Traffic lights

[The TattooedCyclist]

Have any of you gents and ladies experienced this, not actually red light jumping but when stopped at lights they just wont change until a vehicle comes up behind you etc. On numerous occasions when I started out on a early sunday morning I came across traffic lights which wont change. what do you do ? wave your arms like mad to set a sensor off or wait there for a great length of time cursing, or proceed with caution and continue...

 

[ClichéGuevara]

The red light's only for cars isn't it?

 

[HLaB]

If you approach the lights in the middle of the lane they sometimes change but if they don't, I believe they are defined not to be working properly so its not technically a RLJ, besides it'd be folly to wait for a car sometimes, at say 1am in a small town/ village.

 

[fossyant]

There is one on the A34 in Manchester (big dual carriageway) - a right turn filter to Didsbury (before Parrs Wood junction for locals). Doesn't trigger with bikes, so can be sat there for 5 mins or more, even mid week, before a car turns up. I have on two occasions crossed via the ped crossing I was there that long.

 

[Will1985]

Yes I have this problem with a right filter lane on the way home from a place I sometimes work. I've waited there for 3 or 4 cycles of the lights on occasion until a car has come up. I know there is a phase I could go through red, but it's not worth the risk with the police headquarters half a mile down the road.

Still, it's good trackstanding practice!

 

[al-fresco]

Having followed a policeman through a red light I would use my best judgement. (To be honest I'd have done that anyway but having seen a copper do it I feel even more justified.) (And as a pensioner I'd let them send me to prison if I got caught - be something to tell them up the pub.)

 

[MossCommuter]

I've reported a couple at FixMyStreet.com and they "see" me now - I think the engineers turned up the sensitivity of the inductive loop.

 

[CopperCyclist]

I have this problem on my commute. I use the shared bus cycle lane for part of it, and the road is set up so there two traffic lights, one for the bus lane, one for the single carriageway road. There is no 'junction' per se. Its designed so that the second a bus pulls up, the lights for the traffic go red and let the bus through. The bus lane then ends about 20 metres further down and merges with the main traffic lane. The 'cycle lane' actually continues, though its hard to call a faded line painted about 50cm from the edge of parked cars a cycle lane.

I have found from experience that if I stop in the bus lane, the lights won't change for me. Ever. Unless a bus comes up, which is about twice an hour (this ain't London!). I can therefore either pull into the traffic lane, and share their lane with them whilst going through the pinch point caused by the traffic lights and the keep right arrow, or I can go through the light on red in the bus lane, withthe traffic still moving, and by keeping to the left simply carry on and 'naturally, rejoin.

This is the one set up where even I RLJ, and I can't see an issue with it. Even the most anal policeman would surely agree!

 

[gbb]

I used to have one on my commute, bike wheels just didn't trigger the loop, so i used to lift and bump the wheel on the loop as i approached the lights...that seemed to work.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

[QUOTE 1531443"]
I had this when doing my cycle training. The advice given, and that which I agree with, is to treat the lights as you would as a driver on reaching traffic lights which aren't working properly -continue carefully, paying good attention to what else is around.
[/quote]

+1

 

[Jezston]

I've reported a couple at FixMyStreet.com and they "see" me now - I think the engineers turned up the sensitivity of the inductive loop.

That's good to know - to the OP, as others have said if the light is in a way faulty you are allowed to proceed, as long as you stop first and ensure that it's safe. But you should really report it.

 

[hotmetal]

Apparently the inductive loop is more sensitive at the edges than the middle, so if it's borderline you might get somewhere by moving sideways to see if it will trigger, though I suspect it won't make a huge difference.

I had a strange situation recently where a set of lights at a large busy crossroads near me failed to change for our phase only. I watched the lights change about 4 or 5 times without our queue getting a green - bearing in mind there were cars in front and behind me! Then, all of a sudden, it sorted itself out. I was tempted to go because I was on my motorbike, but decided not to as it was tricky to judge the exact phase of the other lights, I would have had to 'undertake' the front car, and the cop shop was right opposite the lights. Luckily it only stuck for 4-5 phases, but even so we were sat there for nearly 10 minutes at 2am. Despite the late hour there were still a lot of cars crossing on each phase.

 

[Parrot of Doom]

There's one here:

http://maps.google.co.uk/?ll=53.345...=8qj4eAy6XxDvweERuoiLSw&cbp=12,119.63,,0,8.21

You can't quite see it but under the car is an inductive loop, arranged in a rectangular fashion. If you ride straight over it, it won't trigger, but if you ride across two of its corners, it will.

I always ride across the corners of these loops, and they always trigger the lights that way.

 

[superbadger]

Theres a set in Cromer,Norfolk that do it... I was visiting my sister having cycled there for charity and a local told me i be there all day!!!!

 

[ian turner]

How to turn lights green though according to that you may have problems on a full carbon job that includes carbon wheels