Making sense of traffic

While we’re on the topic of commonsense traffic solutions for motorcyclists - only yesterday NSW announced that lane filtering will be officially allowed from July 1, 2014 - let’s take a look at faulty traffic lights and a way of getting around them.

In the American state of Washington, the administration has passed a bill which allows a motorcyclist to proceed through an intersection after waiting one full cycle – and “exercising due care” – if the sensors on a traffic signal fail to detect a motorcycle.  

“It becomes quite dangerous because you have cars piling up behind you, they start honking at you, then they start going around you,” said one senator during a debate on the Senate floor.

Captain Rob Huss, of Washington State Patrol, said that if a motorcyclist goes through a red light and is pulled over, the initial roadside conversation gives police officers the ability to understand the problem.

“We have a responsibility to follow up,” Huss added, referring to officers contacting the correct public works department to determine if there is a faulty detection device. Huss testified against the bill.

Most traffic control signal sensors use a magnetic field detection system. Because motorcycles are composed of less metal than cars, they are less likely to trigger the sensors.

The issue of faulty sensors – or ones that just don’t work – becomes particularly acute at times of the day when traffic is light, and this author was always caught out when he finished his deadline shift at Australian Motorcycle News in Melbourne and was trying to get home at midnight or later. The sensor turning right to Warrigal Road was useless, and a few laws were broken along the journey.