SloCal - unfortunately, we live in the biggest speed trap/traffic area of the world. I've heard of everything being used in SoCal, including Laser in OC. But the "bogies" I think you should be more concerned about are the ones lurking as blue and white '97 GTS's waiting to eat your lunch.
Biggie - instant on is particularly a problem when you live in a jerkwater section of the country where a given road may only see 4 tractor trailers and a couple gravel trucks drive down it all day. In civilized sections of the world with regular traffic patterns, your best hope of defeating an "instant on" John Q. is to hope that he lights up another driver ahead of you to give you enough of a warning to slow down a bit.