Okay, maybe “idiot” is a strong word. These people aren’t driving the same route that I do, day in and day out.
There are several intersections in East Lansing, MI that have left-hand turn lanes AND are pressure-plate sensitive. Meaning: if your car isn’t on the pressure-plate, the stoplight isn’t going to know you are there, and is just going to ignore you, giving on-coming traffic the go-ahead (and you aren’t getting a blinking red, by the way).
I have seen this in action twice in the past two weeks, where the car in the front of line isn’t far enough up, doesn’t realize it, and is causing his and all the cars behind him to sit there in traffic limbo, possibly forever.
The first time, I was in the aforementioned oncoming traffic. Surprised that we got a green at the same time as our friends over in the left-turn arrow lane, I zoomed across the intersection, only to notice that the car in the opposite left-hand turn lane was stopped a good 10 feet short of where the trigger is. I drove off wondering if I would see the same line of cars there the next day.
It happened again yesterday…but I was a victim. We sat through two changes of lights, and it hit me the guy in front didn’t realize how things were working here. Luckily, this was a light where either lane would trigger the green. I slid into the next lane over (where there was no traffic) and the next cycle, we got the go-ahead to move forward, turn left or turn right…whatever we wished.
My question…what the hell would you do in the first instance, where your only chance to turn left is hindered by someone who keeps stopping short? Honk? Get out of car? Battering ram?
it seems odd that there isn’t some sort of sign. are these pressure things on the drivers test? i’m amazed there are people that stop short of the intersection. cars are always blocking the crosswalks here.
We have those near where I live, too. They have the big white stripe that tells you exactly where to stop. People ignore the stripe.
Especially at one light, where the stopping point for the left turn lane is about a car’s length back from the other lanes. I see a car parked too far forward maybe two or three times a month. Unfortunately, they can still make a left turn without the green arrow.
Etiquette-wise? I haven’t a clue. Honking seems too much, and doesn’t communicate very well. Maybe flash them with your brights?
You can put the most state of the art sensor at a traffic light, but there is always going to be some dip who stops too soon to trip it. It happens a lot on my motorcycle. There are a few intersections that aren’t sensitive enough to pick me up, and quite often a car behind me stops a full car length behind. I normally try and wave them forward a bit, alternating pointing at the light and the road, and usually after a complete light cycle, it dawns on them what I want them to do. There have been a couple of times where I’ve had to walk back to them and explain how traffic lights work and if they would be kind enough to pull forward about 6 feet, we will both be on our way. Sometimes asking nicely, even when you want to slap the stupid out of someone, works well.
That reminds me, I keep meaning to pick up one of those Green Light Triggers for the bike.
We have one of those sensors at the first major intersection after leaving our apartment complex. People only stop short of it on the days that I have an appointment for which I left early. If I left on time or late, do you think they’d pull up all the way?
But yeah, the locals have taken to getting out of their cars to run up and ask the car up front to pull up.
Sometimes turning it off and then re-starting it will activate the sensor. Usually though, there are enough cars around that someone will set it off. If not, then I’ll get off and push the crosswalk button.
Tried the restart and it doesn’t work for me. At one particular light, if I put the kickstand or lower the centerstand down directly on the coil, it works, but only that light. The other three problem ones I deal with each day aren’t in pedestrian areas and don’t have crosswalks (first thing I checked for). The areas with crosswalks pick me up right away. That’s the kind of luck I have. That’s the reason I want to try one of the Triggers. A couple guys out here swear by them.
What is it with people stopping a full car length away from the line at a light? I see it all the time. It’s like they are afraid to pull up. These same people give me dirty looks when I pull up to the line in the next lane. (I can see them in the rear view mirror.)
This should be in the pit.
Like ricepad said - DOES any municipality in North America still use pressure switches in lieu of electonic coils??? I’d personally love to know the answer to that one - just pure curiosity.
Yeah, it’s a little bizarre sometimes, I’ve never understood why some folks seem to not realize that the thing labelled the “stop line” in the place to stop. All I can figure is that they simply don’t know where the outside edges of their vehicle are (a problem especially prevalent, seemingly, with very small people driving full-sized SUV’s) - whcih means that they shouldn’t be in that vehicle or ON THE ROAD AT ALL … OK, yeah, we could make this very pitworthy, couldn’t we. I’ll calm down.
At any rate, I rarely have trouble with the sensors on my M/C - although, I do have a fairly large quantity of metal sitting only 5 inches off the street, so simply placing the bottom of the motor right over a coil wire seems to work. The hard part is those intersections that have been repaved since the wires were put in, making them invisible. Worst case, I’ll run the light after a couple of cycles if it’s clear I ain’t gonna trip the light.
Dang, Turbo Dog! As soon as I get my next bike, one of those is going to get strapped on underneath! I’d never heard of those. I routinely ran a certain red light on Sunday mornings headed to a group ride, on a VT1100C with lots of steel!
Sometimes the traffic sensors are great and other times they’re a PITA.
One intersection immediately comes to mind when I think of traffic sensors. Fortunately I don’t have to deal with it anymore since I changed jobs. When you are travelling south you cross a bridge over an interstate. As soon as the bridge ends there’s an intersection with a traffic light. They didn’t put the sensor coil in the bridge. I assume they couldn’t install it spanning the expansion joints where the bridge meets the road, they had to put in past the bridge.
Even when you know what’s going on you feel like you’re pulling into cross-traffic by moving up enough to trigger the sensor.
Sure, there was a sign, but I bet most people didn’t understand what it was trying to say. If they did, they didn’t feel comfortable pulling that close to the intersection.
I’ve never gotten out of my car to explain to someone but I’ve tooted my horn a couple of times. They usually ingnore me and we get to wait until a car comes from the opposite direction and triggers the light.
eesh. all we got in the uk is timed lights. they run a full circuit, and some of em change their patterns at different times of day. it seems to work quite well, except when u get cheeky basts just going anyway (like a whole line of em were today)…
I looked up those green light triggers, and one site admits that they’re just powerful magnets. Do you really need to spend 12 for one? Couldn’t you just zip tie a couple on your center stand yourself?
I don’t know if we have any pressure-plate stoplights around here or not; but I can say that even if we did, nobody would ever know because the standard stopping place for most local drivers is with their rear end beyond the stopping line. Yes, sticking out into oncoming traffic. You’d think they’d learn, but it’s so widespread that I can’t believe it.
Sure, if I happened to have a few really powerful magnets stuck to the fridge instead of plastic letters. Since I don’t, and it will probably cost me about the same to buy some magnets, why not buy one that I know will work?
I hear ya UncleBill. You wouldn’t think a 650lb bike would have trouble tripping the loop. A guy at work clued me into the Green Lights. He stands by them %100. Of course, he mounted two on his bike just to be sure, but claims he hasn’t found a light yet that he can’t trip.
This is a similar category of moron to the guy who jumps on the brakes and slows down from 40mph to 5 at about fifteen car lengths from the line, and then drives to the stop line at a steady crawl. Or worse still, creeps forwards and stops, creeps forwards and stops about five or six times before the light turns green.