trarffic light sensors

[mops]

Hello.

I recently started riding around Auckland, and I noticed that while riding in the evening (while traffic lights are operated by ground sensors), I dont trigged those sensors with my bike :(. So sometimes I'm waiting like several turns for a green light, but it never comes on. So in the end I just jump on red.... Is that common for bikes ? maby only for small ones ? My mate at work (GB500) says it was never a problem for him and he's teasing me that my cylinders are too small :( :confused: ....

[bugjuice]

lol.. your cylinders will grow.. ;)

Yeah, it's common for lights not to sense bikes. Also common for speed cameras too ;)

A few people have come across this, and I've been told myself, that give it some time, like 3 or 4 cycles, and if they haven't changed for you, then proceed with caution.

In reality, if you're the only one there waiting at a red, and there's no one else around to see you, then who's going to know anyway?

[Grahameeboy]

lol.. your cylinders will grow.. ;)

Yeah, it's common for lights not to sense bikes. Also common for speed cameras too ;)

A few people have come across this, and I've been told myself, that give it some time, like 3 or 4 cycles, and if they haven't changed for you, then proceed with caution.

In reality, if you're the only one there waiting at a red, and there's no one else around to see you, then who's going to know anyway?

Yep happens to me....even with a car behind me in some cases......junction Wyndam St/Queens Street a classic......I just get the car to go alongside........I often get a latte while I am waiting.......

[Sniper]

Yea it happens. Just jump off the bike and walk it through the red. Thats not illegal is it?

[MisterD]

Some lights are worse than others, keep an eye out for the lines of tar over where the induction loop is buried and stop with your bike "cutting" one of the lines rather than in the box.

Both of my scooters trigger most of them, but otherwise, what Bugjuice said.

[imdying]

Definitely some are worse than others. The big rings of steel wire detect large masses of ferrous metal (via inductance? afaik), and the mostly alloy content of modern bikes apparently won't trigger them.

I just give them an adequate waiting time and go for my life. Only late at night mind, and I'm willing to take the risk with Mr Plod if I get nicked. From what I've heard from fellow bikers though, they're sympathetic.

[Karma]

Does get to be a bit of a pain, but I've managed to redirect my route home from work so that I avoid those lights...

The ones by foodtown on Quay Street are the worst I think, they're set for trucks that go along there so the bike will never trigger them!

[bugjuice]

I always stop on the line at lights, then hopefully a car/truck etc will pull up behind and be close enough to trigger it. If you're alone on the road and coming up to them, aim down the little lines/boxes on the road and put your weight on the front and brake. Sometimes you can get lucky. Or you just do a stoppie.. :o

Most of the new lights that are going in, are pretty good at picking up bikes and such. I think it's just the older systems in the road that's just getting on a bit

[thehollowmen]

I`used to get stuck at them on the way home from work

Went in to the police station to ask for advice and they told me running reds is illegal whatever the circumstances (and you can't at any time on the southern motorway)

Anyways, one time I got stuck for half an hour because of constant two way traffic across the motorway and the cars backed up all the way around the corner into south dunedin.

Made a few more enquirys as to what I should do with the roading contractors and they refered me to a thread on this site *laughs*

anyways.. Turn off your bike, and hit the starter to turn it on again. That's worked a couple of times for me. The charge build up in the electric motor is what triggers it .. I think

[suckingair]

You could also try flashing your lights with the 'pass' switch... sometimes worked for me when I was on a ZZR250.. due to increased electrical draw on the bike (?).

[Aaron]

This has been posted before, (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=17854&highlight=lights+sensor) it's easy avoided by coming to as stop over the centre of the wiring...


