Radar Detectors in Virginia Speeding Cases

A police radar detector is an instrument that is used to detect if your vehicle’s speed is being monitored by anyone using a radar gun. Typically, they’re used by drivers to avoid being detected by law enforcement when they’re speeding so they can avoid a ticket. They work by detecting the radio waves that radar guns transmit.

Below is information on what you should know regarding radar detectors in Virginia speeding cases. To learn more, consult with a seasoned speeding ticket lawyer.

Legality of Radar Guns in Virginia

It is not illegal to have a radar detector in your vehicle in Virginia as long as the detector is not readily accessible to the driver or any of the passengers in the vehicle. If the radar detector is still accessible, it does not matter whether it works or not. It could be broken, sitting next to you and unplugged, but you could still be charged with having a radar detector if it was accessible to you.

The best thing to do is to put it in the trunk so that you cannot access it and they cannot charge you with an offense.

With this in mind, if you are driving from a state where radar detectors are legal you should unplug it and put it into your trunk so that it is not accessible to you.

Penalties For Radar Guns

The penalty for having a radar detector is a fine. There are no demerit points on your driver’s license awarded for a violation of this. The officer can take the device if they decide that it is needed as evidence, but when it is no longer required or needed as evidence, the officer has to return it to the person charged.

Other Important Things To Know About Radar Detectors in Virginia

In Virginia, it is essential to keep in mind regarding the use of radar detectors is that they only detect one method that law enforcement uses to detect speeding vehicles. In fact, now with the technology available, there are a lot of laser detectors as well which will not help you.

Additionally, having a radar detector will not help you try to get out of a speeding ticket and have no impact on the various other ways that officers detect speeding including pacing.

Another important thing to remember is that the device may not be accessible to the driver even if it is unplugged or broken. This is the biggest mistake that is seen as often times people believe that if you unplug the device or if it is broken then you cannot be charged with having a radar detector illegally. The law, however, is a little bit different; it states that it cannot be accessible to anyone in the vehicle and has to be turned off and disconnected from any power source.

This means that unless your detector is completely inaccessible to you, it is possible for you to be charged with a violation even if it does not work.

How Could a Lawyer Help If You Are Charged With Using a Radar?

A lawyer could help you get your radar detector back if the officer did not give it back to you within a certain time period. After six months, however, radar detectors are allowed to be destroyed if they are not given back to their owner or the owner has not claimed it. An attorney could also help you understand whether what you were doing amounts to a conviction or should amount to a conviction under the statute. If you have any questions about radar detectors in Virginia speeding cases, get in touch with an experienced lawyer today.