Motorcycles passing through a red light

[OGRE]

As many of you know I'm a LEO here in South Carolina. During the course of my yearly training I was informed of a new law on the books in SC. It is now legal for motorcycles to proceeed through a red light if the in-pavement sensor fails to trip. You must wait 120 seconds(2 mins) and then treat the red light as a fourway stop. You may only proceed when it is safe to do so. :yahoo:

 

[Bungie]

As many of you know I'm a LEO here in South Carolina. During the course of my yearly training I was informed of a new law on the books in SC. It is now legal for motorcycles to proceeed through a red light if the in-pavement sensor fails to trip. You must wait 120 seconds(2 mins) and then treat the red light as a fourway stop. You may only proceed when it is safe to do so. :yahoo:

I wish Ontario would adopt that. I got pulled over a couple of years ago when I sat through 2 cycles of the light then went through when it was safe to do so. This is after pulling nearly into the intersection and motioning the guy behind me to pull forward so he could trigger the light - he didn't do it, but he did blow his horn at me. Turns out the cop was 4 cars behind me. He gave me **** but no ticket. What else could I do pleaded.

 

[FJR1300A]

As many of you know I'm a LEO here in South Carolina. During the course of my yearly training I was informed of a new law on the books in SC. It is now legal for motorcycles to proceeed through a red light if the in-pavement sensor fails to trip. You must wait 120 seconds(2 mins) and then treat the red light as a fourway stop. You may only proceed when it is safe to do so. :yahoo:

This is also the case in PA. It's considered a broken signal.

 

[BulletBrad]

Good to see that a state is doing something good for us bike riders. Now lets hope those that take advantage of this law remember to look left, right and then left again before pulling threw that red light. I have two lights that never change on my ride home from work. I watch the lights to my left and right change twice and then proceed threw my red one. I've been stopped a few times by the LEO folks here but after explaining the light thing, I've always been let go with no tickets or warnings other than to be safe.

 

[Kevin Daly]

I've been doing that for decades. of course its less likely now that the sensor methods are much better. So good on ya SC only about 20 years too late

 

[Patriot]

Of course, here, the newly installed Traffic Enforcement Cameras make this tricky.

There's such an intersection right across the highway from the I-10 entrance going west which I navigate pretty often.

Commonly leave town between 4-6am heading for a Patriot Guard mission which may start at 8am 100 miles away.

Have learned to hug the curb making the left U-turn when no cars are in sight and the turning arrow signal fails to trip after two cycles of the light. The camera and flash haven't gone off so far that I can tell, but I worry about it. So much that I installed a clear plastic cover over my license plate which prevents "seeing" the numbers from any largish angle from the side or from above.

I've installed those magnet triggering devices on the bottom of my other 2 bikes, but am not convinced they help much to trigger traffic lights that you are there. Have none so far on the feejer.

let's ride safe and be careful out there,

Mike in Nawlins'

 

[slapnpop]

As many of you know I'm a LEO here in South Carolina. During the course of my yearly training I was informed of a new law on the books in SC. It is now legal for motorcycles to proceeed through a red light if the in-pavement sensor fails to trip. You must wait 120 seconds(2 mins) and then treat the red light as a fourway stop. You may only proceed when it is safe to do so. :yahoo:

Not to debate the specifics, but I don't like the way your state's law is written. The imposition of a 120 second delay is fine the first time you go through an intersection. In TN, I used to have a couple lights on the way home from work that NEVER picked me up, and there was never any traffic. The TN law did not require a specific time to way, so I always treated the light as a stop sign. Having to way 2 minutes at the same intersection repeatedly would get old quick.

Perhaps you'll keep this in mind if you see a rider *not* waiting the full 120 seconds.

 

[08FJR4ME]

As many of you know I'm a LEO here in South Carolina. During the course of my yearly training I was informed of a new law on the books in SC. It is now legal for motorcycles to proceeed through a red light if the in-pavement sensor fails to trip. You must wait 120 seconds(2 mins) and then treat the red light as a fourway stop. You may only proceed when it is safe to do so. :yahoo:

I will have to look into this for my state (MA). I have two set of lights next to wear i work and I end up taking the longer way around just to try and avoid these lights. If I do happen to get stuck going through these lights i pull to the side of the road 3 cars lengths before the light and wait for someone else to finally come along. Then i have to wave them in front of me so that they can trip the lights. I get some really wierd looks.

 

[Patriot]

Of course, here, the newly installed Traffic Enforcement Cameras make this tricky.
There's such an intersection right across the highway from the I-10 entrance going west which I navigate pretty often.

Commonly leave town between 4-6am heading for a Patriot Guard mission which may start at 8am 100 miles away.

Have learned to hug the curb making the left U-turn when no cars are in sight and the turning arrow signal fails to trip after two cycles of the light. The camera and flash haven't gone off so far that I can tell, but I worry about it. So much that I installed a clear plastic cover over my license plate which prevents "seeing" the numbers from any largish angle from the side or from above.

