Smart Car gets 40 mpg, but no left turns

Valley Press on ^ | Monday, July 28, 2008. | JAMES RUFUS KOREN

[BenLurkin]

It's a problem that has baffled German engineers, auto industry experts, Kern County road engineers and, most importantly, Samuel Wattles of Rosamond: How do you make a left turn in a new Smart Car? Wattles waited a year and a half for his Smart ForTwo - a tiny, two-passenger car that gets more than 40 miles per gallon - only to find that the lightweight vehicle wasn't heavy enough to set off the sensors that activate left-turn signal lights at intersections.

At least, that's what he thought was going on when he picked up the car July 20 in North Hollywood and drove it home to Rosamond.

"I was going down Rosamond Boulevard and got to Sierra Highway and got in the left turn lane," Wattles said. "I waited for four rounds of signals, and everyone else was gone, but I'm just sitting there waiting for a signal.

"I had to wait for a (standard-sized) automobile to come. And when a car came behind me, the signal changed."

Another time, he got tired of waiting, backed out of the turn lane and got to his destination by going around the block.

"You're not supposed to back out of a lane," Wattles said, "but I wasn't going to turn against a red light."

Wattles believed weight was the problem, assuming the signals that trigger the left-turn signals are weight-sensitive.

Not so, said Sal Gomez, a traffic engineer with the Kern County Road Department.

[BenLurkin]

"RIGHT TURN ONLY? - Samuel Wattles of Rosamond stands with his Smart ForTwo. Wattles recently purchased the Smart ForTwo and was baffled when the car did not activate left-turn signals at several intersections in Rosamond." RON SIDDLE/Valley Press

[bmwcyle]

bttt

[dirtboy]

Signals are either magnetic (wire in the pavement) or optical (sensors on the signal pole).

Motorcycle riders can buy a magnet to sent off a strong enough field to trigger the in-pavement sensors. Seems like this car needs that as well.

[CarrotAndStick]

Would sticking a fairly powerful magnet under the car work?

[ClearCase_guy]

“You turn if you want to. The Lady’s not for turning.” — Thatcher

[rahbert]

http://www.tricktape.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=177

[Gaffer]

It is a problem with the ferrous content of the automobile. Pressure plates have not been used in several decades that I can recall. Try beefing up the metal content or putting a flux alternator in the car on the bottom....

[Squawk 8888]

I’m calling BS here. Every sensor-controlled stoplight I’ve ever encountered used metal detectors, not weight sensors, to detect cars in the intersection and most are sensitive enough to be triggered by my 240lb scooter. Does California use weight sensors? They don’t in MI, OH, PA, NY or ON.

[woollyone]

Motorcycles (at least in FL) can proceed through the red light (after two signal cycles...IIRC), yielding to traffic having the green, if the sensor fails to register the motorcycle.

-or-

Buy a different car...for less money...that gets better mileage and uses regular (87 octane) instead of the high test required by the notsosmart car.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/la-hy-jdpower-smallcars-pg,0,4317752.photogallery

[trumandogz]

The writer is out of his mind or just plain stupid.

I set off left turn signals on my bike and my bike weighs less than twenty pounds.

[AlaskaErik]

I’ve had the same problem with my Harley. But it’s a mass issue, not weight.

[thefactor]

try reading the rest of the article.

[WayneS]

These traffic light sensors are NOT triggered (”tripped”) by the weight of a vehicle, but my the mass of steel (magnetic metal) which is located over it. Apparently the Smart Car does not have enough steel in it to “trip” some traffic lights.

Motorcycles have suffered from the same problem for decades.

If you are having a problem at a given signal light, contact your local highway department or public works department (as applicable) and report the specific lights which your motorcycle or “Smart Car” will not “trip”.

The sensitivity of the sensors IS adjustable and most lights can be set so a motorcycle can “trip” them.

Many localities are taking care of this issue by eliminating sensors under the pavement and switching to camera activated traffic lights. Personally, I like this type of traffic light, and even a person on a bicycle can “trip” them.

Also, there are some companies that market a small device to motorcyclists which is mounted on the underside and hangs down closer to the road than the bottom of the engine (it appears to me to be a poerful magnet). This device is supposed to “trip” the errant, less sensitive, sensors. I have no idea how they work because I have never used one. I do not like the idea of magnets hanging off the bottom of my motorcycles.

[Ditto]

The writer is out of his mind or just plain stupid. I set off left turn signals on my bike and my bike weighs less than twenty pounds.

I know of at least one sensor in my area that is not sensitive enough to detect a scooter.

[snugs]

My friend enters this problem with his push bike he has to wait for a car to get out of our industrial estate to go home from work or walk and mount the bike outside the gates.

[magslinger]

My first thought when I read the headline was about a car my Grandfather had brought to his garage in the '30's. The owner had taken it to several mechanics and they had not been able to figure it out. The car would run fine until it was driven in a turn in one direction. I don't remember if it was a left or right turn, but always the same direction. When you turned, it would stall out and not run again until it was towed to a garage. The car would then start up and run until you made that turn in it again.

Someone had dropped a golf ball in the gas tank. The gas had eaten the outer covering of the golf ball and caused the rubber bands to swell up. When you made the fatal turn, it would roll over the fuel line.

[absolootezer0]

some states allow turn on red in that scenario.
if you have to wait an entire set of signals and yours doesn’t go, you can (cautiously) procede thru the red light.

[blackd77]

There is a stop light near the place I work that doesn’t usually get triggered for a left hand turn if I approach it on my motorcycle (Harley, heavy bike). I’m not going to sit there if it doesn’t turn green for me, that’s stupid. I’ve noticed that if I approach the light standing up on the foot boards, the green light gets triggered. I “shouldn’t” have to do this, but it seems to work, and is better than getting a ticket.

[Manfred the Wonder Dawg]

A.) Magnets on motorcycles - I’ve tried one of those, not sure it did anything.

B.) In Texas (a great place to live) all traffic lights installed, replaced, repaired, or calibrated after 30 Sep 2007 (I think that’s the date) MUST recognize the presence of a motorcycle and react properly to same. It is the magnetic density that matters on most signal controllers.