The systems with on board detection capabilities are just that – capable of detecting the use of radar and in increasing numbers laser, when used by camera systems to detect if a vehicle is speeding or behaving in a way contrary to the current road laws. These radar using camera systems are usually harder to become aware of as in a lot of cases they are more for the mobile hand held type of detection device, as opposed to fixed point systems. While these speed camera detectors are great, the flexibility of the government’s use of mobile units does tend to negate over time the efficiency of the speed camera detectors in warning against their presence.

The cheapest, and therefore most readily available everyday units, are those with pre-programmed locations for speeding cameras already plotted into the device’s navigation systems/detection unit. These systems are great for fixed point only camera units, and in most cases the locations can be updated on a weekly or even daily basis, to keep up to the minute information available to your detector unit. The other main draw for these units is that an increasing number of them are including things like accident blackspots, school zones and other high traffic pedestrian areas traditionally associated with loss of life and accidents.

In broad lines these are the two main types of detectors available right now, but with the new Road Safety Bill looking to ban speed camera detectors that detect or jam radar signals the possible options for personal detectors is growing slimmer. 

Speed camera detectors are a great device to have in your vehicle, saving all of us from the current deluge of traffic tickets that have become a bane to most motorists on today’s roads, as they don’t allow for any minor infractions – all are treated the same, whether clocked at 2 miles an hour over the limit, or belting along at 80 in a thirty mph zone, all offenders are treated the same, and we all hate the thought of that envelope with your picture in it coming through the letter-box. 

So what is in the future for speed camera detectors? It’s hard to say exactly what will happen when the new Road Safety Bill is introduced into law, but you can count on someone coming up with a (barely) legal way around this, so keep your eyes peeled for new detectors on the market with new technology.