Just saw this on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=35580&item=2431348675
Anyone know if this product (or one like it) could actually work?
I am especially leary of a product that spams/lists with ebay keywords that have nothing to do with the item.
Yes, they work (well, usually). It’s basically an electromagnet that triggers the buried sensors at many traffic lights. As the ad indicates, many bikes don’t have enough metal to trigger them, so these devices are used. They don’t change the light before it’s supposed to or anything, it just activates the sensor so the light “knows” there’s a vehicle there.
It’s also important to note that not all traffic lights are triggered by the sensors. Newer ones are, but a lot of older systems are just on timers. This won’t have any effect on those, obviously.
The majority opinion on my motorcycle forum is that they don’t work well at all. I have never used one.
Also, in TN a law was recently passed to allow motorcyclists to run red lights because of inability to trigger the light. (with caution)
Are you speaking from personal experience?
nope. But I know a couple people who swear by them. I wouldn’t doubt there’s a few people that swear at them, too.
county claims;
No way. Surely you at least have to stop fully, and then proceed. With caution. After all the cars and trucks go by.
Peace,
mangeorge
I would think that would be obvious.
It’s not an electromagnet.
What I think is obvious is going to be the riders who abuse a potentially good law and race motorists who have the green. Witness those who lane split when they really shouldn’t.
I think it would be better to come up with a reliable trigger device.
Some guys at work say the ones mentioned above do work pretty good, but that they really want something to change the light as they approach, out of turn, like an emergency vehicle.
Does this law define motorcycle? There are some small electric vehicles here that have at least as much plastic as motorcycles, and they make the same complaint.
If I approach a light and it doesn’t trigger, after making sure no one is coming I treat it as a non-functioning traffic device and go through it. What choice do you have? Sit there all day? Or make a right on red, circle the block and hope you get a green in the other direction?
BTW bernse, would you please wake my long-dead mom up and tell her to get back to the grave where she belongs?
She knows she’s not allowed to wander, but can’t resist gullible young boys.
I’ve played around with traffic loop detectors. The one I had (which I think was fairly typical) had a sensitivity adjustment on it. At the lowest level it would trigger just from the metal in my steel toed boots. There’s no reason they can’t be set up to trigger reliably even on something like a bicycle. I think maybe they don’t want something like a bicycle to trigger them, which is why they set the sensitivity back so much.
The one I had measured the inductance of the loop using an oscillator. I can’t imagine there’s too much you can carry short of a big hunk of metal that would make it trigger much better.
I can’t see how “red light changer” could work unless it was some sort of battery-powered high frequency coil.
If there’s no battery, then it might be a scam like those pipe-scale removing magnets, or the magical healing bracelets.
If it’s just a permanent magnet, or just a hunk of iron, then it’s definitely a scam.
OK, but don;t police cars have some electronic thingee to change traffic lights to green as the approach with their lights aflashin’?
I believe what you speak of is a system called opticon which consists of a sensor mounted on the traffic signal that responds to flashing lights of a particular frequency on an emergency vehicle. We have a few of them here. Actually, though, they turn all of the lights red, which the cop/ambulance/firetruck can then proceed through once all other traffic is stopped.
Paul in Saudi, I believe the police/ambulance/fire truck’s ability to change lights has to do with sensors on the lights that look for their specific strobe light frequency.
I’ve heard that some emergency vehicles in some places do have such equipment, but they probably use encryption techniques so as to be effectively impossible to fake, and unauthorized use of one is probably going to bring you stiffer penalties than running the red.
I’ve heard of people faking the stobe light thing for the opticon sensors. Apparently, any Radio Shack can sell you what you need. Needless to say, it is quite illegal to use such a device unless you’re in a legitimate emergency vehicle.
To reiterate, faking an opticon signal doesn’t do you any good. When triggered it doesn’t turn your light green,. it turns all of them red. The emergency vehicle than proceeds to cross the intersection against the red light; they can do that. So instead of faking the opticon signal, just run the red light!