traffic lights

[grego]

hi all
well started riding the bike to work every day. i leave at 6 am to drive 3 miles on local streets. the problem is the dam traffic lights. it seems like the bike isn't big enough to trip the sensors. have to make a lot of right turns and u turns and running the lights. is there a trick to tripping the sensors ? i have to ride by the police station and all the 2 wheel meter maids just lerk to give out tickets to the policemans ball.

safe biking

grego

[geezer]

no there isnt a trick to getting them to go green, if there isnt anyone behind you at the lights your screwed. i tend to wait a minute then run the light. supposedly its ok for you to do this so long as you wait a few minutes, law says 3, i just take off it the situation permits. but if you got them camaras at the lights i would just disregard what i say.

[Rionna]

Hi Grego,

I sat in the heat baking one day waiting and waiting for the light to change, and I was in an area notorious for citing drivers. I mentioned it to my BF who went on line and found a sensor that can be placed under my bike so that the light will sense my presence. If you Google "motorcycle traffic light sensor", then you will find several products as well as some how to's from Wiki How and Yahoo answers. Once the product arrives, I will update you on how it works. Hope this helps.

Rionna

[Sarris]

One of these two suggestions (or both) will work

1. Put down the side stand. More metal on the ground. Also try and stop directly over the wire in the pavement.

2. Turn off and restart the engine. The theory is that the starter motor creates a magnetic field and activates the magnetic sensor.

Both have worked for me.

[alantf]

No problems over here. They haven't quite caught up to the technology yet, so all the lights are on timers. Problem is, they give a green to roads where there is no traffic. The lights just follow the sequence blindly. :cry:

[Suncross]

If it's a sensor one, I usually ride up on the left side of the lane, and weave into the box at an angle. Could ride at the right if you are in a left hand turn lane. It seems to work each time.

No problems over here. They haven't quite caught up to the technology yet, so all the lights are on timers. Problem is, they give a green to roads where there is no traffic. The lights just follow the sequence blindly. :cry:

Well if they are doing that, chances are they really haven't caught up with technology... and there are no traffic cams. Take that and do with it what you will :)

[5th_bike]

Yes there is trick, if you can see the rectangular sensor in the pavement, you have to position your bike on top of one of the corners because that's where they are most sensitive to metal above. Always works for me.

[Water Warrior 2]

One of these two suggestions (or both) will work

1. Put down the side stand. More metal on the ground. Also try and stop directly over the wire in the pavement.

2. Turn off and restart the engine. The theory is that the starter motor creates a magnetic field and activates the magnetic sensor.

Both have worked for me.
Works for me too. And doesn't cost anything.

[technocat]

What can be done with the kind of sensors mounted on the top of the light pole? :??:

http://www.wired.com/news/images/full/ir-sensor_f.jpg

This is what I have trouble with because it's not magnetic, it's just the bike isn't wide and large enough to be sensed. One time I "think" i got lucky and was able to trip one of these by weaving back and forth quickly. It was night time so I wonder if the headlight moving rapidly helped at all too.

[jonathan180iq]

Check your local laws, but there are several places where it's actually legal to leave if the red light sensor doesn't pick you up after a "reasonable" amount of time and there is no one around.

[technocat]

I just contacted the Washington State Patrol, and this is the reply I received.


Current Washington state law does not allow for a motorcycle to stop and proceed through an intersection with a red light. Legislation has been proposed in the past to address this issue, but was never passed.

In 2009 (SB 5482) the legislature did pass a law to require that during the maintenance or monitoring activities, but subject to available funds, all vehicle-activated traffic control signals that do not currently routinely and reliable detect motorcycles and bicycles just be adjusted to do so…Where motorcycle and bicycle detection is limited to certain areas other than immediately before the stop line or crosswalk in the center of an existing vehicle-activated traffic control signal, those detection areas must be clearly marked on the pavement at the left turn lanes, through lanes, and limited right turn lanes…

If you are not already doing so it is suggested that you stop in the middle of the lane by the stop line or look for the marked detection areas to assist you in triggering the traffic signal. If you still find that the signal is not detecting the motorcycle it is suggested that you contact your local police department or Washington State Department of Transportation to report this so that the light can be reviewed to determine if the sensitivity of the light needs to be adjusted as outlined in RCW 47.36.025 (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=47.36.025 <http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=47.36.025> ) to detect motorcycles and bicycles.


I guess I'll just have to call the police department for every instance I have of getting stuck.... O_o

[jonathan180iq]

In that case, double check that there are no cops around and juts go for it ;)

I'm not actually telling you to do this.... that would be wrong.
But that's what I do.

[Scooting250invegas]

i have found that if you put some "rare-earth magnets" the strong ones of course on the bottom they usually work very well.

