Road trip: Houston to San Jose (TX, NM, AZ, CA)

I-10, I-5. Anything to watch out for? :D

I will have a V1, parking sensors, a CB, and trapster :)

I know from Houston to San Antonio there's a good dose of selective IO :mad:

Most importantly, can anyone comment on whether the other parts of the way are IO happy?

West Texas?
NM?
AZ?
CA?


Also, I know in TX interstates (outside cities) laser is rare. From the stickies, it appears that NM does not use laser either. AZ and CA apparently use laser, but how much interstate enforcement is actually laser?

Any and all guidance appreciated :thumb2:

I think you're going to find when it comes to the desert, it is mostly I/O Ka, unless you get a really lazy cop. Get a scanner. CHP operates in the 42.xxx mhz range.

Luckily when you get into California, they MOSTLY do rolling radar, again, Ka only. I assume you're doing I-10 to I-5 ?

Unfortunately, once you are in California, it is raw traffic that will slow you down, not traffic enforcement - unless you're going through at 1:00am.

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Originally Posted by OpenRoad

I think you're going to find when it comes to the desert, it is mostly I/O Ka, unless you get a really lazy cop. Get a scanner. CHP operates in the 42.xxx mhz range.

Luckily when you get into California, they MOSTLY do rolling radar, again, Ka only. I assume you're doing I-10 to I-5 ?

Unfortunately, once you are in California, it is raw traffic that will slow you down, not traffic enforcement - unless you're going through at 1:00am.

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Let's hope not. A RD would not be able to detect that. A radio might.

btw, it is highly doubtful you will have a laser encounter in California. Although it is showing up here and there, it is still rare. You have better odds winning a $100,000 jackpot at a casino.

(I listen in on the scanner and after a few years of daily driving in the Bay Area and Sacramento areas, have only heard it being used on 2 occasions, that is, via scanner).

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Originally Posted by OpenRoad

btw, it is highly doubtful you will have a laser encounter in California. Although it is showing up here and there, it is still rare. You have better odds winning a $100,000 jackpot at a casino.

(I listen in on the scanner and after a few years of daily driving in the Bay Area and Sacramento areas, have only heard it being used on 2 occasions, that is, via scanner).

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I don't know about that.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb8RRxiTOH0]YouTube - Typical CHP Laser Speed Trap[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0EcqRZM6N8]YouTube - LI vs TruSpeed[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGBSQY5gV14]YouTube - Laser Trap[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLsxPva7etQ]YouTube - Radar Plus Laser[/ame]

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Originally Posted by Clay_in_Nashville

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Originally Posted by OpenRoad

I think you're going to find when it comes to the desert, it is mostly I/O Ka, unless you get a really lazy cop. Get a scanner. CHP operates in the 42.xxx mhz range.

Luckily when you get into California, they MOSTLY do rolling radar, again, Ka only. I assume you're doing I-10 to I-5 ?

Unfortunately, once you are in California, it is raw traffic that will slow you down, not traffic enforcement - unless you're going through at 1:00am.

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Let's hope not. A RD would not be able to detect that. A radio might.

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I got saved by my RD last week from an open-desert encounter with Ka I/O. It bounced off the car a mile ahead of me - enough time to slow down before he showed up and turned it on again. I think his drive through cactus-land should be ok, as long as he is not the only car on the road.

Another trick I picked up is the [desert] highway patrol types like to check your speed if you are running in the fast lane. Not a guarantee of course but every little bit helps. I pass a semi, then tuck in front of him, zoom up to the next truck and pass, etc.

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Originally Posted by Clay_in_Nashville

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Originally Posted by OpenRoad

I think you're going to find when it comes to the desert, it is mostly I/O Ka, unless you get a really lazy cop. Get a scanner. CHP operates in the 42.xxx mhz range.

Luckily when you get into California, they MOSTLY do rolling radar, again, Ka only. I assume you're doing I-10 to I-5 ?

Unfortunately, once you are in California, it is raw traffic that will slow you down, not traffic enforcement - unless you're going through at 1:00am.

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Let's hope not. A RD would not be able to detect that. A radio might.

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Just re-read your post - if it is 'raw traffic', yeah, your're right. A motorcyle helps with that. :)

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I don't know about that.

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One of those was a Carlsbad PD unit, not CHP.
Anyway, the CHP laser units are almost always in commuter type traffic. They do exist, but are still rare to encounter.

Thanks folks :)

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Originally Posted by OpenRoad

I assume you're doing I-10 to I-5 ?

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Yes

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Originally Posted by Clay_in_Nashville

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Originally Posted by OpenRoad

Get a scanner. CHP operates in the 42.xxx mhz range.

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Let's hope not. A RD would not be able to detect that. A radio might.

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I think he was specifying the scanner frequency ;)

I'm not sure how useful it would be on an interstate (that I don't travel regularly on). Also, How would someone be able to program all the frequencies used in these states in a scanner? :dontknow:

On I-10 when you are passing thru Austin County TX, there is a stealth black dodge charger. The LEO shoots an Ultralyte and sometimes runs Ka. I posted a pic of it in the Law Enforcement Vehicles Thread. Also on I-10 at Luling, there is about a 80% chance that you will run in TX DPS. I see them there all the time running I/O Ka 34.7 when I'm heading up to the hill country. Good luck on your trip :thumb2: