I must definitely be the biggest loser on this forum. After owning an F-Type for about 16 nanoseconds, I got stopped for speeding. I was driving at 76mph in a 55mph zone, happily listening to the engine, I did not see it coming. After many years without a ticket, I will now include traffic tickets and (hopefully not) legal fees in my F-Type budget.

I am curious to hear about your experience with police on the roads. Is our car a magnet for state troopers? Are officers tougher with those of us "driving an expensive fancy car"? Have you guys received a few more tickets since you bought an F-Type?

 

 

Incredibly, I've only been pulled over once in 5+ years and 47,000 miles. And in a town where the police have a reputation for being tough, I got a verbal warning.

I'm not a slow driver by any means, but I am cautious and pay attention to sight lines. Mostly.

 

That I know... even then, I still had a big grin on my face! Maybe that's why he did not give me a break...

 

Radar detector. Just make sure you install it way up in the black dots area...

 

Got stopped in the F type for a smoked license plate cover, other than that, thankfully no moving violations...

 

Only two tickets so far in two years of driving the F-Type, after at my guess around 100 tickets in the previous 40 years.
And one of those two tickets was from an infernal permanent speed camera which I didn't know about coz I was on a road I hadn't travelled for many years, doing a whopping 68 km/h in a 60 zone. I would guess that around 80 of the 100 previous tickets were from greed cameras.
The other F-Type ticket was for doing shock horror 100 km/h in an 80 zone, I was simply accelerating to merge/clear traffic after having turned into the main highway and the po-po was up ahead hiding behind a road sign waving a hairdryer. That one cost me $798 and enough points on my licence to take me over the limit so I elected to take the "double or nothing" deal - no automatic three months loss of licence, instead go 12 months without losing more than one point but if you do get pinged and lose more than one point then you lose your licence for six months. I got through the 12 months with no more tickets or points but it was bloody hard work concentrating on crawling like a tired snail the whole time!
Even though I would love to use a radar/lidar detector it is not worth the risk here, the po-po use detector detectors and if you are caught with one it is an automatic massive fine ($3,000 IIRC) and 12 months loss of licence.
As for being pulled over by the po-po just coz it's an F-Type, that has happened to me only once and that was three weeks ago.
Just as I pulled into my garage I saw a cop car pull up behind me. I immediately thought "not another ticket, I was a bit over the limit a few miles back but I never saw any cop car".
The nice lady copper got out and asked me if it was my car, I said "yes", and she then informed me that my registration has expired yesterday and she was going to give me a written warning but so further action or fine. Her rookie partner then asked "nice car, what is it?" (the rear is debadged) so I told them, and then they admitted the real reason they pulled up behind me was the car and not the expired rego!

 

Don't feel bad, I was pulled over while on the test drive, and I was only driving the V6. I bought the R just for spite.

 

No tickets (knock on wood). Not for lack of opportunity.
My license tag may have cut me some slack (depending on the locale).

 

 

I just have my lawyer on Speed Dial and drive like I want to.

And I get lucky. I was coming home and experimenting with TracDSC and DSC off and was the first car at two consecutive lights. From both, I rapidly accelerated, with some wheel spin, to the speed limit (or pretty close) and shut it down. I was turning into my subdivision a couple of miles later when the lights came on. He said that he had me for 69 in a 55 (which sounded realistic to me) - then said he was giving me a warning!!

I kinda think he was just warning me literally - that he really didn't have a speed gun on me, but heard about my... rapid progress, but I'll never know. Getting away with 69 in a 55? Priceless!!!

