Why aren't radar detectors legal in Ontario? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Why aren't radar detectors legal in Ontario?

M

micelli.i

Well-known member
Some Canadian electronic stores that are selling radar detectors like Uniden R3 Radar Detector, mention that they are only legal in Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan.

Why aren't they legal, among others, in Ontario? Would they not be a useful tool in getting people to slow down? Also, how difficult is it for police to detect you have one of these in your vehicle?
 
They were made illegal a few decades ago now. The prevailing thought of the politicians at the time, is that they "encouraged" people to speed and then ONLY slow down when it went off.

As for the police determining if you have one, they have devices which detect the detectors signal. If their device goes off, that gives them R&PG to conduct a search of your vehicle to determine it's location and to seize the device.

micelli.i said:
Some Canadian electronic stores that are selling radar detectors like Uniden R3 Radar Detector, mention that they are only legal in Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan.

Why aren't they legal, among others, in Ontario? Would they not be a useful tool in getting people to slow down? Also, how difficult is it for police to detect you have one of these in your vehicle?
Click to expand...
 
micelli.i said:
Some Canadian electronic stores that are selling radar detectors like Uniden R3 Radar Detector, mention that they are only legal in Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan.

Why aren't they legal, among others, in Ontario? Would they not be a useful tool in getting people to slow down? Also, how difficult is it for police to detect you have one of these in your vehicle?
Click to expand...
Its ontario, where people dont get up in arms over anything. If the voting public
freaked out once in awhile the laws might change.
 
hedo2002 said:
They were made illegal a few decades ago now. The prevailing thought of the politicians at the time, is that they "encouraged" people to speed and then ONLY slow down when it went off.

As for the police determining if you have one, they have devices which detect the detectors signal. If their device goes off, that gives them R&PG to conduct a search of your vehicle to determine it's location and to seize the device.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the quick reply, Hedo2002. People already speed. They already slow down, when they see police. Not too sure how this would be any different, except maybe making it harder for police to ticket.

I can only imagine the penalties for being found in possession of one of these, in Ontario ...
 
If you had a device in your car that effectively gave you a free-ticket to drive like a complete and total tool knowing that you’re apt to be able to do so with near impunity (until said device beeps, and you suddenly behave yourself), what do you think the percentage of drivers would be who would take that opportunity to drive like an idiot?

Yeah, lots.

I’ve spent a lot of time driving in the USA and seen the results. The average speed in Mississippi last I was there (one of the more memorable states) exceeded 160KPH - I know, because it was the first time I’d got the car I was driving at the time past the magic 162kph (100mph) threshold. And I was still being passed by cars and pickups alike. If you dare drove the speed limit you risked being in a high speed rear end colission.

But when those cars came over the crest of a hill and the detector went off because a cop was sitting in the median... it was a near pileup as everybody suddenly slammed on their brakes.

Anyhow, radar and laser detectors are increasingly useless nowadays in the era of “instant on” detection devices - by the time the detector beeps, you’re already tagged...too late.
 
It is only illegal if you get caught. Same as everything else.

I read once that the cops can catch violators by briefly turning on the radar. If they see your brake lights go on, they know you picked up the signal.
 
micelli.i said:
Thank you for the quick reply, Hedo2002. People already speed. They already slow down, when they see police. Not too sure how this would be any different, except maybe making it harder for police to ticket. I can only imagine the penalties for being found in possession of one of these, in Ontario ...
Click to expand...

People slamming on the brakes once they've sighted a cop car is stupid and dangerous.

They've already clocked you, and if they were planning on pulling you over, they'd have already started doing it.

With detectors you'd now have people slamming on the brakes from high speeds with no police in sight.

If detectors became more common, someone with too much time on their hands would start building radar signal devices for entertainment purposes.
 
Baggsy said:
If detectors became more common, someone with too much time on their hands would start building radar signal devices for entertainment purposes.
Click to expand...

Already common in the USA, municipalities use the common “Your speed is” electronic signs much more frequently down there simply because they trigger radar detectors and get people to slow down...before they ever actually even see the sign.

And people have been known to put personal radar guns out on their property aimed towards the road to get cars to slow down in their neighbourhoods.

But yes, with instant on laser being most common now, by the time your detector beeps, you’re already screwed.
 
Baggsy said:
With detectors you'd now have people slamming on the brakes from high speeds with no police in sight..
Click to expand...

Apparently there used to be one Toronto cop that would drive around flipping his radar on and off and looking for brake lights. IIRC he seized more radar detectors than the rest of the police force combined.

You can buy a few radar detectors that the police cannot detect (with VG-2). They are expensive and you still have the brake light problem. Apparently, instant on makes things harder, but you still have a chance that you catch the scatter off a car ahead of you and trip the detector.
 
You get so many false positives with most radar detectors, like from driving past store fronts, that having one in the city is basically worthless. When you get out on the highway or into the country they are nice to have though. Throw an inline power switch on it and flick if off when it starts alarming and slowdown.

I know most of the guys who do the Cannonball Run use Veil G5. Cop can't get a speed off you because the coating absorbs the IR laser from the gun and nothing is sent back. Hit an miss reviews on it though.
 
Used to be "cool", nowadays, if everyone used free apps like Waze, the hive community would out all piggies hoping for a nice quota bump.
 
MSRP said:
Used to be "cool", nowadays, if everyone used free apps like Waze, the hive community would out all piggies hoping for a nice quota bump.
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Waze does not yet have a way to track moving police. It is a helpful tool, but relying on it while doing anything really dumb is still a bad idea.
 
Waze is good for the cop that sits in a spot where only the locals know there is a change in speed limit. It's a situation where the cops are getting their quota but not really doing anything for public safety.

If you're driving like an idiot and happen to get tagged by a passing cop, maybe you should suck it up and pay the fine.

Sent from my Redmi 4A using Tapatalk
 
Can't the do the reverse and track your speed through Waze, and your phone's gps?
 
@Baggsy are you suggesting the police could use Waze to target speeders? Technically, I suppose it's possible, but I doubt Waze would be keen on sharing individual's data. And if they did, I'd assume the number of Waze users would plummet

Sent from my Redmi 4A using Tapatalk
 
Lots of people run the Escort Redline or Beltronics STi in Ontario because they are 100% undetectable. The newer models I'm told lock out the false radar alerts. They also detect laser, but that doesn't do any good because if they detect it you're already caught. You can get a Blinder laser jammer, which is quite effective but you have to slow down quickly and turn it off or the cops will know they are being jammed.

The real problem with radar detectors is that OPP are using instant-on radar these days. That means, unlike in the good old days, that the radar is only on for a couple of seconds to speedcheck on vehicle at a time. OPP drive along, spot a speeding car and shoot radar at it. Detector may go off, but it's only telling you that you just got a ticket. So, basically unless the cop is shooting a lot down the road the detector is useless.
 
Had a Beltronics STI a few years ago. Personally found owning one more of a PITA. Always stressing and listening, watching for it to go off. Saved me once but then again you can't turn the clock back and know if you would have been speeding with out the detector. I'm over the limit all the time. Gotta be smart about it thats all.
 
Detection is illegal, making yourself more stealth to radar is still ok.
 
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