How to make that pesky red light turn green faster

Note this only works in some cities like akron

Rev the motor a little while coming to a stop. There are some cities with lights that have a stop here sign. This is because there are sensors or wire or something in the asphalt that pick up engine electricity/electromagnetic fields. When the sensors notice the extra voltage/increased magnetic action from the alternator they tend to think there is a big line of cars sitting there and change faster.

You can also take advantage of this by letting other cars get to the light before you.this way they trip the sensor, and you can just roll up and through the as it changes. Just watch for yellow lights for intersecting traffic, and flashing crosswalk signals. When they flash that is a sign the light will turn yellow soon.

It's a bit early for an April Fools joke no?

Enyar wrote: It's a bit early for an April Fools joke no?

The concept is sorta sound, there are inductive pickups in the pavement, common moped trick is to zip tie a bigass magnet to the bottom because there isn't enough steel in a 90lb motorcycle to set it off.

Kenny_McCormic wrote:

Enyar wrote: It's a bit early for an April Fools joke no?

The concept is sorta sound, there are inductive pickups in the pavement, common moped trick is to zip tie a bigass magnet to the bottom because there isn't enough steel in a 90lb motorcycle to set it off.

There are no mag pickups in the road around here... it's a proximity sensor on top of the light pole. One common trick I use on a motorcycle is to just look both ways and run the berkeleying light since it never changes unless there is a car in front of me.

Or flash yout highbeams a couple times.

Half a joke?

Mercifully, most of the inductive sensors around here are getting calibrated for bicycles, as long as you place the bike right across one edge of the circle where the windings are embedded...

Not a joke I am just half dumb about the subject I just do it and it works, I will leave the science of it to someone else.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

Kenny_McCormic wrote:

Enyar wrote: It's a bit early for an April Fools joke no?

The concept is sorta sound, there are inductive pickups in the pavement, common moped trick is to zip tie a bigass magnet to the bottom because there isn't enough steel in a 90lb motorcycle to set it off.

There are no mag pickups in the road around here... it's a proximity sensor on top of the light pole. One common trick I use on a motorcycle is to just look both ways and run the berkeleying light since it never changes unless there is a car in front of me.

In Illinois, motorcycles can treat a red light as a stop sign.

beans wrote: Or flash yout highbeams a couple times.

It all depends on the sensor.

N Sperlo wrote: In Illinois, motorcycles can treat a red light as a stop sign.

I never knew that.

Our lone stoplight in town works fine with my bicycle if "tight-rope" down the line in the pavement - even with my aluminum-frame bikes.

Sound practice. Phoenix is littered with buried loops for traffic signals.

Going one step farther: in a dedicated left turn lane if you're the only one stop short onto the second set of loops (farthest from the intersection) leaving the #1 spot open. You'll trigger the left arrow for your turn. Often the left arrow won't trigger with only one car in the front slot as it's expected you'll turn on yellow.

It's part of eco-driving techniques actually.

And here I've run my share of reds when I have too but I know of no law allowing for it....takes your chances...

There are a few lights locally that have the sensor a couple of car lengths back. I think the lights are on a timer until cars are stacked up waiting to turn left, then it will turn quickly or give the green turn left arrow. If I'm first to the left turn lane, I'll hang back over the spot and when other cars pull up behind me I'll slowly roll forward.

Dang! You mean I don't have to sit there until I run out of fuel?

In reply to Ransom :

Most of my pinarello dogma is carbon,even the crank arms,rear mech,ergo shift levers,1 peice handlebar and stem..and sometimes the wheels,not a lot of metal here,so I just wait

Haha! we can see that!

trucke said:

Dang! You mean I don't have to sit there until I run out of fuel?

In Florida you do. Turn right and make a U-turn and that's technically just as illegal as treating a stoplight as a stop sign at 1am on a side street with 0 cars on the road. Both are silly and both techincally (as far as the last time I researched it) going to get you a ticket if a traffic cop with their knit knickers in a knot decide to exceed their quota by handing you a fancy piece of tp to remember them by. Personally, if I don't see any cars coming up to trip the light for me, I'll cross a couple lanes to turn left and make an angry u-turn so that everyone around (no one) knows my displeasure.

I read somewhere else, probably reddit that on left turn lanes in major cities they put a detection loop at the third car back to let the light know to change quicker due to backed up traffic. 

Saved my ass from running a red light after stopping short of a carjacker who was standing in the dark 40 feet back from a left turn signal.  Just as I realized what was going down I gunned the engine and dropped the clutch and a half second after the car started rolling the light turned green.

In reply to RossD :

Well! I have the perfect light to see if that works!

Sucker is 1/2 mile from my house and will keep you there for 3 minutes before changing. I hate it.

Edit: and if it turns red in my face I will turn right and drive 100 feet and make a legal u-turn and go about my day. One day, light, one day....

Soooo yea.

DirtY-MIRT by Bill Swearingen of SECKC is a thing. Pretty sure he served time for it too.

If you want a fun talk, he was at DEFCON last year.