Thursday 1st February 2007

Get £50 for your old detector

Someone wants your radar-based camera detector

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Rossini Navigator

If you bought a radar-based speed camera detector, which will soon be illegal to use, you can get £50 back if you hand it in to Car Parts Direct (CPD) -- irrespective of where you bought it, or what brand/model of detector it is.

Actually, it's not quite as simple as that. The company said that it will pay a £50 allowance, which you can use against the purchase of a new Rossini Navigator and Speed Camera Spotter. Although if you bought your radar-based detector from CPD in the last six months, you'll get a £199 allowance.

CPD said the offer is likely to run for a few weeks with 500 Rossini Navigator units allocated for the promotion. The device provides full postcode door-to-door navigation, and the supplier claimed it is the only satellite navigation device that guarantees that a motorist will be given advance warning of all types of speed cameras – including all mobile locations.

How does that work? Company boss Mark Cornwall said: "Mobile camera sites are used repeatedly. Camera vans, mobile cameras and police with laser guns use the same locations repeatedly. You will know yourself certain roads near to you where a camera van or the police laser patrol wait to catch the stream of traffic -- they often stand or park back from the road.

"The database we use has been compiled from three separate sources, where most use one. Products such as TOM TOM for example -- which is an excellent product -- doesn't have the depth of information on mobile units that the Rossini database holds.

"All reports of new cameras, including mobile sites are added. The supplier of the main database employs around 20 people nationally to check any reported new locations. If our customer picks up a ticket we have to pay the £60 so it’s in our interest to make sure it’s up to date. There is also a penalty for the database supplier too, so it’s in everyone’s interest to perfect the information."

There's nothing extra to pay -- no update fees, according to CPD. And CPD said it would pay £60 to any driver receiving a speeding ticket because of a failure by the device to alert the driver.

The Rossini Navigator costs £399 less the refundable amount for the illegal radar detector to be returned.

Cornwall said: "Customers bought radar detectors in good faith, when they were legal to use. Now the government have banned them, thousands of motorists are out of pocket and with no protection against cameras. Whilst we did warn that radar detectors could be banned, we feel obliged to offer our customers support."

This follows the passage into law of the Road Safety Act 2006, under which any detector that picks up a signal from a speed camera or police laser gun is illegal to use -- or maybe or even carry -- in a vehicle. Get caught using it and you face a fine and penalty points. GPS-based speed camera spotters remain legal.

More details on the company's site.

• www.carparts-direct.co.uk

[JimboCTR]

Sh1t, I didn't realise the laser/radar detectors were illigal NOW. I thought the legislation was still being talked about.

I still have my snooper with both radar and lazer detector set up in the windscreen - what are the chances of getting caught and what is the punishment? Does anyone know?

Jim

[Einion Yrth]

JimboCTR said:

- what are the chances of getting caught

Pretty small I imagine, but you wouldn't want to be the first, examples will no doubt be made.

[phucks1976]

Dont think they are illegal yet nothing on www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk didn't think bill had been passed yet. Although it's iminent!

[TPS]

I still have mine as well.I thought it was only being talked about banning them.Have i missed something here?

[phucks1976]

Just phoned department of transport. Act received royal assent in Nov 2006, however different parts come into affect at different times , they say highly unlikely to be brought in this year. But the guy on the phone could be wrong so don't hold me to it!

[bermyandy]

How does it affect the Origin BT - has radar detector, but also GPS based system. I assume eventually only the radar detective would be illegal, but I could keep the GPS element?

[agtlaw]

Ref: "If you bought a radar-based speed camera detector, which is now illegal to use,"

The relevant section of the Road Safety Act 2006 is NOT YET IN FORCE despite Royal Assent on 8.11.06.

n.b. I'm a solicitor specialising in motoring offences so I know these things.

[phucks1976]

any estimate of when it would be in force?

[GR1FF1F]

Does that mean Road Angel II is now illegal ? If so I think I'll have a word as I just shelled out for 3 years subscription and they never mentioned anything in the renewal letter.

[hollowpockets]

road angel is a gps unit, not illegal

[GR1FF1F]

Thanks for that. Just called Road Angel and they confirmed that too.

Cheers

[woof]

also - there's no clarification whether units purchased prior to the "impending" ban, will be illegal or not

Laser detection is really very unlikely to give you effective warnings - generally it's too late, if you get a warning
but it can help, hence why it appeared on the market

[oogieboogie]

Can they detect that you are using a detector? If they don't have the technology then how would they know? From what I understand (having never been pulled) there aren't many times you get pulled over after you've been done by radar.

[x332race]

They havent the manpower to catch people using mobile phones, so how are they going to catch people using detectors?

[Mike400]

To add to that, how will average mr plod tell the difference between a GPS based system and a radar detector?

What if you have it installed in such a way that its hidden from view?

[woof]

yep - basically it's unenforceable

[patently]

woof said:

yep - basically it's unenforceable

Unless they develop a camera that detects detectors?

Then we can have a whole new bureaucracy alongside the SCPs - the "Safety Camera Detector Camera Partnerships". Until someone invents a detector for the Safety camera detector cameras, of course....

[moose17372]

Here in the States they claim they can detect if you are running a detector even, so called Stealth Units, something with the amount of the radar signal sent out and the amount that returns other than that they have to see it mounted in the car or laying in the car, which really wouldn't be that hard with some of the unconscious drivers on the roads. Some states have banned their use and have for years, most just frown upon their use. Like it was said you'd think they'd have better thing to do in todays world situations than looking into your car for radar detectors. Here's a thought, though, many of the same folks that build the radar units are the SAME ones building the detectors. See any conflict of interest here or why they would want the old units banned and then give you a reduction on a New Unit and call it a buy back but only if you buy a new over priced unit. Just a thought its still morning here as I write this state-side, keep putting up a fight just because a certain issue may not effect you the next one may an who will be there to help to fight yours.

[AlexRWD]

moose17372 said:

keep putting up a fight just because a certain issue may not effect you the next one may an who will be there to help to fight yours.

Completely agree with you Jim, but sadly as a country we're not very good at fighting these things - a few angry threads get started on the internet, some fighting talk, then lots of people reply that it's a waste of time to try and fight anything, and then we all invariably roll over and take whatever the govt feels like forcing to us that week, and a few then people talk about leaving the country.

[Spearmint]

Just buy a jammer and be done with it.