View Full Version : traffic light sensors
marc novataken
10-03-09, 05:39 PM
just a quick one. driving home today i went through a red light:cry: didnt mean to was having problems with my car so was concentrating on that. only been red about half a second. lights had sensors on the top but not a camera. am i looking at points and a fine, or a lucky escape?
Pistol Pete
10-03-09, 05:45 PM
If it didnt have a camera not a problem i wouldnt have thought.
dj_wudgey
10-03-09, 05:48 PM
yea i dont think youll have a prob mate!!
marc novataken
10-03-09, 05:49 PM
good good i hope not well scared now lol
brainsnova
10-03-09, 05:53 PM
its a sensor that the police and ambulance can send a signal to change the lights to green.
its a sensor that the police and ambulance can send a signal to change the lights to green.
It's not it's a Ka band radar device to detect oncoming traffic i.e waiting traffic, used for sequencing and/or crossings. Other lights use an induction loop in the tarmac.
I'm not sure we have any emergency light change systems in the UK.
It's not it's a Ka band radar device to detect oncoming traffic i.e waiting traffic, used for sequencing and/or crossings. Other lights use an induction loop in the tarmac.
I'm not sure we have any emergency light change systems in the UK.
Absolutely correct bud and no matter how many times i tell people this they do not believe me at all, and most of my mates insist that if you flash your headlights at them whilst approaching then the sensors think youre an emergency services vehicle and change accordingly!
Absolute tosh but noone seems to believe me of this lol
Back on topic, if its not had a red light camera stationed on the lights (seperate yellow camera on a blue pole like a truvelo) then youre fine bud!
There is actually a traffic light set near me that changes if you flash at them, it's a really weird road though, single lane with a little tiny bridge over a railway that goes between 2 backroads, and it has to have a traffic light on the end of someones drive in the middle too! lol
Iirc they flash twice like a standard gatso so if you didn't see that then you'll be ok
marc novataken
10-03-09, 06:37 PM
so i should be in the clear then? thanks people
i don't think i've ever read so much rubbish about traffic lights before....
if emergency services could tweek the lights in some secret way, why do they always give it blues & two's even when they are on their way to a tea break???????
traffic light cameras look like a mini gatso.
all traffic light phases are set by local council staff in conjunction with contractors, why else do you think they are so screwed up?????
brainsnova
10-03-09, 07:13 PM
i was told a lie lol
my mate flashes at them, not to make them think hes emergency services, just so they know hes there waiting, at like 2 am where the roads are empty, i had to do it on my bike once, as the sensors didnt "see" me waiting lol, turned around flashed them, as i was waiting at least 5-8minutes lol and they changed
the sensors actually sense movement, not lights.......
PMSL at flashing lights at a radar device lol Reckon you could confuse a stealth bomber with a headlight :p lol
Oddly a guy from one of the traffic centres was on telly this morning debunking the whole head light flash thing and chuckling to himself.
I do wonder if schools are still teaching science....
Absolutely correct bud and no matter how many times i tell people this they do not believe me at all, and most of my mates insist that if you flash your headlights at them whilst approaching then the sensors think youre an emergency services vehicle and change accordingly!
Absolute tosh but noone seems to believe me of this lol
lol Myths and Folklore FTW
DW-Nova
10-03-09, 11:13 PM
Not trying to be a know it all but when you come upto temporary traffic lights, i.e the one's used for small scale roadworks they definetley do change when you flash your headlights at them, either they work on a different principle to stationary ones or it's just some sort of strange coincidence ?? Regarding the actual topic in hand i wouldnt worry mate, sound like you'l get away scott free, although you want to use it as a valuable lesson to pay more attention as someone else could be doing exactly the same thing and bang !
^^^Nope, they all have sensors on the tops of them to detect a large object (usually a car funnily enough) they dont operate by having lights flashed at them at all!
brainsnova
10-03-09, 11:23 PM
temporary lights are **** so i just go through them if the road is clear.
Ones near me don't have sensors in top, they're on the bend in front of you as you pull up to them, and they definitely change when you flash them unless someone else is coming, didn't believe anyone until I tried it! lol Is a really weird set of lights though
temporary lights are **** so i just go through them if the road is clear.
You can get done for this the same way you would for jumping any red light, my mate was done last week for it and became the proud owner of three extra points on his licence and a £60 fine aswell!
brainsnova
10-03-09, 11:44 PM
You can get done for this the same way you would for jumping any red light, my mate was done last week for it and became the proud owner of three extra points on his licence and a £60 fine aswell!
ok now i ll stop i always thought they were courtesy lights. i want to keep my clean licence but my asbo's still a problem lol
There was an old wives tale years back that if it were late on a night and there were no oncoming vehicles you could jump them but iirc the thread was on here and it came to a conclusion that it was still a normal set of lights, this was proved by my mate getting done for it the other night!
Shaun_O'Donnell
11-03-09, 06:05 AM
If you're at the head of a queue stopped at a red light and there's approaching emergency vehicles from behind, but cannot get through due to the stopped traffic, if you proceed through the red light to let them through, you can be done for it. For instance with one of the traffic light cameras.
Ones near me don't have sensors in top, they're on the bend in front of you as you pull up to them, and they definitely change when you flash them unless someone else is coming, didn't believe anyone until I tried it! lol Is a really weird set of lights though
they could have under the road loops....
temporary lights are **** so i just go through them if the road is clear
if you do tricks like that in the day when people like me are working in the highway, I hope someone chucks a cone at your car, which is what I do when some idiot does that....... I also spend some time making sure the light phases are working correctly for each job, you'd be amazed how many just plug them in & switch them on
Simon 1867
11-03-09, 10:20 PM
[quote=mowgli]i don't think i've ever read so much rubbish about traffic lights before....
if emergency services could tweek the lights in some secret way, why do they always give it blues & two's even when they are on their way to a tea break???????quote]
Just to set the record straight..we dont use blues and twos when traveling to a tea break,Its against the law to use them when not on an emergency call. not a smart comment.:mad:
The fire brigade can opt to install device in the station which will change the traffic light to green if they press a button before they leave the station on a emergency call, the fire engine has a sensor which is picked up by the traffic light as we pass, then it re-sets its self.
If you're at the head of a queue stopped at a red light and there's approaching emergency vehicles from behind, but cannot get through due to the stopped traffic, if you proceed through the red light to let them through, you can be done for it. For instance with one of the traffic light cameras.
This is true, there was a thing in the local rag about it a while ago. Some poor bloke moved over the line to let an ambulance through - which you could even see on the pictures taken - and the court upheld his fine & points.
Fcuk them, if an emergency vehicle comes up behind me at a red light, I will refuse to move until its green. Selfish, but laws are laws and clearly the courts think I should hold them up rather than cross a red light.
marc novataken
11-03-09, 10:39 PM
This is true, there was a thing in the local rag about it a while ago. Some poor bloke moved over the line to let an ambulance through - which you could even see on the pictures taken - and the court upheld his fine & points.
Fcuk them, if an emergency vehicle comes up behind me at a red light, I will refuse to move until its green. Selfish, but laws are laws and clearly the courts think I should hold them up rather than cross a red light.
+1 ive done it before and will do it again. its horrible and selfish but i cant afford the points
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