Radar detectors have evolved into solutions that go beyond simple radar alerts, assisting your driving even if you don’t exceed the speed limit. Today’s devices can provide multiple types of driver alerts.

The right radar detector can help you be more aware of:

• Your speed and surrounding speed limits
• Speed-enforcement locations
• Red-light or speed-camera locations
• Shared alerts from other drivers (when connected to a network)

While many types of drivers can benefit from using a radar detector, here are specific scenarios where detectors can help:

• If you drive in cities or towns with traffic lights or speed cameras
• If you drive in areas with mixed speed limits or multiple speed enforcement locations
• If you commute long distances, do a lot of highway driving, or take road trips
• If you use crowdsourced navigation apps to get alerts from other drivers

Radar detectors vary in features and price points. To help you decide, ask yourself these questions while you’re researching radar detector models:

• Does this model provide too much or too little information?
• Am I okay with the accuracy of the information this radar detector provides?
• How often do I want to receive information?

Entry-level detectors may supply too much information for your needs or may supply too many false alerts from other vehicle’s Collision Avoidance Systems (CAS) or Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM) systems. Generally, the better the range and accuracy in a detector, the higher the price point.

Beyond range and accuracy, some radar detectors provide the following features:

• Bluetooth connectivity and an associated app so you can manage settings and receive crowdsourced and automatic shared alerts from other drivers and their detectors
• Wi-Fi connectivity to receive automatic software updates so your device is always up to date with the latest false-alert filtering
• Smart features like automatic learning of false-alert locations using GPS, updatable database of red-light and speed-camera locations, and an app to connect you with other drivers so you can increase your awareness