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Radar Detector Ban Update

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A radar-detector ban will be considered as part of a Government road-safety strategy review this year.

A spokeswoman for Transport Minister Steven Joyce said no legislation had been drafted outlawing radar detectors, but it would be considered under the review.

Last year, then Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven unveiled a package of road-safety measures targeting young drivers and those who sped. These included banning radar detectors and jammers.

National's then transport spokesman, Maurice Williamson, opposed the move, saying "people use them to moderate their speed".

"I'm not sure that a Big Brother attitude is a good thing."

Canterbury road policing manager Inspector Derek Erasmus said radar detectors did not prevent motorists from getting caught.

"I issued a speeding ticket to a person last Thursday who was in a rental car and the person had come from out of town and brought their radar detector with them. They don't necessarily make any difference other than to show a proclivity on behalf of the driver to speed."

Police officers ticketing people for speeding regularly saw radar detectors, he said.

"Some people think it will enable them to speed and endanger the public without getting caught, but that's not necessarily the case."

Police would be targeting speeding motorists over the next six months, particularly around schools, Erasmus said.

In Canterbury, fatalities related to speeding or travelling too fast for the conditions rose to 23 in 2008 compared with 13 the previous year.

For the past five years there had been an average 200 speed-related injury crashes per year, Erasmus said.

Superintendent Dave Cliff, the Canterbury district commander, said police would adopt a "no-tolerance approach" to speeding motorists.

"We are very clear on what we want to achieve. The crash-impact speed decides the severity of injury to vehicle occupants, pedestrians or cyclists. The lower the impact speed, the less likely the injury will be severe or fatal."

Canterbury has the highest average speeds on urban and rural roads in New Zealand, with 42 per cent of drivers exceeding the 100 kmh open-road limit and 73 per cent exceeding 50 kmh.

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I'm interested to know what the fine will be for getting caught using a radar detector, and also how this will be policed. Are police able to search a vehicle to try and find the suspected radar, or will legislation have to be changed to allow them to do so.

I know their are some police on this forum. How easy is it to spot a car with a radar detector? Personally my radar is mounted beside my rear view mirror as apparently this is the most effective place to mount it (Radar direct).

Just some thought's.

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I think the proposed fine was like $150 but they also would take demerits, how many i'm not sure.

Previous thread for anyone who missed it

Edited by jeddy

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I have always thought just putting up stand alone speed camera's and making it obvious where they are is the best way of getting to people slow down and that way you catch anyone who is not keeping an eye out for what there doing, its not like everywhere in nz the roads cant take 150km/h, like the waikato express way should be the autobahn of nz :) ive always wanted to open it up down there, but don't because its not worth getting caught, not because its unsafe.

like really how can it be fair putting a 100km/h speed limit on a winedy south island road and then have a 100km/h speed limit on a very long straight where is only farm and double lanes with a barrier between oncoming traffic

but realistically this is all off topic sorry :)

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like really how can it be fair putting a 100km/h speed limit on a winedy south island road and then have a 100km/h speed limit on a very long straight where is only farm and double lanes with a barrier between oncoming traffic

Definitly see your point. i think the problem with increasing a speed limit in New Zealand would be the people that think 100km/h is already to fast. (You can usually spot these people sitting on 80km/h with a line of angry truck drivers following them). I think in New Zealand the police need to also focus on people driving to slow for the conditions, as these people create a larger hazard when other motorists pass them.

Definitely off topic

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Most South Island roads are open roads, not 100 Km roads. But im just being picky now arent I :)

Posted Image

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Most South Island roads are open roads, not 100 Km roads. But im just being picky now arent I :)

Not sure I get what your point is dude?

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Neither. I read the whole thread and my post is quite pointless really.. oops

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I don't really see how this is going to change anything. Most people will just find ways of making their radars more concealable. Radar detectors if anything, probably make people slow down more as they start beeping miles before you get anywhere near highway patrol. If they start beeping, naturally you're going to slow down where as if you don't have one and you aren't aware there is a speed camera/cop ahead, you will leave it right until the moment you notice them before you slow down.

What we need is a Land transport Minister who isn't a complete F'ing retard. Like has been said, some of the roads in and around Auckland are so well made and so safe, i don't see why a 130km/h limit isn't considered I can't believe that some motorways/expressways are 80 limits. And yet, there is 100km/h limits in some of the most dodgy, narrow country roads in the country. It makes no sense at all.