The sensors are arranged in 2 figure eights, you will be able to see the saw cuts in the road. If not look for the small metal box on the kerb (normally left hand kerb). All the saw cuts lead there (and subsequently to the controller and then to the signals, or aspects as they are more correctly known - each light is a 'lamp' or 'lantern'). The strongest part of the electro magnetic field is directly above either of the 'eights'. So Aaron, when you put your front wheel between them, what you are actually doing is putting the bulk of your bike directly over one of the 'eights'. Note that in some smaller towns, or out of the way intersections the lights may not be vehicle actuated at all - so no loops etc - and work on a fixed timing. At these intersections you shouldnt have to wait more than 100 seconds maximum (normally 60 to 80 seconds).

[limbimtimwim]

Call the local council and complain, they should be able to adjust the sensitivity. Also, as someone else mentioned, I have had success with some lights making sure I stopped atop of where the loop of metal is. The garage door gate thingy where I work is quite sensitive, it won't work unless I stop atop the small cuts in the ground where the loop is.

[Slingshot]

Revving the bike can often help as well. The plus side of this is that if your bike doesn't trigger the traffic lights, it may not trigger speed cameras.

[Flyingpony]

Sometimes putting the side stand down on a sensor line works, otherwise, hit the ped crossing button.

[Beemer]

I used to have that problem on the RG150 at a set of lights near my home. No matter where I positioned the bike, the lights wouldn't trigger and as it was a four-way intersection, I wasn't keen to run a red so I would put the bike on the stand and then hit the pedestrian button! Otherwise I'd just have to wait until a car pulled up in the lane beside me. Unfortunately there was no way of getting away from our place without going through one of three sets of lights, which was a pain!

[NhuanH]

yus, line yourself for the cut outs just shy (1m?) of the white lines.

I can trigger lights on my ~10kg aluminium racing bicycle.

[phoenixgtr]

Happens to me all the bloody time round welly, even with a line of cars behind me. Bloody frustrating!!

[sAsLEX]

~10kg aluminium

But the bearings and sproket and chain would be steel wouldnt they?

[NhuanH]

But the bearings and sproket and chain would be steel wouldnt they?
If we're getting precise, some of the bigger cogs are prolly alloy, smaller ones may be steel. Or summat.

You forgot the plate in my left leg, that's steel.

[sAsLEX]

You forgot the plate in my left leg, that's steel.

Do you beep at airports? Plus I guess you wear racing type shoes alot of which have a steel shank or cleat thingy

I was most dissapointed when the plates in my jaw didnt set off the alarms at the airport!

[SVrunner]

Thare are no lights @ 5.30 in the morning.

[Bartman10]

Ring the council and tell them to ramp up the sensitivity of the lights concerned. They should gladly do it.

Good luck.

[sunhuntin]

lights here dont sense light bikes either...lil while back, both me and mickey sitting at a set, both on ginny's, waited, waited then said fuggit and went on the red. really annoying.

dad went through a red one night, at like midnight and got slapped with a ticket for it. :2guns:

[loosebruce]

Yea i got pulled for running a red in a simalar situation, cop didn't have a clue what i was on about, i find pulling a stoppie directly over the sensor weights it up enough to trigger it.

[Finn]

Call the local council and complain, they should be able to adjust the sensitivity.

HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, infinity and a few more for added effect.

Don't know what the Councils are like in Wellington, but in Auckland, when they're not polishing their sandal's or de-linting their brown cardies, they go out of their way to disrupt the traffic. I'm sure they monitor the camera's and play with the traffic lights just to try to make their meaningless, insignificant jobs a bit more fun.

Honestly, the only way you will get the attention of the council in Auckland is to pysically take the traffic lights concerned to their help desk.

Good luck.

[Phurrball]

I've seen it suggested elsewhere on KB that popping one's sidestand down over the sensors may work...sidestands are generally made of ferrous metal I believe.

Just check whether you've got an interlock switch on the sidestand - might want to be in neutral: otherwise engine cuts out - bloody annoying that - does stop you from riding off with the sidestand down though...not that I've ever tried to do such a thing of course :whistle:

[limbimtimwim]

Honestly, the only way you will get the attention of the council in Auckland is to pysically take the traffic lights concerned to their help desk.So why don't you start a popular uprising?