[alantf]

Please excuse my ignorance,but what is a "rare earth magnet"? :??:

[JWR]

Rare-earth magnet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ferrofluid on glass, with a rare-earth magnet underneath.

Rare-earth magnets are strong permanent magnets made from alloys of rare earth elements. Developed in the 1970s and 80s, rare-earth magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnets made and have significant performance advantages over ferrite or alnico magnets. The magnetic field typically produced by rare-earth magnets can be in excess of 1.4 teslas, whereas ferrite or ceramic magnets typically exhibit fields of 0.5 to 1 tesla. There are two types: neodymium magnets and samarium-cobalt magnets. Rare earth magnets are extremely brittle and also vulnerable to corrosion, so they are usually plated or coated to protect them from breaking and chipping.

The term "rare earth" can be misleading as these metals are not particularly rare or precious;[1][2] they are about as abundant as tin or lead.[3] Interest in rare earth compounds as permanent magnets began in 1966, when K. J. Strnat and G. Hoffer of the US Air Force Materials Laboratory discovered that [[YCo5]] had by far the largest magnetic anisotropy constant of any material then known.[4]

[alantf]

Ah...........THOSE rare earth magnets! :??: :whistle: O_o :techy:

[frempath]

The small sensors on top of the traffic signals are emergency vehicle preemption sensors. They are set to recognize the strobe lights patterns on your local EMS vehicles and change or hold the light for the emergency vehicles. While they are not magnetic induction loops, remember that law enforcement takes a dim view of people attempting to mimic them in any way.

frempath

[ecr959]

How can I find out , (where would that kind of info be ?) if they use those sensor lights in NYC ?

[alantf]

How can I find out , (where would that kind of info be ?) if they use those sensor lights in NYC ?

Do you know any ambulance drivers or firemen? :)

[mrlmd1]

As far as I know from reading posts and forums on this subject, it's not only the small magnet or the magnetic field these sensors respond to, it's the mass of metal it senses, which is really the same thing I guess. There is a great amount of discussion about the use of magnets per se and if they actually do anything at all.
Read this article about some tips to trigger the sensors--
http://m.wikihow.com/Trigger-Green-Traffic-Lights
.
Here is an article written for bicyclists but it applies to motorcycles too.
http://www.humantransport.org/bicycledr ... ection.htm (http://www.humantransport.org/bicycledriving/library/signals/detection.htm)

Attached is a technical article about inductive loops and a diagram of them and how they work.

If you do get a really strong magnet, like with 50lbs of force, be wary of picking up something on the road which can get into your chain or wheel.

If the sensor in our area is pressure activated, responds to weight, you may be screwed.
The surest way to change the light, if safety permits, is to get off the bike and hit the button at the crosswalk. :)
http://s2.postimage.org/2aqtlyk6c/magnet_sensor.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/2aqtlyk6c/)

[ecr959]

This subject is interesting. I found out that the wire sensor inside the cement is called "Inductive Loop" It detects the disruption in a magnetic field that a large metalllic thing (car) would make. I found out that you can create enough disruption with magnets. After posting here about if NYC has these sensors, I looked around at Amazon dot com and found a set of 4 magnets for $20. They are NEODYmIUM and the size is right, perfect for placing underneath the bike. For $20, an easy DIY project. I'm gonna order them today and wrap them in plastic or rubber. Then I'll epoxy them to the bottom of my bike and see. I even bumped into a video on Youtube that tells that this really works. I'll share with you guys if it works for me.

[geezer]

ecr959 share the vid anyway i wanna see it

[ecr959]

Here's the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GAacxGiV4A

[geezer]

haha thats cool, let us know how it works for ya

[mrlmd1]

Advertising for the magnet company.

[Gz Rider]

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[grego]

hi all


what ever happened with the magnet experiment ????? and i wonder if rionna ever got her light trigger...am very interested in the results

safe biking

grego

[Rionna]

No Grego, I never got the sensor because I came to learn that there are three types of traffic sensors at stop lights: infrared, weight, and magnetic. The infrared looks like a camera on top of the light's pole, the weight sensor looks like a rectangle was cut in the road with a line down its center, and the magnetic one looks like a "Q" was cut into the road. In my area I have mostly the infrared and weight sensors. The magnet will only help with magnetic sensors. I have learned to position my bike better for the infrared sensors and pull up so that the car behind me can trigger the weight sensor. Not the best solution, but has been working OK so far.

[Gz Rider]

...

[alantf]

Is this a new way of SPAMMING us? Join the site, wait three weeks, then spam us? It still doesn't work, Shit for brains!

[mrlmd1]

Let's see what happens with reddop before pulling the plug. Don't jump so quick.

[alantf]

So why is he posting nonsensible comments on 3 or 4 different threads, but always including the spam? For instance, go to "testing". :)