Bizarre run in with the law

[speedknot]

I got stopped today for making a right on red.  I sat through two complete traffic light cycles and never got the green.  I know that bikes don't always trip the road sensor so I went for it.  The cop knew nothing about the road sensors but liked the rational and bought the story anyway. Got lucky I guess.  Maybe I'll invest in one of those contraptions that triggers the sensor.  Does anyone have any experience with these devices?

[mitt]

I thought right on red was legal unless posted otherwise...


mitt

[lethe]

I thought right on red was legal unless posted otherwise...


mitt

depends on where, in New York City it's illegal unless it's posted that you can

[Spidey]

Where you do you live?  

And I'm not sure what's 'bizarre' about that interaction.  Sounds like the officer cut you break b/c you had a legit reason.   That's how it's *supposed* to work.  IIRC, CA law allows you to go through a red light if you don't trigger the sensor and sit through a cycle or two (hmmm, can't seem to find the CVC on that one).

[Turf]

Shop I worked with decided to test all the trigger things at one point.

None of the trigger sensor work...at all.

buy yourself something nice instead.

[TeenRider]

get the emergency flashers that ambulances and police cars have that the things on top of traffic lights see and change your light to green and theirs to red

theyre called traffic preemption transmitter. and are highly illegal for non LEO use.
Get one.

[DukeDenver]

I have this same problem with a lot of the lights in my city in ontario :/  Very annoying, one a few i have to pull over and wait for a car to pass me so I can follow him through after he triggers it. 

The cops around here arent so understanding 

[DoubleEagle]

You did the right thing.

I would think most police Officers would understand ( right   ).

Could you see the   before you made the turn ?

If so I would have motioned to them , pointed to the light , made a gesture like what's going on, and then made the turn.

That way you can always tell them when they stop you that you were trying to let them know that the light wouldn't change or was stuck.

In my State it's legal to turn right on red ...so let's say I want to go left.

I am the 1st in line and the light won't turn , so I turn right , go up the road a little bit and find a place to turn left and then left ,then  go straight.

My $.02

Dolph       [moto]

[pennyrobber]

Cop talk. I wouldn't touch this one with a ten foot night stick. 

[sbrguy]

cop talk.   

in before the threadlock in 3... 2.....1......

[speedknot]

In response:
-For the most part we can make rights on red unless otherwise posted, and unfortunately it was clearly posted "No Turn on Red".  I live on Long Island, about 40 miles east of NYC.

-The cop said he was a few hundred feet behind me when I turned.  There wasn't a car on the road except for him coming up from behind.  I did check my mirrors but didn't see him at the time.  He had an unmarked.

I was completely cool with him and he knew I wasn't some piece of shit just trying to get over.  With the exception of going over the speed limit by a few mph, I normally follow the rules of the road. Its not only for my safety but for the safety of others.  I like my bike too much to wreck it.

[gh0stie]

While riding my bicycle, I learned to trip the sensors in my old apartment complex by dragging my foot for a few inches *at crawling pace*  (granted my riding shoes had metal cleats on the sole)

[Timmy Tucker]

Lemme just say that I bought one of those green light trigger things. Damn thing won't even stick to my bike. The sticky gel shit just isn't sticky enough. And my bike may or may not be pretty make the beast with two backsing dirty.

[Buckethead]

There are two traffic light sensor systems that get used a lot.

One is an infrared camera mounted on the far light, aimed at the "stop zone" on your side of the intersection. As long as some part of your vehicle is hotter than the surrounding air, it'll trigger. This is also the type susceptible to the "preemptive" lights TeenRider mentioned. They work really well on these systems, but if the light is programmed to pick it up, it'll look pretty suspect. It tells the traffic light "brain" to give your side a green light while the other three sides have a red light. Raises some eyebrows. Also, as mentioned, they're highly illegal.

The other one is an inductive coil placed underneath the roadway. It's basically a big metal detector. And inductive coil is laid under the asphalt and connected to the stop light "brain." When it senses a big metal object (or anything that messes with its magnetic field) over top of itself, it triggers the countdown for a green light. The flaw is that they're not usually set to be sensitive enough to pick up a motorcycle. There are things you can do to increase your chances. I've had good luck putting my tires over the sensor cut as I approach the light. I don't know if it's the steel belts of the tires (which will magnetically interfere in spite of being encased in rubber) or if that just puts my iron crank shaft in the path of the flux lines.

Either way, sounds like you got a pretty cool cop.

[DRKWNG]

This thread should be fine as long as the conversation is kept to a constructive discussion of the situation at hand, and does not digress into slandering the law enforcement community.