Lights

[Drunken Monkey]

In Melbourne back in the 80s they used to turn the traffic lights off at night,they just flashed orange and you treated them as an ordinary intersection..

It is still in practice in the city centre on the minor controlled intersections.

[sAsLEX]

And talking about paintball guns - there were several towns in the US that had to abandon fixed speed cameras when the cost of cleaning them every night after locals 'protested' their presence by shooting the lens covers with paintball guns, was more than any revenue they generated.

imagines lou going off to the local paintball store.....

[Zapf]

I agree with the second part of Mr Farhtsturm's analysis, but I am not so sure about the first bit. Surely to induce a current in the loops your bike would have to have an overall magnetic polarity to it. I am thinking in along the lines that moving a magnet through a solenoid induces a current, but moving a bit of iron through the same solenoid doesnt...

Maybe I am wrong, but the presence of dinner prevents me from thinking more about it...

my physics are a bit rusty now, but its a hall effect sensor they use no?

[HanaBelle]

If you sit directly above one of the 'tar snakes' covering the loop, and thumb your starter (even if the engine's already going), the small magnetic field it creates may help trigger it. Starters on bikes don't get knackered by being operated when the motor's running, unlike a car.
If it's a persistent problem, try filling your boots soles with large magnets.

Or ring the powers that be up and complain loudly. We complained so often to Auckland City Council about the right turn into Carrington from New North (Great North Road at the Western Springs is another prick tripper, I was forever running it red after waiting two or three light changes) they altered it.

And it must have been set WAY high, because two bikes and people with combined weights in excess of the average elephant werent trippin it (and the VF has a steel frame and engine).

We perfected the trick of persuading cage drivers to nestle up close behind us, with much imperious and demanding waving and gesturing. See, they are useful for something.

HanaBelle

[What?]

If traffic light loops are set properly, a pushbike will trigger them.
If your motorcycle won't trigger the lights, they are not working properly.
Call the council - it is a very simple job to alter the sensitivity. If no action within a day, write to the council and copy in the local cop shop.

[Bonez]

Do you mean when the light won't change? Or in everyday traffic?
Eitherway, I think thats highly illegal, since you would need to use some portion of the footpath (since if you didn't, you would have to use the road to get to the crossing, which would mean you ran the red light). I'm fairly certain it's illegal to operate a motor vehicle on a footpath.

Note the PUSHING bit!

[Milky]

my physics are a bit rusty now, but its a hall effect sensor they use no?

no not at all... hall effect sensors measure the potential at right angles to a current carrying item and a magnetic field. Any electrons/positive holes travelling along the item will experience a force to perpendicular to both the field and the current. This creates a charge seperation in the same direction, and hence a potential - called the hall voltage - which is what is shown by a hall effect sensor

[clint640]

We got caught bad by the ones in Welly when coming off the fast ferry one night. We'd put in a pretty solid days riding and were fully looking forward to a hot shower, so we saddled up and got off the ferry 1st, only to arrive at the lights onto (Lamton Quay?) 4 trailbikes would not set it off and the traffic was such that we had to wait for ages for a gap. It was bloody frustrating 'cos we were in sight of the backpackers where we were staying. Moral of the story - don't be 1st off the fast ferry.

Cheers
Clint

[Zapf]

What if I say I found a toy that will help bikes trigger traffic lights? Would you pay 40~50 bucks for one if it comes with a money back Guarantee?

(might become an importer now :P )

[FlyingDutchMan]

I've never had a problem in Chch. I think they sense inductive coupling rather than steel - as my cibby has only a tiny bit of steel in it. So as long as your bike can conduct electricity you'll have no problems. Only carbon-fibre push bikes might experence problems. And for maximal pick-up at interesctions you should put the bike directly above one of the sides of the loop. Bah! Poor explanation, I'll just put a picture in.


So you can park the bike on either side, and it will pick you up better than if you were parked in the middle

[Jonty]

We got caught bad by the ones in Welly when coming off the fast ferry one night. We'd put in a pretty solid days riding and were fully looking forward to a hot shower, so we saddled up and got off the ferry 1st, only to arrive at the lights onto (Lamton Quay?) 4 trailbikes would not set it off and the traffic was such that we had to wait for ages for a gap. It was bloody frustrating 'cos we were in sight of the backpackers where we were staying. Moral of the story - don't be 1st off the fast ferry.



Those are the same ones I am getting stuck at!!

[Posh Tourer :P]

Those are the same ones I am getting stuck at!!

Register a complaint with the council...