Approves Bill Allowing Motorcycles to Run Red Lights

[drc32-0]

I usually push down on my center stand when stopped at unpopulated left turn light...waiting for the signal. 95/100 times the increased metal is detected by the loop and activates the light.

I'm gonna have to try that trick...never had a problem with the FJR,but I'm always left hanging at red lights on the KLR.I just put a center stand on the KLR last week.

 

[Fred W]

...But a magnet still doesn't make an inductive loop trigger a green light.

I never said it did.

I never said that you said that it did.

 

[yamafitter]

OK. I may have had a drink...

NO!! Say it isn't so

 

[ultimateanswer]

After digging through OSCN for two hours the other night I have just given up on getting a direct link so I am handing off the torch to someon else with a little more patience and due diligence. The link to the traffic laws for OK is here:

https://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/index.asp?ftdb=STOKST47&level=1

I'll search for the Oklahoman article where they announced the change in law and post it up, that way if they are wrong, we can blame it all on the Gaylords.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I usually push down on my center stand when stopped at unpopulated left turn light...waiting for the signal. 95/100 times the increased metal is detected by the loop and activates the light.

I'm gonna have to try that trick...never had a problem with the FJR,but I'm always left hanging at red lights on the KLR.I just put a center stand on the KLR last week.

Try at your OWN risk. Some believe that this action is as effective as healing metal bracelets and deer whistles...ie NOT Forum sanctioned.

 

[Geezer]

Try at your OWN risk. Some believe that this action is as effective as healing metal bracelets and deer whistles...ie NOT Forum sanctioned.

All you need are a pair of steel toed boots.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Try at your OWN risk. Some believe that this action is as effective as healing metal bracelets and deer whistles...ie NOT Forum sanctioned.

All you need are a pair of steel toed boots.

Great! I already have a pair - used to discipline the son.

 

[ionbeam]

After digging through OSCN for two hours the other night I have just given up...I'll search for the Oklahoman article where they announced the change in law

I just love the Oklahoma Department Of Transportation = ODOT, just like our Forum Texskimo. Anyhoo....

The proposed law # SB-1329 agenda for discussion:

SB-1329 (Bass, Anderson and Lamb of the Senate; Hoskin and Ownbey of the House) would create the Motorcycle Mobility and Safety Act. The bill would allow motorcycle and bicycle drivers to proceed through red lights if they believe the traffic light will only change to green if the presence of a larger vehicle is detected. Under the bill, motorcycle and bicycle drivers are supposed to stop before proceeding through red lights and make sure no vehicles or pedestrians are in the intersection or preparing to enter the intersection. If an accident results from the motorcycle or bicycle going through a red light, the vehicle that had the green light could not be charged with failure to yield the right-of-way, following too close or driving too fast for conditions. This bill passed the Senate of a 45-0 vote, and its next stop is the House.
Blindness organizations have expressed concern that SB-1329 provisions would jeopardize the safety of visually impaired pedestrians and make it more difficult for them to travel independently in their communities. Blind individuals are taught to safely cross intersections by depending on the information provided in part by the sound of moving traffic. When a motorcycle of bicycle proceeds through a red light, the blind pedestrian will receive the wrong information about the direction of the flow of traffic, increasing the chances of injury or death from acting on deliberately inaccurate aural information.

The law passed, this just shows that the bill was passed in the House, no details about the bill here; read the passage. The bill was signed by Gov. Brad Henry and went into effect on Nov. 1, 2010.

House Bill 1795 in part says:


d. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the driver of a motorcycle or bicycle facing any steady red signal may cautiously proceed through the intersection only if:
(1) the motorcycle or bicycle has been brought to a complete stop as required by subparagraph a of this paragraph,


(2) the traffic control signal is programmed or engineered to change to a green signal only after detecting the approach of a motor vehicle and has failed to detect the arrival of the motorcycle or bicycle because of its size or weight, and


(3) no motor vehicle or person is approaching on the roadway to be crossed or entered, or is at a distance from the intersection that does not constitute an immediate hazard.


Notably, it requires that the signal be configured with ground sensors.

In the most current Oklahoma Motorcycle Drivers Manual, it states that lane sharing is still 'usually prohibited' without further detail. All laws are supposed to be contained in this manual, if it ain't there, it ain't permitted. There are no OK records of any kind of California Motorcycle Codes even being proposed. At least a pretty thorough search could find any mention of this or any variant, I can't rule it out, but it must be a real low priority item.

https://www.dps.state.ok.us/dls/pub/MOM.pdf

 

[Fred W]

That seems a pretty liberal version of that particular regulation. Most jurisdictions would have a clause requiring the cyclist (either pedal or motor) to wait through an entire light cycle before doing the "proceed cautiously" part.

This one, taken verbatim, says that if you approach a light with sensors in the ground you can treat it like a stop sign.

Also, FWIW, trying to use your kickstand or center stand or steel flat-track shoe slider (do they still use those?) has considerably more merit than copper cancer curing bracelets or magnet impregnated belts for curing incontinence, in that it has a(t least a) modicum of physics to support the concept. These inductive sensors will be increasingly sensitive to both the size of an object (in a linear relationship) and the proximity to the sense loop (in a non-linear way). If my remembery is accurate (and I have not yet begun my daily ETOH self medication and brain cell culling activities yet), it would be the square of the distance that would determine the mass of metal required to trip these sensors.

