Traffic lights :x

[innominate]

First thread on BCF



There is a set of induction loop based traffic lights near my home.

They refuse to change whenever I get to them on my cb500.
They only change when a car comes up behind me, triggering the loop.


Are there any tricks you guys know to get these to "register" my bike passing, without strapping bloody great magnets to my frame.

I don't want to be stuck at the lights for ages in the freezing cold.
+ its too dangerous to jump them, bloody great hedges on either side and the t-junctions turns onto a fast straight road....

[18aprilia]

ever thought of buying one of them wacthes in "argos" you know?? the ones that chnage the t.v channel over, every time you get to them point it up at the lights and it should work!!!!
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Supra King

[loply]

Write to your local MP?

They surely cant put these things on the road if they dont work with bikes.

If your MP doesnt respond, vandalise it.
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Yamaha SZR660 Caution to the wind, the throttle pinned!

[Finglonga]

[innominate]

LOL

Vandalising may not be a bad idea.




Its not the type of light with the sensor.
Its the type you see with the diamonds in the road before you get to the line. They sense the metal in the vehicle above via induction and therefore realise traffic is there. How they work


I just think my cb500 is made of plastic, or hitting the Audi knocked off more bits than I though

Now if only they used these things to trigger speed camera's

[allweatherbik...]

I don't think vandalizing it is a good idea. Hopefully if everybody who has a problem reports it, the problem will get fixed. I know that on my daily commute to work I'm regularly held up at red lights when there is no other traffic on the road and any system that helps reduce this would be helpful. Any system in its infancy is likely to have a few teething problems but I'm sure they will be ironed out.

Ian

[Ghost_rider]

Ive had the same problem with my bike at some traffic lights. However i find that if you flash your lights at it then it will sense you.

[TheShaggyDA]

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4505113444&category=35557&sspagename=WDVW

Or just find a large magnet and some cable ties
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Current: CB500 Previous: CB100N, CB250RS, XJ900F, GT550, GPZ750R/1000RX, AJS M16, R100RT, Enfield Bullet

[i:6e3bfc7581]But still I fear and still I dare not laugh at the madman...[/i:6e3bfc7581]

[Nighteyes]

[TheShaggyDA]

I'd have to ride with my head 1/2" off the ground
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Current: CB500 Previous: CB100N, CB250RS, XJ900F, GT550, GPZ750R/1000RX, AJS M16, R100RT, Enfield Bullet

[i:6e3bfc7581]But still I fear and still I dare not laugh at the madman...[/i:6e3bfc7581]

[synaptyx]

Um, I have lots of fillings..

[r1_lad]

I heard that in certain states (or at least one) in America they have made it legal for motorbikes to jump red lights, because it was proved that throughout the state the type of sensor used to trigger the lights couldn't detect the weight of a bike.

Sorry to thread-jack a bit here but I also heard that it is not illegal to run red lights at temporary traffic lights at roadworks as they are not legally binding so to speak, just advice you for safety. Can anyone confirm this as quite a few people have told me this.
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RS50 -> RS125 -> GSXR600 SRAD -> 02 R1 -> Speed Triple 1050 -> Ducati Streetfighter 1099 -> DRZ400 Superetard

[Keith]

I had the same problem every Sunday on my way to the bike training school.

Some traffic lights would never change and because it was first thing on a Sunday morning, it would take forever for a car to come along.

After getting stuck at it for 2 weeks running, I decided to just go through red, but very cautiously.

After having a chat with one of the school instructors, he said that if a police man ever caught you doing that, its ok as long as you go very carefully and when it is safe to do so. (He said himself he'd done it very early one morning while a police man was at the side of the road watching him.)

Whether that is legal or not I dont know.

Anyone confirm that or was the instructor just trying to get me running red lights?
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Aprilia RSV Mille R Edwards Replica - Aprilia RS250 - Suzuki GSXR600 Supersport Race Bike

[paulodd]

i have this problem at a set of traffic lights near my mates house. its really weird if i slow down gently they dont change. If i am travelling then slam the breaks on near the line they change in the next cycle.

Paul
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Paul
1999 Yamaha R6
www.coventrybikers.co.uk / www.norfolkriders.co.uk

[mchaggis]

[Klause]

I have this problem aswell! Where i live Sandhurst theres a turning right control by these lines in the road which never set off when i go over them! I either have to risk going through red or wait for a car but sometimes thats not possible at 2 in the morning!

I've felt like writing to someone, i have the Mayor next door should speak to him really. Its not safe! I have to risk myself going through reds. The road the that i cross is a national changing to 40mph which no one takes notice of so 60mph+ cars!

Not happy!

[Lone-Wolf]

[zaknafien]

I have the same problem with the new lights at the end of my road, they refuse to changed until a car comes behind.
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02 Firestorm.

[JonB]

It is bloody annoying! There is a crossroad junction, of which I can't see any of the 3 exits, at 5.30AM on a Sunday I got to work, I have been known to be waiting at the red light for about 10 minutes, waiting for a car behind me to pull up and set them off!
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[tgabber]

I wonder if there is anything in road traffic law that states that after a certain length of time waiting you can assume that the lights are faulty and proceed cautiously on?

I have gone through red lights very occasionally myself when they have refused to change and the road is empty.
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"It's all about dislocating expectation"
Kawasaki KMX125 -> Aprilia RS125 -> Kawasaki ZZR600

[innominate]

OK

My local council have a traffic lights fault department.
I have mailed them with the details and the fault.

Will keep you all posted with any response I get back from them.

[innominate]

Sweet

The council got back to me on the 25th.


They have already been out and increased the sensitivity on the lights. They also thank me for bringing it to their attention.

I am quite pleased.
Didn't expect a response that quickely tbh
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I, as a responsible adult human being, will never concede the power to anyone to regulate my choice of what I put into my body, or where I go with my mind. From the skin inwards is my jurisdiction, is it not? I choose what may or may not cross that border. Here I am the customs agent. I am the coast-guard. I am the sole legal and spiritual government of this territory, and only the laws I choose to enact within myself are applicable.

[tgabber]

That's good.

So have you been out and tried them since? Can you confirm they now work properly?
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"It's all about dislocating expectation"
Kawasaki KMX125 -> Aprilia RS125 -> Kawasaki ZZR600

[innominate]

Thats the next stage.
I am not on lates till next week.

The road is pretty busy during the day so not much chance I can get there alone.

& I am not going out in the freezing cold at about 11pm just to test the traffic lights are working

Actually scratch that.
I will give them a go on tomorrow.
Got nothing better to do tbh
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I, as a responsible adult human being, will never concede the power to anyone to regulate my choice of what I put into my body, or where I go with my mind. From the skin inwards is my jurisdiction, is it not? I choose what may or may not cross that border. Here I am the customs agent. I am the coast-guard. I am the sole legal and spiritual government of this territory, and only the laws I choose to enact within myself are applicable.

[EuropeanNC30R...]

I've had the same problem in a few places, bloody annoying especially if it's a quiet time of night.