Triggering red lights.

[Mscmkr]

Just wondering if anyone is having problems triggering red lights to turn green when your the only one sitting there? I have been riding at night anywhere from 9pm to midnight and I am the only one waiting for the red lights a great deal of the time. I don't seem to be heavy enough to trigger a lot of the lights. Is there something I'm not doing or some technique I can use to get these things to turn green? I am brand new to 2 wheels and there seems to be more to this than I thought. Any help here would be much appreciated.

     Thanks everyone and ride safe, mscmkr

[ChefRupe]

Check your local laws. I know here left turns on red are legal for bikes. As for hitting a sensor, I really don't know.

[Pimpy1]

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina has joined six other states that let motorcyclists, mo-ped drivers and bicyclists run red lights that don't change within a couple minutes of their stopping.

It requires motorcyclists, mo-peds and bicycles to stop for two minutes before entering an intersection if a traffic signal has not turned green. Motorcyclists pushed the legislation because they said automatic signal controls using sensor embedded in roads don't always detect their bikes.

The American Motorcyclist Association says Arkansas, Idaho, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin have similar laws.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/8GAacxGiV4A?hl=en_US&amp;amp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/8GAacxGiV4A?hl=en_US&amp;amp</a>

[Stig / Major Tom]

Yep, I get this nearly every night riding at to work. It's not the weight, sensors pick up the metal in the scoot, or some such.
I found that if I roll all the way to the front of the sensor area (sometimes onto the stop bar) I can get it to trigger the light....if not, I hang a right, then a U-turn, then a right to go straight on through the light..
My riding instructor said if you get stopped by police you can site the malfunctioning light law to justify going thru a red light after a stop on 2 wheels.

[CosmoKorny]

It used to be you could see the cuts in the road where the sensor wires were buried, and simply stop the bike with the engine, or the part of the bike with the most steel, where two of the cuts intersect.  I'm not sure what the road builders are doing now but those cut marks are harder to find or may be non-existent.  Add to that aluminum and plastic bikes and you may not trigger the sensor anyway, so the above mentioned magnets may be worth a try.

In Wisconsin we get to go if the light doesn't change...  I'm not sure if that's good or bad as abusing the right can be quite dangerous especially the way some of this forum's members drive.   

[TroutBum]

I have trouble tripping the sensor sometimes. When it happens I just wait until it clear and ride on through. I don't know what the law is in CA, but I do recall when I took my drivers education class back in the dark ages that you wait one full cycle and proceed when safe to do so.

[mnpugdog]

In Minnesota it's really hit or miss on if you will trip the light or not. But we do have a law that allows us to wait a reasonable time before we are allowed to go through as long as it's clear. There a a couple of lights on the way to work that I can't trip so I do this.

[ginger cat]

We got this thing with lights at one of the supermarkets , i did report it via our gov website but nothing happened. Im usually waiting for exactly 2 minutes , if it doesnt change and both sides of the road are clear im passing on. Its a 3 way junction with lights set to 30sec change so if it doesnt change in 2 minutes then it means their sensor failed on me so nothing i can do about it and not my fault.

There is one thing which helps is going really fast towards the lights and brake rapidly due to a speed it helps sensor to detect you , in my case it needs to be like at least 20 mph.

[Wiz]

There is one light on my commute that I have a hard time triggering. I work 2nd shift so I would usually be stuck there around 2:30 AM. I found that if I weave back and forth in the lane over the sensor before coming to a stop it will notice me. Before that I would get off my scoot and run over to press the crosswalk button.
I tried the rare earth magnets when I had a P150 and they did not work for me.

[bubonik]

here (victoria,BC Canada) sometimes you can stop on the pedal bike lane sensor to set them off
they are supossed to be sensitive enough to go off for a seniors walker
Or i just push the bike back and go forward again
If that doesn't work, it's running the light for me too.
don't know if it's legal or not here though.....

i'll have to try the weave over the sensor square, see if that works here

[Oldie]

Pennsylvania recently passed the law that after a reasonable wait, you can proceed with caution against the red light!

[GLV55]

I have trouble tripping the sensor sometimes. When it happens I just wait until it clear and ride on through... you wait one full cycle and proceed when safe to do so.

Same law here in Idaho: Wait one full cycle of light changes, then you can go if safe. Of course, if the intersection is empty and no one is approaching, we go on through anyway. I have only had one intersection not detect my P150. Most of our lights around here are now camera controlled instead of sensors in the asphalt, so it's usually not a problem.

[GPF590]

Pennsylvania recently passed the law that after a reasonable wait, you can proceed with caution against the red light!

Hi Oldie........Would you happen to have a source link for this.  I googled for some info and couldn't find anything about the PA law, perhaps because it's so new? I also asked a police officer about it (at the local wawa) and he didn't know anything about it either.  Might be good to have something on paper to carry with you for a little bit until the law becomes common knowledge.  Thanks!

[Pimpy1]

Could not find anything on PA law for that. Good list of most state laws here. http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/Rights/State-Laws.aspx

[Oldie]

Hi GPF590,
My source was the American Motorcyclist magazine some months ago on the StateWatch page!  I don't know any other documentation...