I also think they should make speed cameras extremely obvious, if they want people to slow down, and not just get a ticket. There should be speed camera ahead signs at least 1km before. And what's with putting speed cameras at the end of passing lanes?? Most passing lanes are straight, wide, well made roads and rather than encouraging people to pass at 108ks for the whole length of the lane what purpose does a speed camera serve, other than revenue gathering?

Posted Image

The woman i did defensive driving with tried to explain the point of the open road signs but it went right over my head. Is there any difference between 100km/h signs and the open road signs???

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After thinking hard on this the open road and 100 are the same sign. You can be ticketed for wreckless driving on an open road if the conditions are adverse but not like the LSZ which is the one that dictates speeds on conditions.

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Difference is the derestricted sign (black and white) just means that the posted limit is not a target. So you can drive at 30kph if you deem that safe.

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Still need better driver education and stricter licensing criteria ..... preventative measures ..... not counteractive measures ....

f**k!

I'm like a broken record aren't I.

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fior the record the open road sign used to delinate the end of what were once known as limited speed zones.....which were zones which were "open road" unless traffic density,or weather made the lower speed(80km hr i think) apply.....at which specific point you were supposed to slow down was a grey area,,,ie much traffic or how much rain

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For years the police in the UK argued that fixed speed cameras were there to improve road safety, and not to raise money through fines, so eventually the government said (under pressure from Joe Public) if that's the case, put up signs showing where they are and make them more obvious so people know it is a dangerous place. So all fixed cameras were painted bright yellow (close to Shuey's colour B) ) with about 3 warning signs in front of them.

Would love them to do the same over here, if you can't spot and slow down for one of those then you shouldn't be on the road in the first place.

BUT, it does lead to the problem of people spotting them at short notice, standing on the anchors and slowing to about 20mph UNDER the limit to be safe, and getting rear ended by the person behind!

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Which is what happens already lol!

Paint the vans hot pink I say!

Weren't the days of the camry camera cars great? You could spot one of those with the rear door up a mile off.

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Still need better driver education and stricter licensing criteria ..... preventative measures ..... not counteractive measures ....

f**k!

I'm like a broken record aren't I.

some stores have stoped selling radar detectors but still the law has not been passed is the bottem line. i think they will come up with a way to detect the beltronics sti and i think they will install RDD's in both unmarked and marked police cars. how ever i dont think it's fair that the police are allowed to monitor us but we are not allowed to monitor them

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And what about the "safety" feature that some detectors have? In case of road works, accidents etc. the signal can be sent so that it warns drivers that there is a hazard ahead of them. This would be very useful, but its not being used here.

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I'm interested to know what the fine will be for getting caught using a radar detector, and also how this will be policed. Are police able to search a vehicle to try and find the suspected radar, or will legislation have to be changed to allow them to do so.

I know their are some police on this forum. How easy is it to spot a car with a radar detector? Personally my radar is mounted beside my rear view mirror as apparently this is the most effective place to mount it (Radar direct).

Just some thought's.

In Europe: Easy to spot. Detectors are banned in many countries.

If found, radar detector is confiscated on the spot and destroyed.

You get a fine of around $200 for carrying it in your car (not using it) and around $500 for using it. Fines vary by country

Police know what they look like, and can see them stuck on windscreens

I learnt the hard way...

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I remember a thread on an American forum of someone who stealth mounted his Valentine 1 in his e39 and programmed the instrument cluster to show all its information. Was very clever and would be impossible to find without doing a vehicle search.

Edited by Eddy

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I can't see why the Gov't has a problem with radar detectors!

NZ has just had lowest annual road death toll in 39 years [ we have a sh*t load more cars now too! ]

Maybe the Cops still like playing "Goodies and Baddies" and need more things to harrass people with.

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I was coming back from Westport yesterday for cricket with a mate, he got a fine for 116kph. He had a radar detector, but didnt even know it was a cop til he was right in front of us (it was raining :lol:).

The cop had him on about having a sh*t radar detector :lol:, but finally said any good operator will beat a radar detector.

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I was coming back from Westport yesterday for cricket with a mate, he got a fine for 116kph. He had a radar detector, but didnt even know it was a cop til he was right in front of us (it was raining :lol:).

The cop had him on about having a sh*t radar detector :lol:, but finally said any good operator will beat a radar detector.

Thats why if you like to drive fast then having a jammer is a good idea as well.

I personally don't have a radar or a jammer set up in my cars as i don't really go too hard on the public roads these days,but i still creep over the limit on the odd occasion so i am considering getting a good radar detector.

P.s Not that i consider 116kph to be fast :P

Edited by E46-RAT

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