V1 had my back

If you’ve driven from Houston to Dallas, you’re familiar with the heavy traffic on I-45 and some of the speed traps between the two cities. One of the downfalls of our state having no income tax is that the counties use radar tickets to fill their coffers, and the counties along I-45 are a prime … continued


Who ya’ gonna trust?

I had one of Mike’s “original” Escort Radar Detectors from Cincinnati Microwave in the early 1980’s. It really worked. Traveling with my Dad one time in his car, he said, “Those things don’t work.” Oh, yeah? I stuck it on his dash as we were driving on I-26 east toward Charleston, SC, from Orangeburg. It … continued


A fellow traveler, traveling on business

My supervisor was in the car with me as we headed south on the interstate and he asked why I had “that thing on the windshield.” Knowing that he was a car guy too, I said, “It’s my Valentine Radar Locator; I don’t drive without it.” “Been there, done that with those things,” he said. … continued


Sniper on I95

Let me set the moment: I’m in Florida northbound on I95, heading back home in shame after paying the $254 speeding ticket I unlucked into some weeks back. This time I’m running the V1 defense, a new program since my, uh, learning experience. Driving along at a decent clip, I get a short laser hit, … continued


Spotty enforcement, but the spot was right

I don’t speed. Well, almost never, but this time was different. Here’s the scenario: I’m on a road trip to see a friend, Houston to San Antonio, Texas. I’m driving on the interstate and begin to merge into the exit lane when this Mustang behind me—already on the exit lane—decides to speed up to get … continued


Plug-in stress reliever

I live in a state that has absolute speed limits, which means you can be ticketed for one mph over the posted. Over the years, state and county LEOs have been on a crusade to bring the entire driving public into decimal-point compliance with the posted digits. Let me say up front that I am … continued


The downhill pounce-and-grab

As part of my job, I drive between Los Angeles and Las Vegas at least three times a week. I knew I had been pushing my luck, and had had several close ones with the authority figures on my long desert drives. So I bought a V1. Life will never be the same. I was … continued


Adios Escort, hola fighter-jock technology

FYI, my first radar detector was an Escort 8500 X50. It had saved me a lot of agony and for two years I loved the thing. But after learning more about radar detectors, I looked into V1. I read that the detection ranges were far superior to any other detector on the market—even the 9500i … continued


Goose hunters bag bogeys

I was with a friend on a recent two-lane trip for the goose-hunting opener—think Double Nickel roads. He was driving my car and asking if the V1 was really worth the money. As we hustled along we encountered a K band signal. When it grew stronger and stronger we eased back to 55 just in … continued


Hiding behind the obvious

While on the PA turnpike on my way up to Penn State for a football game, a trip I have made many times, I had numerous encounters with PA State Troopers running low-powered K-band guns. Here’s what made these encounters tricky—the State Troopers got smart; they were setting up their K’s next to Ka band … continued