I am in Arkansas and they are legal. I don't really speed much, but it is just insurance. My speeding is usually 5-10 mph over. Mostly it is for when I am not really paying attention and get a heavy foot. The 8500 (not the x50) has been great. When it goes off, you may have about 2 seconds before you see the cop. False alarms aren't a huge concern, most of my driving is open road where there isn't much to set it off. The best mine has done is about a mile, flat open country. I can pass a cop with radar on constantly, and I don't get 50 yards past him and my detector won't pick it up. It hasn't failed me yet, but there have been a few times when I feel it was very close. Thanks for the input.