Radar Detector Sales Speed Up As Motorists Fear Ban

The Government has voted to ban radar detectors that can detect mobile hidden speed cameras and laser guns; the new law will come in to effect next year, once the House of Lords gives final approval.

According to one supplier weekly sales of the devices have risen by over 300% in recent weeks with motorists trying to beat the ban and the availability of the units.

At this time it is legal for a motorist to buy and use a radar detector to spot mobile speed cameras - when the new law comes into force, only GPS trap locators, that cannot detect mobile speed traps, will be remain legal.

Over 2,500 mobile speed cameras operate throughout the UK and this figure is expected to rise once the radar detector ban takes effect. In one five hour police shift, a mobile speed camera gave 329 motorists speeding tickets, an average of one every 58 seconds - raising almost £20,000.

In the government debate to decide on the ban of radar detectors, Conservative MP, Christopher Chope, voted against the ban. Mr Chope who has been an outspoken critic of the Labour Party policy on speed cameras said “Train drivers receive an audible signal to back up their vision.
If it’s good for train drivers why is it not appropriate for car drivers”

David Jamieson, the Minister for road safety said in the debate “They (the motorists) would be able to detect the presence of the mobile cameras. That sounds like a recipe for helping those boy racers.”

A Mori Poll also found that a Radar detector user is 28% less likely to have an accident than a non-user and most road accidents involve a motorist under 25 years old who are generally non-users of radar devices.

The supplier of the UK’s best selling Quintezz speed camera spotter claims that more than 92% of their customers are over the age of 25 years.

The company supplying the Quintezz XT7000 Plus radar detector offers a guarantee that if the user receives a speeding ticket while their unit is fitted, the driver is paid £60 Cash-back. The unit, which costs, £199 is designed to spot both Gatso and mobile laser speed traps - this device is due to be banned under the new law.

Mark Cornwall of www.carparts-direct.co.uk the UK distributor of the Quintezz radar detector said “This is further evidence that speed cameras are there to raise cash and road safety is not the issue. A radar detector does exactly what a speed camera is supposed to do; it advises motorists to keep within the speed limit. Without a radar detector, driving licences will be lost at a wholesale rate and more easy cash will be robbed from normally law abiding motorists.”

Last year around two million speeding tickets were issued - this year the figure is expected to reach three million. Nearly eleven million speeding tickets have been given since speed cameras were introduced in 1992. A third of motorists have points on their licence at the last count, and 286,186 motorists have lost their driving Licences, most due to penalty points.

Radar detectors are already banned in most other European countries. Mark Cornwall confirmed that motorists regularly travel from abroad to the UK to buy their Radar detector to use themselves or to resell at a profit in the country where they are banned.

The manufacturer of their Quintezz XT7000 Plus radar detector has said production of their product will cease once the ban is confirmed by the House of Lords - and then a motorist will not be able to buy their a mobile speed camera spotter - at any price.