Bizarre run in with the law

Started by speedknot, March 18, 2011, 03:55:32 PM

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Jarvicious

I have an old hard drive magnet stuck to my oil filter (lowest metal part of the bike) and I've never had a problem sitting through lights.  No sticky goo, it's just that powerful that it sticks right on and stays.  Has for a couple of thousand miles. 
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ducpainter

Quote from: Jarvicious on March 19, 2011, 07:20:18 AM
I have an old hard drive magnet stuck to my oil filter (lowest metal part of the bike) and I've never had a problem sitting through lights.  No sticky goo, it's just that powerful that it sticks right on and stays.  Has for a couple of thousand miles. 
There was some discussion a while back about neodymium magnets achieving the same result.
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speedknot

Quote from: Jarvicious on March 19, 2011, 07:20:18 AM
I have an old hard drive magnet stuck to my oil filter (lowest metal part of the bike) and I've never had a problem sitting through lights.  No sticky goo, it's just that powerful that it sticks right on and stays.  Has for a couple of thousand miles.  
Mmmm.  A hard drive magnet?  Not sure if I know what that looks like.  Is it something found inside a typical PC hard drive?  I've seen the inside of a hard drive but dont remember seeing any kind of powerful magnet inside.  I have a few laying around somewhere so I'll pull one apart and check.  If it works for you, its worth trying.  Thanks!
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Jarvicious

The magnets inside HDDs are neodymium magnets.  Strong little bastards. 

I'm a technician by trade so I have all sorts of bum computer parts lying around.  Had a random magnet in my room, found an article about the traffic light sensors, and just threw it on.  I've also heard that killing your bike then restarting it can have the same effect as a magnet.  The starter motor puts out a fair bit of a magnetic field. 
We're liberated by the hearts that imprison us.  We're taken hostage by the ones that we break.

Privateer

Quote from: Spidey on March 18, 2011, 04:16:11 PM
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).

Negative.  Red light is a red light.  The recommendation I've received from LEO is to safely make your way to the right lane, make a right on red, then u-turn.  If it's a T intersection or something, I'm not sure what you're supposed to do.

The neomydiums work pretty good.  I have two of those on my filter and it's pretty rare a light doesn't flip for me now.  Turning off and restarting your bike can yield good results from the starter's EM field for induction loop detectors.

I've also had pretty good luck notifying the city of the problem.  We had one by work that trapped me on an offramp for about 5 minutes until a car came along.  City fixed it within a couple days.
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Spidey

Quote from: Privateer on March 19, 2011, 03:55:32 PM
Negative.  Red light is a red light. 

Yah.  I was pretty sure I ran across a CVC section that said otherwise, but after lookin' around for a bit, I can't find it.  Seems the crack is finally taking its toll on my faculties. 
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the_Journeyman

NC adopted a law allowing motorcycles to run a red if they sit there through two cycles or over 5 minutes.

I'd prefer to try a magnet trick over hoping that I get either a understanding officer or judge.  Knowing most of the officers in my local municipality, I'd be fine if I explained the reason they spotted me running a red.

JM
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Privateer

Quote from: Spidey on March 19, 2011, 04:33:39 PM
Yah.  I was pretty sure I ran across a CVC section that said otherwise, but after lookin' around for a bit, I can't find it.  Seems the crack is finally taking its toll on my faculties. 

There is a section somewhere that talks about a 'malfunctioning' light, but I think that's when the light is completely dead.  I came across is researching the same question and determined it didn't apply to a signal that wasn't sensing a vehicle.
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derby

Quote from: Spidey on March 19, 2011, 04:33:39 PM
Yah.  I was pretty sure I ran across a CVC section that said otherwise, but after lookin' around for a bit, I can't find it.  Seems the crack is finally taking its toll on my faculties. 

Quote from: Privateer on March 19, 2011, 09:12:22 PM
There is a section somewhere that talks about a 'malfunctioning' light, but I think that's when the light is completely dead.  I came across is researching the same question and determined it didn't apply to a signal that wasn't sensing a vehicle.

i found mention from a few years ago that california, instead of allowing non-triggering vehicles to proceed through a red light, enacted a law requiring the systems to detect motorcycles.

not sure what the plans are for retrofitting the existing systems.
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Privateer

Quote from: derby on March 19, 2011, 09:27:24 PM
i found mention from a few years ago that california, instead of allowing non-triggering vehicles to proceed through a red light, enacted a law requiring the systems to detect motorcycles.

not sure what the plans are for retrofitting the existing systems.

My understanding of how induction loop detectors work mean that laws only requires the city/whoever to adjust the detector's sensitivity.  That's usually the problem if it won't change for a bike.  What I've read from city engineers is that some loops are 'turned down' to avoid cross-talk between the different lanes.  Apparently left turn pockets are prone this cross-talk and tend to be set less sensitive.

supposedly there are other systems that use visible light or IR cameras to detect vehicles in a name but I've never seen one.
My fast lap is your sighting lap.

IZ

Quote from: lethe on March 18, 2011, 04:15:02 PM
depends on where, in New York City it's illegal unless it's posted that you can

It's illegal in Ann Arbor and also in some parts of the Phoenix area when coming off the highway.
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Quote from: bobspapa on May 29, 2011, 08:09:57 AMThis just in..IZ is not that short..and I am not that tall.

redxblack

Quote from: the_Journeyman on March 19, 2011, 08:39:54 PM
NC adopted a law allowing motorcycles to run a red if they sit there through two cycles or over 5 minutes.


Ohio has that law, traffic permitting.

Charlief

All the new/rehabbed lights in my area have a painted silhouette of a bicycle on the far right. Stopping on these has helped me.

triangleforge

The worst situation I've ever been in was after running an errand in a local gated community, where they'd put the gate on a fairly steep hill. Going in was fine - I'd been given the access code - but the exit gate (on a steep downhill) was triggered by an induction loop detector with no visible cuts on the pavement to show me where the sensors were. Even though I approached it slowly and stopped at a bunch of different spots where I thought the sensor might be buried, I never did trip it and eventually my fiddling wound up with my front wheel inches from the gate, pointed down a hill so steep I didn't really trust the kickstand, and where I couldn't push the bike back up, even a few inches. I wound up waiting there for about ten minutes, until a car finally wanted to exit the gate & pulled up behind me.

It's a weird situation, but one worth filing away in your head & coming up with a Plan B (In this case, probably make sure I stopped with enough space ahead to U-Turn under power) if you find yourself approaching a possibly insensitive sensor in a spot where you can't turn or back out.
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speedknot

I read up on these inductive coil triggers and then got the chance to speak to one of the guys who installed them.  Same guys that are installing hundreds of red light cameras in my area. [thumbsdown]  From our conversation, he indicated that you need "mass" to trigger the cycle.  He also said that depending on how they are programmed, some will trigger if you drive the motorcycle directly over the loop. 
2001 Duc M750, Harley Forty-Eight, 1976 Honda CB400F-SS, 1975 CB360T