 

[ionbeam]

...Also, FWIW, trying to use your kickstand or center stand or steel flat-track shoe slider...has a(t least a) modicum of physics to support the concept. These inductive sensors will be increasingly sensitive to both the size of an object (in a linear relationship) and the proximity to the sense loop (in a non-linear way)...

If you approach an intersection which has a rectangular box cut in the pavement (Dipole loop) you will have the best chance of triggering the light if you pull up with both wheels aligned with either the right or left long side of the rectangle. If the intersection has a rectangular box with a third cut right up the center (Quadrupole loop) place both wheels directly on the center cut. There are no guarantees, if the sensing loop is broken or out of adjustment there is almost nothing that a bicycle, scooter or motorcycle can do to trip the light, no matter how clever the rider is or how well advertised the Light Tripping gizmo may be.

If a loop detection intersection's sensitivity setting is slightly out of adjustment the side stand, kick stand or steel toed safety boot may put it over the edge. If the sensitivity adjustment is way off, or the loop is degraded or damaged then nothing short of 3k lbs of vehicular mass will get it to trip. If it requires more than that the DOT would be there to fix the intersection. Here in New England where the roads suffer from frost heaves and extreme temperatures it is not uncommon for the loops to be degraded or broken. Very heavy truck traffic on a roadway not designed for the load will also break the loop.

 

[k7lvo]

OK. I may have had a drink...

Seriously.

Don't run a red light.

If ya sit too long, make a right turn an a u trn.

I dare ya!

Jackie still loves me...

Most places that can get you an award for "bypassing" (I don't remember the exact wording) a traffic control device and/or an illegal "U" turn.

 

[MojaveFJR]

I'd be leery doing this at any intersection with cameras. How do you prove you were there for "reasonable amount of time"?

 

[Harald]

I'd be leery doing this at any intersection with cameras. How do you prove you were there for "reasonable amount of time"?

Around here, many (most?) cameras are actually video cameras that would have no problem showing how long you were sitting there. I didn't realize that until we received a citation at the house in the name of my bed-ridden, alzheimer aflicted mother in law for making a right on red without stopping. My wife had recently sold her moms car and the new owner hadn't transfered title yet. I checked the online link with the citation and watched the video of her old PT Cruiser rolling through a red light while making a right turn.

But I'm sure many localities still have the single photo cameras....

 

[SacramentoMike]

.

Interesting timing. This was in my email inbox today. More pending legislation, same subject. This one's in Georgia. The article also states:

"Eight states -- including neighboring North Carolina and South Carolina -- now give some form of that consideration to bikers, according to the American Motorcyclist Association and a government website for the state of Missouri. The Kansas
https://g.ajc.com/r/F4/Legislature
https://g.ajc.com/r/F4/just approved a similar measure last month."
 
Seems like a common-sense issue to me. Too bad that's not more common.

 

[Spud]

We've got it on the books here in Idaho. We had a Governor that was big into biking a few years ago. It was pretty cool--he was personally on the cover of the state Safety guides etc. on his bike...

Anyway, our version states:

Idaho Statutes

Title 49. MOTOR VEHICLES

Chapter 8. SIGNS, SIGNALS AND MARKINGS

Current through 2011 Idaho Laws, Chapter 24

§ 49-802. TRAFFIC-CONTROL SIGNAL LEGEND ....

(e) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the driver of a motorcycle approaching an intersection that is controlled by a triggered traffic-control signal using a vehicle detection device that is inoperative due to the size of the motorcycle, shall come to a full and complete stop at the intersection. If the signal fails to operate after one cycle of the traffic signal, the driver may proceed after exercising due caution and care. It is not a defense to a violation of section 49-801, Idaho Code, that the driver of a motorcycle proceeded under the belief that a traffic-control signal used a vehicle detection device or was inoperative due to the size of the motorcycle when such signal did not use a vehicle detection device or that any such device was not in fact inoperative due to the size of the motorcycle.

 

[wheatonFJR]

... It is not a defense to a violation of section 49-801, Idaho Code, that the driver of a motorcycle proceeded under the belief that a traffic-control signal...

What does this section above refer to? Failure to yield??

 

[SacramentoMike]

... It is not a defense to a violation of section 49-801, Idaho Code, that the driver of a motorcycle proceeded under the belief that a traffic-control signal...

What does this section above refer to? Failure to yield??

Looked it up for you. Idaho Vehicle Code sec. 49-801

So running a light is a violation of that section. And it's not a defense to say you just didn't "believe" it would read your bike. You've got to sit through the full cycle, proceed with caution, etc. And it's always going to be your fault if you pull this and get hit. Just means you didn't use enough "due caution and care."

.

 

[wheatonFJR]

... It is not a defense to a violation of section 49-801, Idaho Code, that the driver of a motorcycle proceeded under the belief that a traffic-control signal...

What does this section above refer to? Failure to yield??

Looked it up for you. Idaho Vehicle Code sec. 49-801

So running a light is a violation of that section. And it's not a defense to say you just didn't "believe" it would read your bike. You've got to sit through the full cycle, proceed with caution, etc. And it's always going to be your fault if you pull this and get hit. Just means you didn't use enough "due caution and care."

.

Thanks Sac Mike.

 

[Spud]

That is the way it works. I've done it before too. If I'm the only thing on a signal that won't go, after one cycle I yield and go. Typically occurs on a protected left when no one comes up from behind while waiting.