Red Light, Green Light Proposed Law Would Help Washington Motorcyclists at Traffic Lights
If
you’re a frequent road rider, then you know how much of a paincoming to
a stop at a traffic light can be—especially when there are few other
vehicles on the road. You’re just cruising around,
enjoying the day, when you have to come to a stop. There is no one else
on the road, no cars stopped beside or behind you, and you’re
stuck—stuck because your bike along isn’t enough to trip the sensor at
the intersection. And so you wait, and wait, and wait… for the light to
finally turn green.
Jimmy Lovaas, a reporter for The
Olympian, recently wrote an article explaining how the traffic light
triggers operate. Most intersections are equipped with a vehicle
detection system. The light will change faster when a vehicle is waiting
for it. Lovaas wrote that “these ‘demand-actuated’ systems are
notoriously bad at detecting motorcycles because they rely on equipment
to sense a disturbance in a magnetic field.” Motorcycles are not
comprised of enough metal to create the necessary disturbance, so the
system operates as if there were no vehicle waiting for the light to
change.
However, it seems that the senate is looking to do
something to provide some relief to riders stuck at red lights. On
January 21, 2013, an addition was proposed to Senate bill 5141 and the
corresponding House bill 1231. If passed, the change would allow
motorcyclists to pass through a red light “after exercising due care.”
The precise wording of the Senate bill is as follows:
“Notwithstanding
any provision of law to the contrary, the operator of a street legal
motorcycle approaching an intersection, including a left turn
intersection, that is controlled by a triggered traffic control signal
using a vehicle detection device that is inoperative due to the size of
the street legal motorcycle shall come to a full and complete stop at
the intersection. If the traffic control signal, including the left
turn signal, as appropriate, fails to operate after one cycle of the
traffic signal, the operator may, after exercising due care, proceed
directly through the intersection or proceed to turn left, as
appropriate. It is not a defense to a violation of RCW 46.61.050 that
the driver of a motorcycle proceeded under the belief that a traffic
control signal used a vehicle detection device or was inoperative due to
the size of the motorcycle when the signal did not use a vehicle
detection device or that any such device was not in fact inoperative due
to the size of the motorcycle.”
If the Senate bill
doesn’t pass, riders will be forced to continue turning right when they
find themselves stuck—potentially forcing them out of their way just to
get through the light. Some companies manufacture products that are
supposed to help the bike trigger the red light. The Green Light Trigger Hp, available at Eagle Leather for $29.95, uses magnetic technology to trip the vehicle detectors.
We,
like riders all over Washington, will be waiting to see how this
initiative progresses. We’re sick of waiting at red lights, too!
Yet, there’s no denying it: Unless you plan to ride exclusively around the Southern United States, you’ll face some chilly winters. And even before it...
around,
enjoying the day, when you have to come to a stop. There is no one else
on the road, no cars stopped beside or behind you, and you’re
stuck—stuck because your bike along isn’t enough to trip the sensor at
the intersection. And so you wait, and wait, and wait… for the light to
finally turn green.
