Rear radar - any good?

[Mike_P]

My Varia shows a solid green line when the road behind is clear. When there is a vehicle behind me travelling at the same speed then a car icon, or icons if more than one car, will show.

Apologies was referring to the Elemnt Blot.

 

[Sea of vapours]

I'm not being negative or down playing how useful some find the radars, just wondering about effectiveness against bad drivers.

Any additional information may help you to do something in positioning or behavioural terms which will help you to mitigate the risk from a bad driver. They are, however, perhaps most useful on quiet / not busy roads, where you will be alerted to the one car every few minutes; not so much on a busy road where a car is passing every few seconds and you're therefore constantly on alert for bad drivers. Personally, the combination of a radar to alert me to the presence of an approaching vehicle and a mirror to check what it is, is very powerful in allowing appropriate road positioning and behaviour.

 

[Mike_P]

I use mine on a number of busy roads and once it has bleeped for the first approaching car it is then slient until it goes clear. You consequently know then when its worth looking back to make the approaching right turn.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Isn't it always "worth looking back" before signalling to manoeuvre to the centre of the road before a right turn. How does the radar info inform your timing? Do you look back earlier or later if you know there's a vehicle right behind?