I've installed those magnet triggering devices on the bottom of my other 2 bikes, but am not convinced they help much to trigger traffic lights that you are there. Have none so far on the feejer.

let's ride safe and be careful out there,

Mike in Nawlins'

I admit, I've done some creative riding when I know I'm coming to an intersection in the middle of the night. If the light has turned red or is turning red, I head for the right lane, turn right, go 1/2 block, U turn, and come back to the light from right angle to it and can either make the green from there, or if it's turned red, stop, and turn right legally on the red. I guess the U turn part is questionable to a happenstance traffic officer.

 

[Violione]

I don't know what the law is in VA but the light in front of my school completely ignores motorcycles. I will pull up to the light and look at my dash clock, if the damn light hasn't changed in 2 min. I'm running the *******!

One time the school resource officer was parked way back looking for asshats pulling into the school speeding, I was leaving for lunch and the damn light didn't change after waiting for over 2 mins, so I ran the SOB but the LEO did nothing.

Later, I saw him in the hall and I said to him that I was surprised that I didn't get a ticket. He said that most LEO's know the motorcycles are invisible to traffic light sensors and if the cyclist stops, waits then proceeds when it is safe, most LEO's will not give the ticket. However, he said that the State Police will IF THEY are not rider themselves. PHUKERS! :to_keep_order:

 

[ShawnKing]

As many of you know I'm a LEO here in South Carolina. During the course of my yearly training I was informed of a new law on the books in SC. It is now legal for motorcycles to proceeed through a red light if the in-pavement sensor fails to trip. You must wait 120 seconds(2 mins) and then treat the red light as a fourway stop. You may only proceed when it is safe to do so. :yahoo:

They passed the same law in TN a few years ago while I lived there. I hope more states pass it in the near future.

 

[fjrb0]

if the pavement has the sensors buried in it, I try to get right over it and kill the bike, then re-start it. I think the electro magnetic impulse trips the light most of the time. Try it, can't hurt. Works for me MOST of the time, but not always.

 

[C&C]

I'm glad to see the new law. I've had to use it in downtown Charleston a couple of times (used it before it was actually a law a couple times too). Before the law was inacted I even e-mailed the DOT about the intersection but really didn't get any satisfaction. It really is a shame that the people setting up the underground wires can't calibrate the switch to a lighter setting (I'm told that that can make a bicycle trip the sensor if they want). If two minutes is the price I pay, so be it.

 

[MojaveFJR]

Good law to have passed but as stated, you wait your two minutes or close to it and a leo pulls up and you are going through a light. Hmmmm... and then those pesky traffic cams. This will cause some issues here but...

Out here in cali, the state is to replace all the sensors making them more bike friendly.

 

[BikerGeek99]

I read a suggestion on another forum of pulling up to the light and putting down your side stand to trip the sensor for a light.

Any thoughts on that one? I haven't tried it. I just wait and run the light if conditions warrant.

 

[Ignacio]

A handful of states have adopted various red-light laws relating to motorcycles in the past few years and others are considering it.

Some will suggest buying a magnet may help, but I think there's a very fair question that why should cyclists have to go out of their way to do something that basic traffic engineering should cover.

And various police in states without laws usually recommend taking a right and finding an alternate route, however when asked if they wouldn't get ticketed for crossing lanes when they're involuntarily camped in the left turn pocket...they usually are mum on whether that action would attract a police officer or not...let alone if it's as unsafe as going through the intersection that's clear.

And there's a bill in my home state of Washington that's been tried the past 3 or 4 sessions, but hasn't passed principally because the Washington State Patrol hasn't gotten on board.

I read a suggestion on another forum of pulling up to the light and putting down your side stand to trip the sensor for a light.
Any thoughts on that one? I haven't tried it. I just wait and run the light if conditions warrant.

It works great. It kills your engine because of the integrated sidestand switch we have on FJRs and you stand there on a quiet bike muttering to yourself sheepishly wondering if anybody saw it.

The two times I've tried it (not smart enough to learn the first time the bike would die) the light never changed. Pulling up on the corner of a sensor where the wire does a 90 degree bend sometimes makes a difference. Whenever I find an intersection that doesn't sense a motorcycle I contact the jurisdiction that controls the intersection and tell them about it.

In talking with them I also learned that like other technologies sensors continue to improve. They suggested more modern sensor loops will have round score marks in the pavement and have better sensitivity. And some communities use cameras with computers instead of sensors.

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

I am told in Oregon if you find a sensor ignoring bikes you can contact ODOT and they will adjust sensitivity. No personal experience but am told they actually will do it. And the most sensitive section of the in-ground sensors is NOT the center. The engine near but not on the wire (but inside the loop) works well since my rider course instructor suggested it. The FJR and modern bikes have less ferrous metals, making it harder to trip them. But it is the exception rather than the rule for me to sit. If I am caught, I wait until safe, look for LEO's and take my chances.

 

[NoCage]

I read a suggestion on another forum of pulling up to the light and putting down your side stand to trip the sensor for a light.
Any thoughts on that one? I haven't tried it. I just wait and run the light if conditions warrant.

Like Iggy said, lowering the side stand will kill the engine if you're not in neutral. Use the center stand... lower it until contact is made on the road, hopefully near or on a sensor. It works sometimes.

 

[Wicked Webby]

OGRE,

We have had a similar law here in MN for years. Ours doesn't specify a specific amount of time, just a reason-ability that the sensor can/did not detect you. Leaves for a lot of discretion.. Which can be good or bad depending on what side of the law you on.

WW