 

 

No tickets in the year I have owned mine (also knocking on wood here). I do have a tendency to hammer it up to the speed limit and back off to keep things legal and still have fun. One time the speed limit was 35 and I stayed under that while going 50% the way though a LARGE traffic circle (e.g. straight through). Turned out the car a ways behind me was a unmarked cop but he didn't pull me over because I wasn't out of control nor did I exceed the speed limit. Yes, most slow down to 10 or 15 MPH but whipping through it at 30-35 wasn't really an issue for this car. The unmarked car on the other hand had to slow down and then speed back up to get close to me. I was a bit concerned that he might try to pull me but when he realized that I never went over the speed limit he just turned off into a grocery

I tossed my radar detector in the trash some 10 years ago as it was basically useless going off FAR to late to have helped with my ///AMG 55 at the time. Also never got a ticket in it even though I was travelling over 155 MPH with a group of other AMGs on numerous occasions back in those days. To put this in perspective I haven't even had the F-Type over 100 yet even when passing slower vehicles so I might have to take it to a local drag strip or pay for a few laps at Charlotte Motor speedway whenever they offer that option (I live about 3 miles form it as the crow flies).

 

 

Thanks, Jaguny... glad that I am not alone in the club!

 

After a while you learn to become 'suspicious' of any vehicle that looks similar to what the local cops use.

Dodge Chargers, Ford Tauruses, Explorers...

 

I have been lucky with my XJR with no tickets since I have owned it even tho I have been passed by cops on night trips on 95 between MD and MA when I have been doing
90 mph. It is not a "flashy" looking sports car.

My radar detector, MAX 360 has saved me on several occasions however it does not pick up plane clothes police cars.

In my relatively newly acquired 2013 Range Rover Sport I have been ticketed twice in 3 months on the same route as above.

Once by a cop using the Dragon laser in CT where he gave me a break and only ticketed for 85 mph otherwise I would have gone to jail.

The 2nd time a plain clothes police car cop picked me out from a group of cars doing 83 mph. As we were parked and he was handing me my ticket a driver
passed us at a high rate of speed and the cop raced back to his car and caught up with that driver in no time.

The cost of the ticket in MD was way less than the cost in CT.

 

That is a good question.

Not sure of the answer though. I was pulled over recently at 2300h on a Saturday night, in a town known for strict speed enforcement, by a marked Charger.
The officer asked if I had been drinking. Not much I replied. I asked why he pulled me over as I was not speeding. He said that I was going 45 MPH around the hairpin turn marked 15 MPH. I suggested the 15 MPH was in fact, just that, a suggested speed and the limit before the curve and after the curve is 45. I reminded him that I did not dip down and clip the apex but stayed in my lane. I advised that I was a trained and skilled HP driver and the car can easily handle this curve at 45. No other cars on the road.

He made my wife come get me!! 1.5 miles from home!

I think that if I were in a less thrilling car, he may have cuffed me and stuffed me. He told my wife that he did not want to ruin my life by arresting me because "it was obvious that I'm a hard working productive gentleman". He made me park the car in a strip mall under some lights and said I can get the car in the morning. My wife was furious. She drove me home and I walked straight back to Jag and drove it home.

No I wasn't drunk.

 

We once were talking to a police officer about 'driving fast'. One of our group of 'conscientious objectors' mentioned that he always felt capable of DOUBLING the Advisory Speeds posted for curves. Pointed out to the cop that they were made for differing conditions and could not generally apply to drivers or cars with different capabilities.

The officer didn't like that much.

++++++++++

Rather than post a suggested speed, why not just say "be careful" as they do in some areas of the world?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/36074116@N00/82514745

 

You are right that radar detectors aren't the cure all for speeding tickets. Too many people buy a radar detector and assume that they won't get tickets anymore. Like any tool, you need to learn how to use it before it really becomes very useful. For example, in California there is no K band so you can turn K band off and avoid annoying false alerts. In other states where K band is used, you can't do that.

That being said on a recent road trip, I got a couple mile detection that would have given you enough time to slow down from 155mph or even faster but your results may vary. On average, I would say I get one real save a year from a radar detector but that number is just for a pure radar save where other other countermeasures (Waze, local knowledge, etc.) would not have picked it up.