Stoplights with vehicle sensors

[trista]

Drive me nuts. Do you just run 'em? My dh strongly disapproves that I run red lights. When I first started riding my regular routes that I use all the time now, I'd sit at those stupid lights and wait and wait, getting attacked by gnats or some random gang of insects.

My rides went much quicker once I decided to run the light after I made sure it was clear.

[BikeHN]

They just passed a law where I live, that after coming to a complete stop and of course taking caution, you may cross.

[ny biker]

I generally wait. A car comes along soon enough. The ones I encounter most often are at intersections where it would be dangerous to run the light (high traffic speeds/poor sightlines).

[azfiddle]

Tucson has a few that are designed to be triggered by cyclists! Wish there were more though.

[Veronica]

Depends... usually a car comes along. If one doesn't I'll hit the walk button as most of my intersections are too busy to cross without the light. The walk usually triggers the green for me also.

Veronica

[nscrbug]

I'm probably in the minority here, but I will run a light if I have waited through a cycle and it has not changed. I usually ride at 6am on the weekends...not enough traffic out at that time to trigger some lights...and I'm not gonna sit around and wait 5 minutes for someone to come along. If it's clear, I go.

[carinapir]

I've been told that if the sensors are those ones where you can see the black edges of the circle, you should put your wheel right on the edge and kind of press and it should feel you. I've seen this work at intersections that I had to wait for a car for in the past. I'm in So. Cal. so I don't know if the senors would be the same where you are.

[trista]

I'm probably in the minority here, but I will run a light if I have waited through a cycle and it has not changed. I usually ride at 6am on the weekends...not enough traffic out at that time to trigger some lights...and I'm not gonna sit around and wait 5 minutes for someone to come along. If it's clear, I go.

Same here. I go out at 6 am, or even earlier. It's still dark - another reason I don't like waiting. I don't want to give the boogieman a chance to catch up with me.

[Thorn]

I count to 45 and legally go through the light -- Wisconsin state law says bikes (motorized and pedalled) need to wait 45 seconds. If no car is present during that time to trigger the light, we may proceed through the light.

That said, DH and I both have steel frames. If we know where the sensor is we put one bike on each vertical border of the box and tip the bikes toward the middle. Sometimes that will trigger the light.

[Becky]

There are only a few lights around here that I don't trigger on my bike. I guess DelDOT has done a good job of adjusting the sensors. I will stop and wait at a light. If I don't trip it after one cycle, then I'll cautiously run it.

AFAIK, there are no "45 second" or "Idaho stop" laws here in Delaware.

[OakLeaf]

When I rode a steel frame, I was always able to trigger lights.

It makes it a little harder if the road's been re-paved so the sensor cuts aren't visible, but I usually found a hand's breadth to the right of the oil slick would do it.

On a carbon frame, there are many lights in my area where I could be waiting for a good long time (5 minutes or longer) for a car to come by that isn't turning right. Legal or not, if there's that little traffic, it's (a) safe and (b) unlikely to have a cop within sight.

Modern sensors are optical. I'm LOVING the newer ones that have been installed in my area.

[yellowrose93]

DH and I had this issue on Sunday. Came to a light and waited for awhile. It's an intersection that is busy in one direction, but not the direction we were going. There is no button to push, so we waited until it was clear and hauled a$$ across. Not the ideal situation, but neither is sitting for 30 minutes hoping a car comes to trigger the light.

[loopybunny]

I have that issue too!

If it's a busy intersection I scoot over to hit the crosswalk button if I'm going straight. If I'm making a left turn I can't get to the button and back to the correct lane in time. If it's safe, I just go through the red light, treating it like a stop sign.

[Eden]

Check with your local DOT - here in Seattle you can report a light that won't change for a bicycle and they will fix it. They actually tune the sensors with a bicycle wheel.... Any bike with any metal at all on it should be able to change a light. It has nothing to do with steel - it's not magnetic, nor is it weight. The sensors in the ground operate by inductance - the are more like a metal detector. They are actually more sensitive to aluminum than steel....

Proper position can be crucial. If they haven't been paved over and you can see the sensor cuts its easy - for the circular ones you want your bike to be over the outside of the circle turning the front wheel to match the circumference usually helps. For the square type position your bike over the edge. For the square type with a center cut position your bike over the center cut. If they have been paved over hopefully the DOT will put markings down !

We also have a law that states if you wait a certain amount of time and the light doesn't change you can go through - this is for all vehicles, not just bikes and meant in the case of a broken light.

[Bike Chick]

If there's no traffic, I run it. You really don't have a lot of choice unless you want to wait forever.

I didn't know steel bikes will trip the sensor. I'll give it a try.