Driive Smarter Alerts (formerly LIVE alerts) are voice alerts generated by other community members using Drive Smarter paired with their Escort and Cobra radar detectors to automatically mark on the map when they detect radar, certain types of enforcement camera, or laser signals. These alerts are available to Escort radar detectors as well as Cobra radar detectors and Cobra dashboard cameras.


If your radar detector is connected to the Drive Smarter services via mobile hotspot, you will receive all alerts by default. Only detectors connected via Bluetooth alone will be able to choose which alerts to block.


Community Radar

Community Radar are local area alerts generated by other drivers' connected radar detectors. When a Drive Smarter Community member's detector alerts to one of the main radar bands, laser alerts, or specialized radar equipment, it will drop an alert pin on the map if the detector is connected to Drive Smarter. For the next hour or so, any vehicle passing within a short radius of that threat will receive the alert and will be asked to confirm if it is genuine. Over time, the alert will fade and be removed from the map. These settings do not affect the settings for your Radar Detector. Cobra Camera users may also receive these alerts, but the cameras do not have radar detection capabilities and cannot contribute to these alerts.

  • X-Band is the oldest technology and not in widespread use. It is likely to be a false report in a town or city but may be genuine in very rural or remote regions.
  • Ku-Band is an older technology that is not in common use outside of Europe. If you're in Europe, check if the countries you drive in use this technology. Ku-band is unlikely to be in use in North America.
  • K-Band is a newer radar technology than X-band, but it is an older technology that is no longer in widespread use. If you do a lot of city or large town driving, you are probably okay to turn this off. Smaller towns and rural towns are more likely to continue to use K-band enforcement.
  • Ka-Band is the newest radar technology and is in widespread use among many different enforcement agencies. Ka-band alerts should be treated as genuine, and it is recommended that you leave this setting ON if you want to receive Ka-Band alerts from Drive Smarter Community members.
  • Laser is a light-based technology that is in widespread use and is difficult to detect accurately. Laser alerts should be treated as genuine. If you see several laser alerts in a row along a path that could be due to something emitting IR light setting off a detector. See our article on false laser alerts.
  • Strelka is a type of radar gun primarily used in Russia and some of Eastern Europe.
  • Multa-Radar CD and Multa-Radar CT are two versions of a type of variable K-band and sometimes Ka-band radar tracking technologies that allows them to detect both speed and distance, but which also makes them difficult to accurately detect. They can be stand-alone radar devices; however, they are often equipped with cameras for mobile speed camera that are usually set up at ad-hoc checkpoints. Their use is becoming more common in North American cities, but they are difficult to detect with complete accuracy.
  • Gatso and Gatso RT4 are another brand of K-band radar tracking system that can be deployed in a mobile configuration or paired with red-light cameras to track the speed of multiple vehicles. They are primarily deployed in the UK and Australia.
  • Mesta 210c and Mesta Fusion are types of portable enforcement radar that can be used from vehicles and set up on the roadside. They are common in France and some parts of Canada.
  • Dahua is a brand of stationary speed camera that are set up in fixed locations, usually. They are not in common use in the United States but may be in other countries.


Community Alerts

Community Alerts are notifications set directly on the map by other Drive Smarty Community members to warn of other noteworthy things that may or may not have to do with law enforcement, such as police spotted (moving or stationary), unmarked speed cameras, mobile cameras (such as at ad hoc checkpoints), accidents, work zones, road hazards, detours, and traffic jams. These alerts will appear on your map with the ability to mark them as true or false alerts. Alerts fade over time and eventually are removed.


Defender Alerts

Defender Alerts are generated by our Defender Database. If you want the same alerts as the paid Defender Database subscription, this is a free alternative available to all of our Drive Smarter subscribers. While the alerts are the same, there are some differences.

  • Defender Alerts are not saved to your detector, and thus if you disconnect from the Drive Smarter services your detector will fall back to whatever your last downloaded version of the paid subscription is onboard, if any.
  • Defender Alerts require that you have your detector paired to the app (or to mobile Wi-Fi for Wi-Fi enabled models, see the note above for further information) and connected to data at all times. Loss of mobile data will result in the services ceasing to function.
    • Speed Camera alerts you to known stationary cameras that measure your speed.
    • Red Light Camera alerts you to known cameras placed at red lights to measure if you have run a red light.
    • Air Patrol informs you of areas where air patrols are known to be performed but cannot tell you if any enforcement equipment is airborne at the moment.
    • Red Light Speed Camera alerts you to the locations of combination red light and speed cameras.
    • Average Speed Camera alerts you to the locations of sets of cameras that take a picture when your vehicle passes them and uses the average of the time between the pictures to get your speed an issue a ticket for speeding.
    • HOV Lane Camera alerts you to areas with High Occupancy Vehicle Lane cameras that check if you are riding solo in the special lane meant for vehicle with more occupants than just the driver.
    • Speed Trap alerts you to know speed traps.



What were LIVE alerts?

LIVE Alerts were originally introduced in the Escort LIVE and Cobra iRadar apps, and the modern voice prompts still include the word "LIVE" after announcing the type of alert, such as "X Band Live" or "Ka Band Live". These voice prompts are still used by Drive Smarter, but they are now called Community Radar, see above.