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Nothing ruins a nice drive more than being caught off-guard by speed traps. Here are a few tips on how to avoid speed traps on your trips.
Life is fun during RV road trips when you have your windows down, the music up, and changing landscapes outside - until you see the flashing red and blue lights in your rearview mirror. Nothing ruins a nice drive more than being caught off-guard by speed traps. You may not be speeding intentionally, or you might not be aware of the speed limits even, but the consequences of a speeding ticket are the same.
Luckily, there are a few ways to avoid speed traps. Speed detector cameras are not always easily visible, or you might not be in a conscious state of mind to catch them every time. That is why we have shortlisted the top 7 tips to keep in mind if you want to avoid speed traps in your RV.
Download Radar Detector Apps
Speed radars can catch you off-guard, so the best way to tackle them is to find them first. RV apps can be a great help when on the road, so download radar detector apps on your phone to receive alerts and notifications when a speed radar is close by. Some apps will even notify you about the speed limit and keep a check on your RV’s speed. Good radar detector apps are Radarbot, PhantomAlert, Trapster, and Fuzz Alert. These apps will display a map of your route on your phone and as you go along, will notify you of patrol cars, speed radars, and sensitive speed zones.
Keep an Eye Out for Spotters
Police officers can opt for several strategies to catch overspeeding cars. It could be a one-man effort or a team strategy, where one officer clocks you on the radar and informs their colleague up ahead. The best way to deal with them is to keep an eye out. Cops can be in unmarked cars idling on the side of the road. Another tip is to know the hiding spots. Police officers taking cover will most likely be under bridges, behind billboards, or by underpasses, where they can set up their radar quietly. As long as you know where they could be, you can reduce speed circumstantially.
Let Your RV Do the Work
RV lifestyle can consist of long hours of driving on monotonous, less crowded routes. Throw in the mix feelings of tiredness and fatigue. This makes it easy for RV drivers to speed up and ignore the rules a little. That is all cops with radar detectors hiding nearby are waiting for! That’s not all - speeding up during long drives not only makes you an easy target for speed traps, but it could also potentially be harmful to you. In these situations, the best solution is to set your RV on cruise control. That way, you can rest a little, and your speed will also be in check.
GPS Alerts
Apart from radar detector apps, there is another way to be notified of speed traps. GPS systems like Google Maps, Highway Radar, and Waze send road alerts to your phone when there are speed traps ahead. These alerts are added by other app users. This means that if any other driver or passenger sees any roadblock, speed detectors, cops, or construction sites up ahead on the road, they add an alert on the app for other users. You can even check out a route on these apps before starting your RV journey to see if it is carefree or laden with speed traps.
Keep an Eye Out for Brake Lights
This tip is quite obvious yet very helpful. However, it is only possible to do this on routes that are busy or at least where you can see the cars up ahead of you. If the cars ahead are hitting the brakes or slowing down, that is your cue that they have spotted a speed trap or worse, been caught by one. So rabbit on the cars ahead of you and just slow down when they do to be on the safe side. This is not to say that you don’t keep your eyes on the road and instead keep watching out for brake lights. Just paying attention to the two or three cars up ahead will do the job.
Buy a Radar Detector
Talk about turning the tables around! The best way to speed trap a car is to catch its speed on a radar gun. Radar guns give off radar waves that only a purpose-built device, like a radar detector, can detect. A radar detector can be as small as a cell phone or even a bigger model. It can be attached to your dashboard or stuck to your windshield. A good radar detector can cover miles of range and inform you before time about an upcoming speed trap so that you can slow down well in time. Prices vary considerably, ranging from around $100 to $700, so choose your model based on your needs and preferred price range. While a radar detector is a very useful device, it is important to know that it is illegal to use them in Virginia and Washington DC
Location Matters
There are some places that are common speed trap locations. RV drivers are often at a disadvantage because driving through so many new places means that we don’t always know the speed limits of all of them. That is why it is important to have some idea of common places so that you can be wary when passing them. Places where it is common to speed, like the freeway with the open road ahead of you or at the bottom of a hill, are top places for clocking your speed. Other locations can include school districts, busy downtown areas, and small towns.
Conclusion
Speed traps are sneaky and swift. You can be handed a parking ticket or a hefty fine before you are even aware of what happened. That is why it is important to have an upper hand in knowing how to avoid them. RVs are big and easy targets, and RVers are on the road most of the year. Our tips will help you stay ahead of the game, free of fines, and enjoy your RV trip all the same. Happy driving!
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