Valentine One Radar Detector Moment of the Month
January 2007: Detecting More Than Radar

It was dark and I was driving my family back from a state park, keeping the speedometer between 55 and 60. We were worried about wildlife on the roads. Also, since it was Labor Day weekend, I was sure the cops would be out.

We see one with someone pulled over. As I pass him, my new V1 didn't even beep, but it wouldn't have mattered because I knew I wasn't speeding. Then I came up on a really slow car. When I got right behind him, V1 went crazy.

At first I figured it was the cop I just passed checking me out, but the arrow indicated front. Just then the slow car slows way down and pulls off to the side. I see the side of his car—“Police”—but again I don't care because I'm not speeding. I pass him and get back to what I was doing. He jumps back on the road, and V1 points behind. Then his lights flash. What does he want?

He comes up to my window and says he clocked me at 67 in a 55. I politely inform him that was impossible; I knew he was back there and wasn't over 60. He proceeds to be a complete ass, trying to say I'm arguing with him and that his buddy clocked me, too, blah, blah, blah. But after he saw my V1, he knew that I knew that he was lying his ass off. Moreover, I had four witnesses in my car who knew I wasn't speeding. (Remember, V1 didn't go off when I passed his buddy, so I knew he hadn't clocked me either.)

Anyway, he proceeds to take my information back to his car while my family and I discuss my innocence. About a minute later he comes back and says that he doesn't know how I could have "closed the gap" on his car so fast if I wasn't speeding because he was doing 60mph. Then he added that it's unlikely my 2003 model car had a bad speedometer, but just in case, I should keep under 40 so I can be sure I'm not speeding. No ticket!

I think the “lie detector” he saw on my windshield is what saved me. Thanks, V1.

David Monahan
Colorado Springs, CO