Posted on 07/28/2008 11:52:22 AM PDT by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
No, but sticking a Hummer over it will.
Freaking clown car...why anyone would risk their family's lives to drive one of those death traps is beyond me.
I have to ride a different route in the early AM if I’m headed to work. Some signals are triggered by my bike, some aren’t.
The newer ones generally work.
Something is definitely not right here.
I have to ride a different route in the early AM if I’m headed to work. Some signals are triggered by my bike, some aren’t.
The newer ones generally work.
But can you make a “Michigan Left” in it?
My daughter gets 40+ mpg with her 4 door Honda that seats 5 without crowding. It triggers left turn signals just fine.
Small cars are great in big cities where parking is at a premium. My dad can't park his Expedition in some garages here in DC because it is too tall. Anyway, the Smart Car isn't meant to be a family car or to be taken on the freeways (though I have seen some out there).
That being said, I don't get the Smart Car. It gets 40 MPG, but the Toyota Yaris gets about 37, is a few grand cheaper and seats 4. If you're looking for a small car to drive around the city, it seems like a better choice. For a few grand more, you can get the Mini Cooper, which is a pretty cool little car (and a total chick magnet).
So the Zoolander-mobile is pissing off the communist/democrat (redundant?) drivers because it won't go to the left.
That’s been my experience as well. I’ve considered putting a magnet on the bottom of my bike, but a right turn followed by a u-turn has always been a good workaround for the signals that don’t detect it.
I think he is probably not going to have to worry for long about the turning problem.
From the looks of that silly clown car, I would have to say it’s a death trap in waiting.
I think it isn’t the amount of steel per se (there’s more than enough in the engine) the the distance of the steel from the ground that’s causing the problem. If the metal is too high above the loop it won’t do anything.
Your instincts are correct, it's just a magnet. You can spend $20-30 on the "signal activator" or you can just go to the hardware store and get a large heavy-duty magnet for <$5.
Yep, because if you don’t trip the light then technically the signal is malfunctioning, and in most jurisdictions a malfunctioning signal is considered to be a four-way stop.
I’m 53-yrs old and I *DO* learn something new every day.
Aluminum block and aluminum heads.
Or, you can do what I do on my motorcycles.
Wait through one whole light cycle (two if I’m feeling extra “cautious” that day) just to verify that the light has, in fact, NOT been “tripped”, and then run through it at the first safe opportunity.
Later. I DO go ahead and call VDOT and report the light. They seem to actually make an effort to recalibrate the ones I report.
On the plus side, you can only risk the life of one other family member at a time!
;^)
It’s a short car. Some people don’t understand the definition of ‘intersection’. I wonder if this guy has a habit of pulling so far forward that his car isn’t even over the loop.
I have a left turn on my way home and it requires two cars to trigger the arrow. (There isn’t a red arrow, so we can turn left late in the cycle if there aren’t two or more cars.) Several times I have pulled up behind someone so far over the crosswalk that they don’t contribute to the count of cars and we both wait.
On the other hand, I have been known to stop waaay back when I am the only car and still get my green arrow! :)
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