Are Radar Detectors Illegal In New York? – CNY News

In the United States in 1968, a man named Dale Smith was pulled over for speeding. Unhappy about being issued a ticket, the electronic engineer decided to create something to help others avoid speeding tickets – the Fuzzbuster.
Since its inception, the Fuzzbuster, or radar detector as most people know it, has come a long way. In 1994, a company called K40 introduced the laser jammer to vehicle owners which is the type of radar detector that most people who have them in their vehicles use today.
As police technology has advanced, so has radar detecting technology and according to Forbes, modern-day radar detectors,” can detect even the most current advances in police radar gun tech. As a result, the best radar detectors can detect even the latest radar and laser devices used by law enforcement.”
Yes and no. Radar detectors are legal to use in private passenger vehicles in New York but when it comes to commercial vehicles, that's a different story.
Radar detectors are illegal to use in any commercial vehicle that weighs over 10,000 pounds everywhere in the United States. Commercial vehicles that weigh under 10,000 pounds are allowed to use a radar detector in every state with the exception of "Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, and Washington D.C.," according to automoblog.
According to Avoid Radar, yes, the police can tell if you have a radar detector for the simple fact that in order to work, the radar detector must be placed “in an unobstructed view out of the front window.”
All states allow the use of radar detectors with the exception of Iowa, Virginia, and Washington D.C. So, if you’re from New York and have a radar detector and drive your vehicle into any of the states where it’s illegal to use one, you should be prepared to be given a fine.
Yes. According to Escort, radar jammers are illegal in all 50 states. The reason, according to Escort, that radar jammers are illegal is largely because “the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates the frequencies used in radar guns.” Escort also notes that “Violators can be faced with heavy fines and jail time, even on a first offense!”

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