‘Haven’t had a speeding ticket in years!’ This radar detector is down to $49

Speeding tickets are expensive. It’s not just the initial cost of the ticket, either — your insurance rates also tick up, resulting in a long-term money drain. While sticking to the speed limit is the easiest (and safest) solution, sometimes your right foot gets a little heavy. The next-best fix? A radar detector! This handy device will tell you when you’ve caught the notice of a police officer and warn you to drop your speed. And it’s perfectly legal (except in Mississippi and Virginia). Our pick? The Uniden DFR1 radar detector — it’s just $49 at Amazon.

The way a radar detector works is simple. It’s something like a receiver that looks out for signals from police radar guns; when a signal is picked up, the detector sends off an alert. The alert can vary depending on the strength of the signal, and the Uniden DFR1 lets you select between three different modes depending on where you’re driving.

No wonder it’s a popular item. More than 3,300 fans have given it a five-star review for potentially keeping a speeding ticket at bay. “I have one of these units in each of my three cars, and they are a money saver here in Scottsdale, Arizona, as the police use speed traps and photo radar all over the place, from freeways to private streets! If the device only warned me once, it would be cost-effective immediately — much less, tens of times monthly,” said one lead-foot.

Added another fan: “This radar detector works great. Haven’t had a speeding ticket in years! Picks up police radar long before you see the cop car….”

This radar detector can save you from a nasty speeding ticket. (Photo: Amazon)

The detector picks up on signals in a 360-degree sphere around you, so you don’t have to worry about angling it any particular way. If someone aims a radar gun at you, it will notice. Again, these devices are illegal for readers in Mississippi and Virginia, so we can’t recommend you use them — but if you decide to do so anyway, Uniden claims this model is invisible to VG-2 and Spectre I/IV/IV+ radar detectors.

“It works — paid for itself many times over. I don’t like driving without one now. It went off and I didn’t see anyone around, and then sure enough I see a police officer in my mirror hiding behind something,” said another smokey-avoiding motorist.

If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $25 or more.)

The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.