When I was a young teenager my Step-Father was teaching me about cars and driving etiquette, and now as a middle-aged man, I was wondering if I am one of the few people who received this valuable lesson.
I am an avid motorcycle enthusiast, and I am always getting caught at stoplights. There isn't enough weight/metal in my bike to activate the traffic lights induction loop.
What is an induction loop you ask? First lets get into the three different types of traffic lights you will encounter in your day to day travels throughout the United States at least. (I am sure most nations are the same, but I don't want to mislead any readers. I am not positive on other countries.)
1.) Pre-timed: traffic lights: These lights have either no induction loop at all, or the induction loop that is there is only used in order to calculate the number of vehicles through that particular intersection.
2.) Semi-Actuated: The main road does not sense traffic but the side streets will adjust traffic signals according to traffic. On these type of traffic lights the main road will remain 'Green' unless a vehicle trips the induction loop on a side road. If you are on a motorcycle or a bicycle you can get stuck on one of these for quite some time.
3.) Fully-Actuated: These intersections are fully reliant on the induction loops in order for the light to change. You can get stuck on a motorcycle on a fully-actuated intersection indefinitely.
Along with the differnt types of traffic signal control levels there are also a few different induction loop topologies.If you are in a small vehicle such as a Smart-Car, Motorcycle, or a bicycle there are some areas which are more sensitive to your presence than others. Here is a diagram which shows proper placement of a bicycle on the different induction loop layouts.
I seem to consistently get a driver behind me who refuses to get within fifteen feet of the back of my motorcycle, and in each case there are two similarities nearly 100% of the time:
1) It is someone over the age of 35! I have never been in this situation, that I can remember, that the person who was 'Wasting' my, and everyone else at that particular intersection, time.
2) Even though the whole light system has already rotated once, and I look at them and flag them forward, they remain behind the induction loop!!!!
Bottom Line: Please pull onto the induction loop, and motorcyclists, either pull forward enough to let the car set the sensor off or stop in the right place,
way cool its about time somone posted somthing like this i hope people read and learn it fuckin stupid drivers
ReplyDeleteNice to know someone actually read it. People letting the stoplights rotate past me is still a thing that I have happen to me every single day, and is a point of complete frustration. Feel free to push that post around. I don't even care if you copy it and put somewhere else...just as long as people stop making me sit unnecessarily at stoplights.
ReplyDelete