Apple sells radar detectors!

[consularrider]

@KLizotte 61137 wrote:

… I need to figure out where I can send a nastygram to Apple.

I’m sure there is an app for that.

[Terpfan]

@KLizotte 61137 wrote:

Tonight while perusing Apple.com’s website looking for an accessory I discovered that they sell a radar detector. A RADAR DETECTOR! As an Apple stock owner I am pissed since I think RDs are evil, especially now that I’m a cyclist.

I’m appalled Apple is selling a device specifically designed to help people evade the law AND subsequently put others in danger.

I need to figure out where I can send a nastygram to Apple.

As a shareholder, you ought to suggest they make an app tied to the new electronic car keys so that when your phone is tied to a car key in ignition you can’t use the phone except for an emergency call. But it could be renabled by stopping and changing some settings or something. Honestly, I’m more worried about people trying to type on their phones then I am about speeders. But I don’t ride in many places where people speed although my coworker did get a ticket on one residential road I ride on recently.

[jabberwocky]

Seeing how most “speed enforcement” is pure revenue generation, I can’t muster much outrage over this. They’re illegal in VA anyway.

[ShawnoftheDread]

Would it look good on a stem mount? Might be useful for some descents.

[KLizotte]

@jabberwocky 61164 wrote:

Seeing how most “speed enforcement” is pure revenue generation, I can’t muster much outrage over this. They’re illegal in VA anyway.

Unfortunately I personally know someone who uses a RD and drives very recklessly; I refuse to get in a vehicle he is driving. I’m guessing people who use them feel more enabled to drive way over the speed limit with impunity. I also suspect they are more useful in the midwest where there are long open stretches of highway.

[jabberwocky]

@KLizotte 61183 wrote:

Unfortunately I personally know someone who uses a RD and drives very recklessly; I refuse to get in a vehicle he is driving. I’m guessing people who use them feel more enabled to drive way over the speed limit with impunity. I also suspect they are more useful like the midwest where there are long open stretches of highway.

I doubt the radar detector makes much difference. They aren’t all that reliable, especially these days when most cops are using laser. And if he’s using it in VA, he’s in for a ticket eventually because they watch for those things (I had a friend who had an XM radio receiver that looked like a radar detector and he was constantly being pulled over).

Some people are just terrible drivers.

[mstone]

@jabberwocky 61190 wrote:

I doubt the radar detector makes much difference. They aren’t all that reliable, especially these days when most cops are using laser

Note that the unit in question includes a laser detector.

[jabberwocky]

@mstone 61212 wrote:

Note that the unit in question includes a laser detector.

Most of them do, but laser detectors are pretty much useless. There is nothing to detect until they hit you with it, at which point its too late. Its basically a “you just got zapped, hopefully you weren’t speeding” alarm.

[JorgeGortex]

Apple would sell their own mothers to get you to drink the cool-aid and buy their products. Yes, I drank some cool-aid too. Eh, its a business… they are about profit, so I’m not surprised. As far as RD are concerned… not sure why anyone would use one where people would be biking anyway. Much more useful on open highways (and that isn’t around this region :cough: traffic :cough:)

[mstone]

@jabberwocky 61216 wrote:

Most of them do, but laser detectors are pretty much useless. There is nothing to detect until they hit you with it, at which point its too late. Its basically a “you just got zapped, hopefully you weren’t speeding” alarm.

They’re designed to catch the backscatter from other cars. How effective they are depends on a lot of environmental factors. They’re certainly less effective than radar detectors.

At any rate, this is what you get in a society that fetishizes cars.

[Terpfan]

I wonder if we could get radar detectors that set off other radar detectors. Now that would be useful for my bike.

[Vicegrip]

I wonder when Apple will start making watt meters and cycling computers?

long time ago before gray hair and common sense I was hired to demo the front and insides of a small food store. The automatic front doors were the old school type with a radar type people sensor. I noted it set off a coworkers Escort and an idea formed. It was built to run on the 24V control voltage of the door so I rigged it to run on a couple emergency light batteries also scavenged from the store. We would drive around and light up on coming traffic watching the cars hit the brakes.

[DaveK]

@Vicegrip 61289 wrote:

I wonder when Apple will start making watt meters and cycling computers?

long time ago before gray hair and common sense I was hired to demo the front and insides of a small food store. The automatic front doors were the old school type with a radar type people sensor. I noted it set off a coworkers Escort and an idea formed. It was built to run on the 24V control voltage of the door so I rigged it to run on a couple emergency light batteries also scavenged from the store. We would drive around and light up on coming traffic watching the cars hit the brakes.

Certain third brake lights will set them off as well. Additionally now you have the cars with radar-based active cruise control, so there are those false positives… people just need to learn proper speeding behavior. It was simpler back in my day… (4 years ago when I sold my car)

[Author]

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