Motorcycles Legal to Run Red Lights in Tennessee

This just in:

The latest law in Tennessee; motorcycles that do not trip the sensor at an intersection may run the red light after determining that it is safe to do so! This should be nationwide!

I wish this would apply to bikers too. There is a bad intersection by my house, where I had to turn left once. I waited for over ten minutes, but the light would not change. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twak.gif I tried waving at the camera and moving around, with no luck at all. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Re: Motorcycles Legal to Run Red Lights in Tennessee *DELETED*

which intersection are you talking about?

This has been part of the CA vehicle code for as long as I have been aware of the code. If a light fails to sense you (on a street-legal vehicle *including a bicycle*) then the signal is considered defective, and you are to treat your side of the intersection as a stop sign. Go when safe. I'd be shocked to find that this isn't the case in most, if not all states.

Otherwise - so as not to break the law, you could die of starvation in a left-turn lane.

[ QUOTE ]
Darell said:
This has been part of the CA vehicle code for as long as I have been aware of the code.

[/ QUOTE ]

I wish i would have known this yesterday. I was stuck at a left turn signal for over 7 minutes before deciding to get back into regular traffic and make a U-turn at the next signal. The intersection cycled through all the lanes at least 3 times before i left. The other cars behind me probably got the point that the light wasn't going to change when my tires screached back into traffic. I was pissed! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

One motorcycle guy I know bolted an iron to the botom of his bike to trip the magnetic sensor. Seems to work.

-Jason

So how exactly do the traffic signals know if there is anybody in the lane?

I've heard two things, 1) there are magnetic senors in the ground and 2) there are motion/light sensors at the top of the signals. Some people think that by flashing their headlights they will get the signals to turn green faster, i guess they think that it simulates the lights from an ambualance or firetruck. I totally think that's bogus because....i've tried it and it has never worked. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I believe it depends on whatever your DOT has bought. I've seen camera sensors in one city and strips in the pavement in others.

-Jason

Ahhh...so the motion/light sensors do exist. Maybe i need to stick my flashlight out the window and aim it at the stop lights from now on. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

FlashGordon, do you right a motorcycle? What kind?

I didn't say that the motion sensors exist... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I just said I've seen camera sensors--and the light just so happenes to change even though I'm on a motorcycle and they don't seem to be timed or have other kinds of sensors. For all I know the cameras are the standard give-you-a-ticket-for-blowing-the-redlight kind.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

-Jason

Here in our town, they are pressure plates. That's why some motorcycles don't seem to set off the lights... not heavy enough.

Got a Harley Fatboy, third Harley that I've owned. Might move up to a BMW RT 1150 (as a second bike), what the cops ride out here. The girlfriend says the Harley must stay, something about the "seating" on the rear? Seems if I wear my spurs on the scooter, they will usually trip the magnetic sensor. Cops say to put out the kickstand. (which I have seen them do)

I will check the CA VC for the part Darell mentioned, unless he would provide a specific section number?
I have an online copy somewhere...

I believe that at the present time, most sensors use inductive loops. There is a loop of wire buried in the road surface, and when you move a conductor into the region of the loop, you change its inductance and this gets detected.

For these sensors, doing something which exposes more conductive area to the sensor can help. On a bicycle, tilting it to the side often helps. Also, look for the cuts in the road where the wires are buried. If you see a single loop, putting the rim of the wheel against the edge, and tilting toward the center helps. If you see a double loop (long loop with a line down the center), then putting the wheel on the center line is best.

There are other sorts of sensors (cameras, motion detectors, etc.); I am not sure of their prevalence.

Finally, there are systems which detect particular optical signals from emergency vehicles. I do not believe that these simply look for flashing lights.

-Jon

Re: Motorcycles Legal to Run Red Lights in Tenness

Within two blocks of where I'm sitting there are two traffic signal sensor types at the same intersection. On the N-S street there are "treadle plates" that detect the weight of a vehicle crossing them - I believe they are "strain gauge" type sensors.

In the other direction (E-W) there are inductive sensors (I'm assuming inductive rather than capacitive) that are large loops of wire embeded in the street.

In addition, there are photosensitive detectors above the traffic lights that detect the high-flashrate white strobe attop emergency vehicles and do an emergency sequence change to give an "all green" to the direction the strobe is coming from - all others red. (This device is from 3M, and there's been a large discussion here on CPF earlier about these ... )

Now, half mile away are the radar detectors tied to the traffic lights to determine if you just ran a red so the cameras can take a couple of high resoloution images of you and your car using these four massive strobes mounted on poles, but we won't mention those since they don't control the traffic lights even though they are tied into the system. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif

Re: Motorcycles Legal to Run Red Lights in Tenness

How would you determine if in fact there is a sensor, (inductive or otherwise), present at the intersection?
I've never seen any clear markings indicating their presence, so I wonder how it'd hold up in court if it turns out there wasn't a sensor?
Where I am, the majority of the intersections don't have sensors, so I'd be leery of going through. I presume there isn't a designated time interval that you need to wait before deciding it's "defective"- ?

Re: Motorcycles Legal to Run Red Lights in Tenness

You can decide it is defective if you've waited through an entire cycle, and watched it begin again with no green for you. Doesn't matter if there are sensors or not. If your way never turns green, the signals are defective.

That's my take.

The official wording in the CAVC hasn't yet been posted because I can't find my frigging copy!

Around here, we have motion sensor cameras at all signals. This is the biggest bicycle town in the country (according to the town) so they needed something that'll trip the light consistently - and I'm here to tell you that it works great.

Still searching...

Re: Motorcycles Legal to Run Red Lights in Tenness

I would have thought to have found it here:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=veh&group=21001-22000&file=21450-21468

But I didn't. I have it marked in my frigging hard copy!

Re: Motorcycles Legal to Run Red Lights in Tenness

[ QUOTE ]
Wingerr said:
How would you determine if in fact there is a sensor, (inductive or otherwise), present at the intersection?


[/ QUOTE ]

These intersections usually have slots cut into the pavement forming large octagons and other shapes. The slots are about 1/4" wide. They cut them with saws and lay in the sensor wire.---Marc

Re: Motorcycles Legal to Run Red Lights in Tenness

Where I live they have cameras for sensors. Probably cheeper than digging a hole in the ground, and burrying a sensor, but they probablyk don't work nearly as well. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

Re: Motorcycles Legal to Run Red Lights in Tenness

Searched for an hour for any California VC pointing to running a defective traffic signal, came up empty. Maybe something close in the Drivers Handbook, but not quite....
Found some tips and a magnetic product:


http://www.ama-cycle.org/magazine/2002/story3jul.asp

http://motorcycles.about.com/cs/beginners/ht/tripatraflight.htm

http://www.greenlightstuff.com/learn_trigger.html

Enjoy!