You Aucklanders.

Please, stay there.

[Finn]

So why don't you start a popular uprising?

You Aucklanders.

Please, stay there.

Oh how nasty. I'll need a flat white and a pedacure after that comment.

[Biff]

Yup. Most common types work on the principles of inductance these days.

Good advice already posted here. Rev engine, stop and re'start the motor, moving backwards and forewards etc all help to disrupt the magnetic field which forms around the inductive (fig 8 and similar) loops.

Then there's ye ole fashion pressure pad types. No problem on a mighty Biffbird, but some smaller bikes n riders don't eat enough pies to set those buggers off.

[Pixie]

But the bearings and sproket and chain would be steel wouldnt they?
Doesn't matter if it's not ferrous.Anything that can have an eddy current induced in it will trigger the system.ie as long as it's conductive.

[thehollowmen]

so tonight four of us got stuck in the center of town at red lights

*headdesk*
nobody could get a car up behind us to change the lights so we had to run it.. minutes later red and blue were flashing (this was right beside the police station)

explained the predicament and he said that we should next time get off our bikes and press the pedestrian button :-o

and what.. leave our bikes running?
O_o

[sAsLEX]

they go out of their way to disrupt the traffic. I'm sure they monitor the camera's and play with the traffic lights just to try to make their meaningless, insignificant jobs a bit more fun.

Like at 0800 on a sunday morning and all the lights are still on the same timing as peak hour traffic so can end up waiting for no other traffic for bloody ages

oh and the other good one is green phases that last like a few fractions of a nano second only allowing one or two of the backed up thousands to get through!

Thank god for filtering!


Doesn't matter if it's not ferrous.Anything that can have an eddy current induced in it will trigger the system.ie as long as it's conductive.

But steel is betterer

[thehollowmen]

Like at 0800 on a sunday morning and all the lights are still on the same timing as peak hour traffic so can end up waiting for no other traffic for bloody ages

The whole of sunday down here is considered off peak and is untimed induction trigged ...

[sunhuntin]

so tonight four of us got stuck in the center of town at red lights

*headdesk*
nobody could get a car up behind us to change the lights so we had to run it.. minutes later red and blue were flashing (this was right beside the police station)

explained the predicament and he said that we should next time get off our bikes and press the pedestrian button :-o

and what.. leave our bikes running?
O_o

so would you have to walk the bikes through, or ride them?? neither seems sensible really!

think the ones here are pads, not sure though. i have found a couple of times the lights are set to return green for the direction im travelling, but not always. when i finished at midnight, i used to always go down the mainstreet, but soon was able to pick which lights were suitable and which werent, which meant i had to take a different route entirely, dammit. since my exemption specified "most direct route possible" it meant i couldnt go the light-free roads. doubt our council would listen either...mr laws is too busy writing shitty letters to the paper! LOL.

[raster]

I tend to do a stoppie and then jump up and down on the bike while reving the shit out of it in the square.
Works for me everytime.

I get some strange looks from time to time for some reason.

[Drum]

I would be very surprised to hear that there are still pressure pads in operation. Im only aware of inductance being used for vehicle actuation now. Happy to stand corrected though.

Some sets of signals also have advance loops approx 30m ahead of the limit line. These can detect an approaching vehicle and either extend the green phase, or initiate a new green phase if no vehicles have been detected elsewhere in the intersection. These are generally much safer, but due to the additional cost are more common on Transit controlled roads rather than local council roads.

This 30m zone is called the "dilemma zone". That distance where if the signal turns yellow, the driver has to decide wether to go for it or not.

[Swoop]

I had a Korean student a couple of years ago who SWORE that ALL traffic lights were monitored by cameras!!! When the person monitoring the cameras saw a car waiting, then the lights would turn green...
:wait: :doh:

[skidMark]

I tend to do a stoppie and then jump up and down on the bike while reving the shit out of it in the square.
Works for me everytime.

