Mike Valentine, The Patron Saint Of Radar Detectors, Has Died

Mike Valentine, the creator of the iconic Valentine One radar detector, has died. As reported by his obituary, Valentine died in his home in Cincinnati, Ohio on Sept. 16 at the age of 74. While he’s best known for the Valentine One radar detector, he contributed so much more to the industry than his namesake device. In fact, he’d been behind some of the most advanced radar detectors on the market before the Valentine One even existed.

In 1976, Mike Valentine and his business partners launched Cincinnati Microwave Inc. Although that name might not be immediately familiar, you will know the name it later adopted — Escort. The very first Escort radar detector was so much more advanced than its competition that in a Feb. 1979 Car And Driver radar detector comparison test, the magazine declared, “Once you try the Escort, all the rest seem a bit primitive. In no test did any of the other detectors even come close.”

However, Valentine’s time at Escort didn’t last forever. As Road & Track reports, “when partners disagreed on the company’s future, Mike took a buyout.” However, Mike Valentine wasn’t finished. He established Valentine Research, and in 1992, the world of radar detectors took another big leap forward with the launch of the Valentine One. Suddenly, users were no longer forced to guess where radar was coming from, but instead were alerted to positioning using a series of arrows — one pointing ahead, two conjoined arrows pointed to either side, and one facing behind. Plus, the unit’s oscillator sweep could pick up brief radar signals in one frequency sweep. Add in a direct sales approach using ads placed in major automotive magazines, and the Valentine One instantly became iconic. Its arrows are certainly seared into my memory, and I haven’t even used one. Though continually updated, with mail-in upgrades available for existing users, the original was so good that Valentine didn’t launch a true second generation until 2020. How’s that for longevity?

Now, some of you might be wondering why a radar detector is even still desirable in a post-double-nickel age of Waze and mobile data. Well, in legal jurisdictions, it’s not hard to think of a few reasons to run a radar detector that aren’t solely in the name of outrageous speed. The first is simply sticking it to the man for his underhanded tricks. We’ve all seen those speed traps on state routes, where the limit dips from 55 mph to 35 mph and then back up to 55 mph in less than a mile. If it were truly about safety, you’d think the low speed limit zone would be longer, but let’s face it — it’s not always about safety, it’s sometimes about revenue. If a slow-moving truck in the right lane completely blocks your view of the sign, traffic’s too light to use Waze, and you’ve never been in the area before, how are you supposed to know you’re about to enter the crosshairs of a radar gun?

[Ed Note: Police in Virginia, where I attended college, pulled folks over all the time with speed traps. Even if you tried being careful, there was a chance they’d nab you; if you just didn’t want to be hassled, a device like the Valentine radar detector was worth having, and some of my friends did. I remember hearing lots of false positives; tons of beeping. That, to me, sorta became the sound of driving-culture to me in my young days. That said, I get that it’s illegal in some places, and some people think such devices are bad; regardless, Valentine’s contributions to car culture are irrefutable, which is why his departure from this earth is so newsworthy. -DT]. 

The second is when the speed limit simply isn’t set to the 85th percentile, or the speed that 85 percent of drivers travel at or below on a certain stretch of road. According to the Federal Highway Administration, “The MUTCD recommends that agencies set speed limits within 5 mi/h (8 km/h) of the 85^th percentile speed of free-flowing traffic.” In addition, the agency notes that “setting [the speed limit] 5 mi/h (8 km/h) lower will make violators out of nearly half of all drivers.” It’s not uncommon for counties to set speed limits on curvy roads far below what seems sensible in the eyes of most drivers. With a radar detector, you can still have a little bit of fun, be reasonably safe, and stay well beneath license-losing territory, but have to worry less if you stray say, 10 mph over what seems like an artificially low speed limit, because you’ll have early warning.

Regardless of how you feel about the subject, you probably already know about Valentine’s devices. His last name was immediately recognizable as a byword for advanced technology and detection, and his business plan of upgradability rather than obsolescence is something we can all appreciate. Plus, at the end of the day, we all hate speed traps that seem to exist for purely revenue-generating purposes, so having a defense against that definitely contributed to car culture. Rest In Peace to a legend, who changed driving forever and whose devices and innovations became nothing short of iconic.

(Photo credits: Valentine Research)

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