Snooper S5 R

Last year in the United Kingdom 2.1 million people were caught travelling at excess speeds on the roads incurring 3 points on their driving licence and a £60 fine. I personally accounted for 2 of those offences counted above and was livid that each time I had been captured by static cameras located at the side of the road when driving in an area where I was unfamiliar with the layout of the area, the location of the cameras or the speed limit of the road. In the second instance I was on a country road that was classed as a 40 mile per hour area yet all of the similar roads approaching it were the national speed limit. Determined not to get caught again I bought a second hand Snooper S5-R from my brother in law, a device he had used without issue for 3 years. When originally purchased it cost £199.99, yet I managed with a sweet smile and much begging to get it for £50.

The Snooper is a small black box powered from the cigarette lighter of the car and sits on the dashboard alerting the driver to static speed cameras (GATSO) and mobile laser speed cameras. When I say that the box is small I mean it, as it's actual dimensions are 11 x 4 x 1.5 cm and with suction pads it fits securely into the car and doesn't move around at all even when playing at speed on winding roads. Design wise the S5-R is built for functionality and due to the colour doesn't need removing from the car every time I leave it.

The comprehensive instruction manual I have states that the S5-R can detect GATSO cameras 300 metres away and the handheld laser and radar guns up to 2 miles away. When a threat (as the cameras will now be referred to) is detected the box starts to bleep and the LCD display on the top displays a number of bars to indicate how far away the threat is. The volume control is located on the right hand side and has the ability to go from barely audible to deafening. As you approach a threat the beep is replaced by a clicking sound and the display bars will increase until eventually you should see the threat with your own eyes and have an opportunity to adjust your speed accordingly.

I have been using the S5-R now for 6 months and have had no problems with the device; it has worked and worked sometimes far too well. When driving around London the bleeping and clicking is almost constant as the 360-degree coverage means that nearly everywhere you go a threat is detected. After 30 minutes behind the wheel the bleeping and clicking is extremely irritating and I personally turn the volume right down and have positioned the box so that the bars sit in my line of sight.

Calculating value for money of a radar detector is a tricky business. How do you know it has failed to save you a further endorsement on your licence unless you get a summons through in the post? What I can say is that since I installed the S5-R in my car I have the confidence to drive at speeds I feel comfortable with without constantly checking my speeds in areas I am unfamiliar with which means I can keep my attention focussed on the road and other road users.

If you want to drive with confidence and without fear of a speeding summons popping through your letterbox I would strongly recommend the Snooper S5-R. It works and works well, requires no software or updates meaning that once it is positioned in the car it is ready to go and ready to save your licence from endorsement. It does however lose one star from the rating because the bleeping and clicking can get very irritating.