garmin, as a cop radar
 

ok so i read some where today that if you have a garmin navi, u can download softwhere that will turn the reciver into a cop radar scanner and tell you where all the cops are on the map, idk if it works but its just somthing to think about if any of you are bored

From what I understand it does not actively scan for police radar... Others have uploaded traffic cameras and common speed traps to a map that show ahead of your map when you drive along... Pretty usefull, but more information then that I do not have

Where can you get these?

Exactly. The GPS certainly does not magically turn into some radar scanning device. The GPS just shows a red dot where some joe-blow thinks is a police hot spot. Everyone's spots are compiled together and released usually on a state by state upload. You can probably just torrent download these.

Kinda dumb IMO. First, I only run GPS when I need directions. So less then 5% of the time I'm in the car. Secondly, the dots are all over the place. Anytime someone saw a police car, they marked it with a dot. How useful is this?:
http://i8.ebayimg.com/05/i/001/22/f3/16ad_1.JPG
Every 2 miles is marked with a dot. How is this gonna help you do 90mph in a 70?

This is very interesting as I've always thought about this. It would definitely be a hit if a radar detector could hook up to a GPS system, whether portible or integrated in the dash, and the GPS could light up what kind of band is being detected and where... the ultimate radar detector!!!

Now if only Valentine can do this for me :)

So pretty much what it is trying to say is, don't speed, because there COULD be a cop ahead...

Yes TopGear. That is correct. And when there is a dot every couple miles... what the hell is the point.
Several units have that feature now. It works both ways. You can set your own personal positions which you deem a speed trap. Or you can lock out positions that you know are false alarms.

Certainly not a true GPS that one can use to get directions to somewhere. Thought I'd better mention that due some of the questions we have here.:uhh:

This will provide exactly the same function as my old crappy Maxon radar detector. That thing would false if a bird flew by. It went off so frequently I couldn't ever speed...I eventually just chucked it so I could get back to driving fast again.

jds

well here is the site i found it on http://www.phantomalert.com/ if any one was wondering but it donst look turst worthy to me

Definitely looks like a scam to me. I know I sure as crap wouldn't pay $10/month for it. I don't drive really fast, only like 10 over on the Interstate or so, about 5 over around town, so it's not a big deal to me.

This is interesting though because when I was in Paris last year, riding with friends and their parents, they had a navi in their Volvo that did something similar. Apparently, on the French freeways there is an automated radar/camera system that takes your picture and automatically sends you a ticket if you're over the limit. Obviously, people have caught on to where these static boxes are and marked them out.

But obviously, it doesn't work for an officer in a car.

deff a scam. my tom tom has something like this that i can download for free...only problem is i almost never use the thing. best thing is just a good ol radar detector.

Well i would like a map to go on your GPS of traffic cameras. like redlight cams. Those are bitches.

really? i dont ever have to deal with them here in nc

Oh, in texas(esp in my area) they are going up like crazy. Seriously in one week my small town went from about 2 to 10. All on the major road that goes straight through the middle (I say small town, but we have 30,000 people.... all of whom drive bmw's and do so acting like jackasses).

They're actually illegal in some states. When I lived in Hawaii a few years ago, there was a big uproar that they were trying to pass legislation to start installing red light cameras. There were demo cams installed in a couple places to test the idea, but never issued tickets. I believe the bill was shot down and the test cameras were removed.