Just shutting the detector portion off wouldn't be enough. Of course, there's still the issue of how does the cop know it's there.

True. In VA, they can confiscate a radar detector even if it's in the trunk, not being used. It's considered contraband and they can simply seize it.

By the way, could someone please provide a link to a credible web page that explains how devices work that detect radar detectors? I thought the detector was simply a radio receiver, and that it didn't send out any signals itself. I'm not saying they don't exist, but I would like to understand how they work.

It's about time! Now a price break and we are all set! I can't imagine someone else is'nt going to do this.. and make it less $$$$$$$

All receivers generate an intermediate frequency or IM which is used to decode the intelligence from the main signal. As it generates or creates the IM, it also transmits a small amount of the IM signal.

As the section from the legislation I quoted states, they can't. Specifically:
"A person shall not be guilty of a violation of this section when the device or mechanism in question, at the time of the alleged offense, had no power source and was not readily accessible for use by the driver or any passenger in the vehicle."

Also, the police cannot confiscate it even if its being used. VA law states: "This section shall not be construed to authorize the forfeiture to the Commonwealth of any such device or mechanism. Any such device or mechanism may be taken by the arresting officer if needed as evidence, and, when no longer needed, shall be returned to the person charged with a violation of this section, or at that person's request, and his expense, mailed to an address specified by him. Any unclaimed devices may be destroyed on court order after six months have elapsed from the final date for filing an appeal."

That'll help me to stop lugging around so many electronic gadgets.

Mr. Vanderdecker, my father and I were on I-95 in Virginia when a state police officer pulled him over. After looking in the trunk, he seized the Escort radar detector saying that it was contraband in VA. I knew VA had laws against them, so we didn't protest. We were never given any info on how to get it back.

So you can post all you want about legal theory, but the reality is that they took it and we never got it back.

My advice is that if someone is going to use a detector in VA, just keep it hidden. If you want to challenge the legal theory, go ahead, but why not just prevent the problem to begin with?

I'll just not be going to VA anytime soon...

what happens when your Radar Detector part of the gps becomes outdated.

A friend of mine gets a new detector every couple of years to keep up with the newer technology. He averages one speeding ticket per year but claims the radar detectors have still saved him hundreds of dollars AND a lot of points on his license!

I advised him to slow down - it would be a lot cheaper.

It's not legal theory, it's the plain law--a direct quote from the Code of Virginia.

Assuming what you're saying truly happened, the cop broke the law and stole it from you, just as if he pocketed a wad of cash he found on your seat. You could have filed theft charges against him.

And how did he look in the trunk, anyway? A cop can't look in the trunk unless you either give permission or he has a warrant. That's also not legal theory, that's the law.

Very interesting.

I believe DC has a law similar to Virginia's making radar detectors illegal.

Ouch @ the price!

Clearly, this should come with two devices that happen to look the exact same. One device should be the combined function unit, and the other device uses the same mount, etc, and is only a GPS navigator. For the price, including a separate GPS-only device shouldn't be a problem. Then in jurisdictions that don't allow the radar detection, etc, you can swap in the GPS only device (The exact timing of when you swap them would vary depending on how compliant the driver intends to be with the law.)

If it came with a GPS-only device that cosmetically matched the all-in-one, it could very much seem like a good option for me to buy.

I think I will stay with just my GPS - Get plenty of notification based on the Redlight Cameras and Speed Cameras that we get here at POIF.

Wow, what a price. And it doesn't even have traffic.

at least with laser, by the time the detector goes off, you're already done for.

Radar and GPS in one unit is the same thing as in one units for boats (fish finder/GPS and radar)
The trouble is if one stops working, you lose the rest while you try to fix thew one not working.

If you think Vanderdecker is quoting theory, you might want to read http://leg1.state.va.us/000/cod/46.2-1079.HTM which is the Virginia code that covers radar detectors.

Love the link.. thanks

If they light you up, just turn the power off and hide it, you think they will get a search warrant?

then probable cause will definitely raise the ire of the officer, and one summons may blossom into about 4 or 5...

My take...

im most cases where radar is banned, any of your devices combined with a radar dectetor where using it is illegal, if you get caught it will be confiscated and or you will be fined. its like driving with your phone in your hand and getting pulled over by a police officer, he doesnt want to hear your excuse that u were using your phone as a gps.

i use my radar dectector on my motorcycle so if i am in Virgina guess i will have to take if off. is this the only state in the U.S. that you can't use a radar

$600+ is way too expensive...............

washington dc is the other

I have used many escort radar detectors is VA, and never had a problem... I also do not let police search my car even if they ask. That way even if they did find a radar detector they have no authority to search and seize anything. It might be a little different if you live in VA and register your vehicle there, but my car is my personal space and they have no right to go in it...

...I am not going there!!

Yeah, Virginia is to be my next trip. Going to install a CB radio. haven't used one since 1977.

they actually have a radar dector "dector" and although the guy said he wont let the police check his car, i dont think the police in va will fold even if he denies them the right to check his vehicle.

jmo