Stuck at traffic light

[mrmike]

    I deliver flowers one day a week on Saturdays. I go through the city about 6:30 Saturday mornings. There is very little if any traffic at this time. On my route I have 2 traffic lights that are a problem. Me and my scooter do not weigh enough to trip the light our way. After sitting for 10 minutes waiting for it to change, I finally just go through it. Does anyone else have this problem?

[randyo]

never heard of a light sensor that works by weight, most are an inductive loop, poorly adjusted by the local DOT/DPW, gluing a magnet to the underside of your scooter may help

newer lights a lot of times have a camera sensor

I still find myself running lights when the coast is clear

[CROSSBOLT]

MrMike, I agree with randyo that weight treadles have gone away since the late 60's. It is either a coil in the ground or optical these days.

By the way, the magnet seems to not work. I have tried several with poor results. It takes a certain amount of steel/iron to trigger a coil. Motorcycle and scoots lack the proper amount.

I, too, have carefully run redlights since 1960 that would not change. Tennesse now has a law that permits it. Ain't that nice! I have never heard of a cop anywhere that ticketed a bike for running a light that went through two cycles ignoring the rider.

[Stig / Major Tom]

I deal with one of those every ride.
2 options : pull to curb a block short and follow in behind a car.
Or turn right at light...then U turn or turn around into a lot or side street.
Or run the light.
It's not weight....it's metal mass. Sometimes a scooter is enough. Sometimes not.
My first experience with this was in 1967 in SoCal.
 Citrus blvd. A pain everyday!
Stig

[randyo]

I've personally observed NHDOT adjusting the sensitivity with a bicycle the crew carries in their truck for that purpose. And I have called complaining, and usually gets adjusted within a week or so

I've never tried the magnet thing, and I have heard mixed reviews from those that have them, I have also heard that stopping the engine and restarting sometimes works (magnetic field of the starter?)  but as I said before, I just run the light

[Iahawk]

in my town, almost all the intersections have hockey puck sized black discs embedded in the pavement in the center of the lane that set off the lights. I try to get my bike over them but am not always successful. If not, I just carefully run the light. Have done it many times.

[Neil955i]

Have lots of these in the UK too.  On the odd occasion where a friendly car has not happened along to trip them, I carefully run the red light.

[randyo]

the light where I make a left turn to my pharmacy's sensor works fine, however the wait to cycle thru to my green is quite long, half the time I run the light anyway

[mrmike]

   I don't know about you folks, but here in Syracuse, NY there are now a ton of electric bicycles. Most of these drivers use the same roads as us and the cars.  The majority don't pay any attention at all to traffic regulations like stop signs or traffic lights. No helmets, no registration, no insurance. Believe me I'm feeling a lot less guilty about running a light that won't change for me!

[Neil955i]

You’re right Mike, electric cycles & scooters 🛴 are a plague now in all big cities the way they’re being used.