In 1995 radar detectors were banned in all commercial vehicles. This means 18 wheelers among other large vehicles. Radar detectors in cars remain legal to own and operate except in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and U.S. military reservations. In Canada only British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan allow their use. The first radar detector detector, RDD, was the VG-2 eventually marketed by Kustom Signals, Inc. It looked for 11.55 GHz IF emissions from radar detectors. The VG-2 is no longer sold nor marketed. It has not been offered for over six years. Although many others have tried, the only radar detector detector now available is the Spectre. Made in Australia, it is marketed by Applied Concepts, Inc. a.k.a. Stalker Radar of Plano, TX and has a much greater range of detection than the VG-2. It has gone through four revisions. Originally it over heated and shut down. An officer could not operate their radar gun as the Spectre would alert. If a state law enforcement agency had both the VG-2 and Spectre, they talked to each other. The VG-2 would make the Spectre alert. Every year some states try to ban radar detectors in all vehicles. These efforts have failed as the FCC does not deem them illegal. With the high cost of fuel, few truckers now use radar detectors. Most of the company owned fleets have their maximum speeds governed. Drivers of four wheelers are slowing down to conserve fuel. SML has been commissioned to study and report radar detector use and speeds of cars and trucks on interstate highways in seven states. This research should be complete by the fall of 2008.
          Radar detector detectors were operated and provided by police agencies during our test. During this year’s test, officers stopped a suspect 18 wheeler on the course as the Spectre alerted. This brings back old memories. During our 2002 test, the VG-2 caught a trucker operating an old Uniden detector. He was stopped and ticketed by the officers.Test vehicles began toward the radar detector detectors from the 1/4 mile cone at 30 mph. If detected, they were told to stop via the radio. The range of the detection by the RDD of the detector was measured by a Kustom Pro Laser III in the range mode. Each detector was given three tries against the VG-2 and three tries against the Spectre. N means the detector was not detected by the RDD. Y means the detector was detected with the distance noted as y/182. The number 182 means feet. 9500ci means custom installed remote. See ** for Tiger Lily products.