Red lights and turning lanes

[cruzer]

Stuck at a red?

Ever pulled up to a Traffic Light and waited for the sensors in the road to understand that you are sitting there, perched, throttle in hand?
Then end up waiting for a car to come along to induce a light change?
I don’t know how often it happens around town but I have been stuck a couple of times lately and, if there are no cops around, I will usually just turn the corner (as for me this normally occurs in turning lanes)
Have many of you suffered the same

[James Deuce]

I used to until I figured out that the sensors are buried in a pattern in the road just before the double white lines.

The pattern is like an "H" with the ends closed off. make sure you stop with the greatest mass of metal you can muster directly over one of the outer lines of the "H" and you'll have no trouble.

Jim2

[Hitcher]

My sylph-like frame atop 225kg of rampant Kawasaki never fails to activate the sensors in the road...

[Motoracer]

Hmmm, I just had this same queary a while back and Blueninja and or some other guy told me that the sensors are activated by the magnetic field created by your charging system. If this is true then smaller bikes have smaller chargeing system thus, they are unable to produce a big enough magnetic field and v.v. for big bikes and big charging systems.

One evedence I have found to support this theory was when I used to pull up at the lights with my 50cc scooter, I used to get stuck for ever before I found this out. I put the stand on and rev the nuts off it (when the scooter is reving at high RPM, the charging system goes harder at work and creats a biger magnetic field). Sure enough, the light went green for a little wee scooter. It felt pretty cool, like a science experimetn gone right.

[Coldkiwi]

used to be a problem on my 250's but the GSXR seems to work it fine.
I recall motoracer's theory on this a while ago that sometimes if you turn the biek off and restart it, the electro magnetic effect of the starter motor induced enough current in the ground coils to trigger the sensor if the bike alone wouldn't. dunno about the loops at all but its certainly physically possible for a reasonable electrical field.

but what do I do if none of the above works? umm... check for any cars and then twist the wrist!

[MikeL]

This has happened to me at a few locations, but one place where it gets me every time is at the lights where I turn into Ascot road on the back way out to the airport. Since there's rarely any traffic there I just turn on the red arrow. I've already rehearsed my explanation if Mr Plod should ever be lurking in the bushes.

[Death 'N' Taxes]

When I was a student and working at armourguard we had similar sensors at the compound for opening the gates.
It wasn't done on weight. Even if we got the heaviest guard there (150kg Samoan guy) to stand on the sensor it wouldn't open the gates.
But if we took a 20kg metal tin used to store cash and coin, put it on the ashphalt over the sensor it would work.

[bungbung]

The sensor works by the metallic mass of your car/bike moving over the ground loop inducing a voltage in the loop. If this voltage passes a threshold, then it will trigger.

A piece of steel sheet will work fine, moving over the loop just over the pavement.

I guess if your bike is too slight to trip the sensor, or too high above the loop, then using your starter motor might help induce a bigger voltage spike than the motion of your bike alone over the loop.

You can also paddle your bike backwards over the loop and back forwards again.

[PeteThePom]

What I always do is brake hard onto the sensor(it's usually easy to spot by the big rectangular band of black tar just behind the white lines) with the front brake, so all the weight is on the front wheel, sensors usually pay attention to that kind of behaviour:ride: and you dont need a big bike to do it, although :scooter: riders may have a problem!!

[Zed]

I guess if your bike is too slight to trip the sensor, or too high above the loop, then using your starter motor might help induce a bigger voltage spike than the motion of your bike alone over the loop.

You can also paddle your bike backwards over the loop and back forwards again.
...sure sounds like alot of effort just to turn the corner! :crazy:

[bungbung]

nothing to do with turning a corner...

do you wait for the light to change to green?

At some intersections you're in for a really long wait if the lights haven't noticed your presence and are giving preferential treatment to prevailing traffic and you are entering from a side road. In some circumstances you could just run the red (e.g. middle of night and no-one else about), but if you need the light change to stop crosswise traffic then these tricks can be useful.

[Lou Girardin]

A few months ago I was in the work cage, turning right from New North Rd into Bond St. The red arrow wouldn't change. So when it was clear, I went. Unfortunately, the chickie on the scooter behind me followed. Doubly unfortunately, so did the cop behind her. I looked back in time to see her getting pulled. So doing my best white knight impression I went back and told the cop that we both had sat through 3 light phases. (Not quite true, but close). So she let the scooter chick off.
Result - one happy scooter rider and $150 less for Helengrad.
Lou

[Motoracer]

Well done Lou! that was a really cool thing to do. Most people would bugger off thinking they are very lucky to not get pulled over themself.

[Zed]

nothing to do with turning a corner...

do you wait for the light to change to green?

At some intersections you're in for a really long wait if the lights haven't noticed your presence and are giving preferential treatment to prevailing traffic and you are entering from a side road. In some circumstances you could just run the red (e.g. middle of night and no-one else about), but if you need the light change to stop crosswise traffic then these tricks can be useful.
Um...that was my attempt at humour! Not funny huh?


Zed

[jrandom]

... chickie on the scooter ... white knight ... one happy scooter rider

Hmmmm.

Purest of motivations there Lou, I'm sure... :devil2:

[Big Dog]

Hmmmm.

Purest of motivations there Lou, I'm sure... :devil2:
I can vouch for the rev it up method. Also some lights in town have sensor to pick up bus headlights (well heavy traffic). It senses "bus lights" but measuring the bounce in the braking headlight. I thought this was rubbish (urban myth) when I got told this but tried the following a few times on the lights with bus lanes and the do change quicker!

Pulse your high beams, as you are breaking or if you are already stuck push down on your forks as you pulse them.

[Wonko]

I also found the same thing on my GL145 at certain sets of lights. I found that if I bouced up and down on the seat it would be enought mass close to the sensors. I've also been told to find a big speaker magnet and attach it to the bottom of the frame to have a bigger magnetic field.

[Lou Girardin]

Hmmmm.

Purest of motivations there Lou, I'm sure... :devil2:

Shsssssh! :shifty:
Lou

[ching_ching]

Kick the side stand out...
Get off bike and motor over to the left hand pedestrian crossing light...
Wack the parallel pedestrian crossing button...
Rush back to bike...

Cher, cher... meez on to it bro.

ching