I get some strange looks from time to time for some reason.

ahahahahaahahahaaa stoppies who me never **bad habbit i know** hehe

they are a pain in the ass ...one thing i really hate about the way roading is designed that turning lanes and straight ahead trafiic lanes are combined alot of the time.... ie.

im wanting to turn left i have a left arrow but the guy in front wants to go straight he sitting at a red light....

which means i have to go round him.... then go across the fron't if i was in a car i would be pretty pissed because i would have to wait for the straight ahead light to go green before i can turn....

also what the hell is wrong with some lights....

they go green left aroow for example and you go to turn and the damn pedestrian crossing is telling them to walk i mean honestly how fing retarded nearly taken some of the straglers out on occasion i mean im turning i don't see the logic in having a pedestrian crossing saying cross right infront of me ...

when i have a green arrow

somebody is going to or many probably already have been seriously injured by this fault of design...

:angry:

now im done : done:

Cheers: MA

[Drum]

........also what the hell is wrong with some lights....

they go green left aroow for example and you go to turn and the damn pedestrian crossing is telling them to walk i mean honestly how fing retarded nearly taken some of the straglers out on occasion i mean im turning i don't see the logic in having a pedestrian crossing saying cross right infront of me ...

when i have a green arrow

somebody is going to or many probably already have been seriously injured by this fault of design...

If you encounter this situation it is a design or programming error and does not meet the AUS/ NZ standard.
Pedestrian movements are permitted to the left hand side of traffic with a standard green aspect, but not if a green left turn arrow is activated.
You should report this situation to the council, as they will be liable if a pedestrian gets hit.

One point to note is that the road regulations require you to give way to a pedestrian in the roadway, regardless of wether they are crossing legally or not. i.e. If they are crossing illegally you must still stop/ avoid them.

[Pixie]

Like at 0800 on a sunday morning and all the lights are still on the same timing as peak hour traffic so can end up waiting for no other traffic for bloody ages

oh and the other good one is green phases that last like a few fractions of a nano second only allowing one or two of the backed up thousands to get through!

Thank god for filtering!



But steel is betterer
You're buggered if you're in a late model jag

[Phurrball]

(snip)
This 30m zone is called the "dilemma zone". That distance where if the signal turns yellow, the driver has to decide wether to go for it or not.

Mwahhahaha! Who came up with that nomenclature? That cracks me up! Apparently it's only a dilemma in Auckland if the light is already red...

[sunhuntin]

I had a Korean student a couple of years ago who SWORE that ALL traffic lights were monitored by cameras!!! When the person monitoring the cameras saw a car waiting, then the lights would turn green...
:wait: :doh:

i used to think that when i was a kid! LOL. wish that was true...would make our lives easier!!

followed a car down the mainstreet the other night...bout 9.30ish. by the time we reached the bottom, i was right behind him. he was sitting on a red, so i stayed back a bit to avoid coming to a complete stop. light went green just as i tucked in behind him. i wasnt even half way across the intersection and it went orange. how frickin pathetic. if id been furthur back, i would have been stuck.

when im sittin to turn left, and a pedestrian has right of way to cross at the same time [annoying!] if they are on the other side of the road, i dont bother waiting...by the time they get across, the light would have likely gone red again. if they are standing next to me to cross, i will of course wait.

mum said they use pads here...but isnt sure if theyve updated it or not, so i might ask around and get back to ya, lol.

[sAsLEX]

You're buggered if you're in a late model jag

or a lotus........

[limmy]

yus, line yourself for the cut outs just shy (1m?) of the white lines.

I can trigger lights on my ~10kg aluminium racing bicycle.

I used to have this problem until i worked out that you just needed to stop roughly in the middle of the road.

[mops]

I used to have this problem until i worked out that you just needed to stop roughly in the middle of the road.

but usually (at least in auckland) in the middle of the road there is fresh water or coolant or tranny oil or engine oil all blended in into sluggish spliiery ss**t that stick to your tires...