Bill would give motorcycles green light to run on red

The State ^ | Jan. 12, 2006 | JOHN O’CONNOR

[martin_fierro]

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[free_at_jsl.com]

Had to click through the story to discover that this is in South Carolina. We could use a similar law here in California.

[RightWhale]

I have edged my SUV right up behind a motorbike that was stuck at such a light so as to trigger the automatic light changer, and done this more than once. The riders always get it right away. Some riders look to make sure there is no cop in sight and then go, some wait for a car to come up to the light, which is rarely a long wait in this crazy town.

[Slings and Arrows]

I'm not a motorcyclist, but I support this bill. There's a sensor in Myrtle Beach that somehow managed to miss my '96 Ford Bronco. I can only image what bikers have to put up with.

[A.A. Cunningham]

A cheaper solution.

Green Light Trigger

[Fester Chugabrew]

"Lexington slide?" How come Lexington gets the credit for this maneuver?

[RightWhale]

Sometimes, also, the signal is not triggered by a car sitting there, but the car needs to move a little, just a few inches usually, which makes intersections look like a bunch of jumpy drivers at a drag race.

[muawiyah]

Then there are the jerks who pull their bikes up on the line between traffic lanes ~ we could further modify these systems to zap them with a taser. After a couple of hits they'd stop doing that.

[StarCMC]

Very smart, IMO. There's a spot here where we have to wait at a stop light on either side of a sort of tunnel under some train tracks. Neither side can see the other because the road bends on each side. It sucks having to sit there and wait for a cage to come up behind you so the light will change - LOL!! We have, however, found a nice little detour around thru the town now so we avoid it now.

[Columbo]

[martin_fierro]

The left turn light from San Felipe Rd (N bound) onto Shore Rd. routinely gives me fits.

[HOTTIEBOY]

I have gotten pulled over for this several times. The police are well aware of this and most of the time they understand. But BE CAREFUL.

[RightWhale]

Aside from letting those bikers who drive between lanes or pass on the right shoulder be treated as fair game so if they get smeared between two trucks it is a non-fault non-event, I have no problem with bikes going wherever they can on the public rights-of-way.

[grobdriver]

That's cool.
I could have used one years ago when I rode a 'Wing.

But I was a little disappointed - I thought it would a gadget that triggered the green signal on command! IIRC some buses have these things...

[TChris]

This is legislation to correct what is a technical, not legal, problem. The technicians who install the metal detectors for stop lights can adjust them to detect a motorcycle. As long as the frames and engines are metal -- the last time I checked, they were -- then there is no technical reason for this at all.

You can kill flies with a shotgun, but it's a bit over the top, don't you think?

[HOTTIEBOY]

At least you guys get to split lanes in Cal. We here in NC can't do that. If the traffic is backed up, too bad. That is real nice on a 90 degree day in full leathers.
We should be able to split lanes here. It frees up one more spot in congestion. It is dangerous to a point, but idiots that are reckless with it will be weeded out.

[nightdriver]

I dunno if its a good idea even though I have had to run a lot of red lights when there is little or no traffic.

Traffic cops tell me that a bicycle is supposed to trip those lights, but, being an electric device, you just can't trust it.

[Little Pig]

The light sensors are triggered by the iron in the car's mass inducing a current in the sensor loop. Since many bikes are largely aluminum, they lack the ferrous component that would induce the current. I have often thought that a strong electromagnet on the sole of a boot would do the trick, but you then run into the problem of picking up road debris.

[Between the Lines]

This is legislation to correct what is a technical, not legal, problem... You can kill flies with a shotgun, but it's a bit over the top, don't you think?

Actually I think that this should be extended to include all vehicles, not just motorcycles.