I ran a red light today

Joined
Oct 15, 2007
Messages
1,650
Age
82
Location
Alief, TX, USA
Bike
ST1300
STOC #
7461
Ran a red light today - on purpose! On my way to weekly lunch with the bunch (fellow riders), I came to a traffic light at a T junction. I was on the street that ends at the T, stopped in a left turn lane. I observed the traffic signals cycle a time or two to give a red light for traffic approaching from my left along with a green left turn light for traffic approaching from my right. Never had a green light or left turn arrow for my part of the T, and no cage approached the light from behind, so after a few minutes I realized that I wasn't going to get a green while I was parked there on my nonferrous motorcycle. BTW, the traffic lights also had traffic cameras. I had a choice; I could either make a right turn from the left turn lane and ride a few hundred yards to get to a U-turn opportunity, or simply make an equally illegal left turn in against the light and continue to my destination. I chose the latter, I figured if I get a ticket in the mail (not very likely) it should be easy to get out of paying any fine.
 

8-BALL

GeriatricMutantNinja Norwegian
Joined
Mar 1, 2007
Messages
227
Age
80
Location
Des Moines, IA
Bike
ST1300 - NT700
STOC #
7344
Or put a glove over the license tag..... never E-Z to talk to the bureaucracy about getting out of a ticket.
 

ToddC

Site Supporter
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
4,158
Age
60
Location
Seven Bays Wa
Bike
2006 ST1300A
WA law allows bike riders to do exactly what you did with no repercussions.....:)

ToddC
 
Joined
Feb 8, 2016
Messages
228
Location
Ohio
Bike
No bike
STOC #
8899
Always annoying, I've made the same decision as you several times but never where a camera was involved, I doubt you'll get a ticket either, and would like to think you'll be able to talk your way out of it if you did. Interesting that WA has addressed the issue, rare that government does anything to resolve problems....
 

lti_57

Above the center of the Earth
Joined
May 26, 2009
Messages
61
Location
SPokane,WA.
Bike
95 ST 1100
WA law allows bike riders to do exactly what you did with no repercussions.....:)

ToddC
I have done this before they past the law. I think most of us have. But nice to see some logical thinking bureaucrat got this past.
 

Scooter

This space for rent...
Joined
Oct 12, 2005
Messages
1,779
Location
Germantown, WI
Bike
2019 BMW R1250RT
STOC #
5929
WA law allows bike riders to do exactly what you did with no repercussions.....:)

ToddC
+1. Same here in WI as long as you wait a minute at the stoplight first.

BTW, I've been known to count fast...
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
8,114
Location
Cleveland
Bike
2010 ST1300
I asked this question a while ago LINK . The consensus was that it is legal to treat the stoplight as a stop sign after waiting a cycle or two. If you get the ticket, you should be able to explain the situation in a letter, but if you are dragged into court, you will probably need an attorney. There are relatively inexpensive magnets that mount on the bottom of a bike to trigger the loop embedded in the road. Fortunately, in Ohio, those cameras are unconstitutional.
 
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
3,508
Location
kankakee
Bike
R1200rt
Illinois law for light sensors has been passed, I am sure other states have the same or similar,, Illinois is usually last to do anything.. State Rep. Dan Beiser (D-Alton) says the new law means bikers can go through a red light if they wait a reasonable amount of time, but that amount isn’t yet defined.
“A reasonable amount of time, which was not defined in the bill, will be 120 seconds,” says Beiser. “So two minutes, that’s what we’ve come to agreement on.
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
2,028
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
Bike
91 ST1100/06 ST1300
There are three lights in my immediate neighborhood that do this. Simply don't recognize the bike is there. Local police understand this...rule is that if you wait two cycles without getting a light, you can proceed when it's safe. Most of the time there are cars there with me and it's no problem. I have reported the issue multiple times but I continue doing so to keep my name on an active report. Only a few conversations with police...no tickets.
 
Joined
Jun 19, 2008
Messages
1,253
Location
NSB Florida
Bike
2018 GL1800 DCT Tour
BTDT.

On another note. Once I was the first person to stop at a light that had just turned red. As soon as I stopped I heard tires squealing, I looked in my mirror and saw a Dodge pickup pulling a trailer and swerving coming up on me fast. Quick traffic check and blasted through the intersection. I remember thinking that if there had been a red light camera it wouldn't have captured the situation and I would have gotten a ticket.
 
Joined
Apr 25, 2007
Messages
4,950
Age
62
Location
New Jersey
Bike
st1300 '04
STOC #
7163
Don I do the same here as well. Before DOT responds to a complaint and retunes the sensor you can try a few things. The issue isn't an aluminum engine, a properly installed loop should be able to pick up a bicycle. Magnets can't help you they don't work that way. If it's a box cutout loop, stop near the edge by the cut out. If it's a box cut out with an cutout thru the center (like a boxy figure 8) stop over the center cutout. If the cuts are diag stop in the center. .02 it should be relatively easy and maybe cheaper to install and maintain a camera that recognizes vehicles and pedestrians and not OCR license plates in states that prohibit that.
 

The Dan

The Dude Abides
Site Supporter
Vendor
Joined
Jul 8, 2009
Messages
1,256
Location
Watertown SD
Bike
2009 ST1300 ABS
STOC #
7982
SD passed a law that motorcycles can run the light after a stop and no traffic is present.
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2011
Messages
255
Location
Yorkville, Illinois
Bike
2010 ST/2002 GL1800
I had to look this up for the GWRRA folks that I ride with. To re-enforce what Al ST1100 posted.
NOTE: The bill is rather long so I copied and pasted below the specific mention regarding Motorcycles
Public Act 097-0762

SB2528 Enrolled LRB097 14717 HEP 59704 b


AN ACT concerning transportation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. If and only if House Bill 2860 of the 97th
General Assembly becomes law, the Illinois Vehicle Code is
amended by changing Sections 11-208.6 and 11-306 as follows:

(625 ILCS 5/11-208.6)
(c-6) A county, or a municipality with less than 2,000,000
inhabitants, including a home rule county or municipality, may
not use an automated traffic law enforcement system to issue
violations in instances where a motorcyclist enters an
intersection against a red signal indication when the red
signal fails to change to a green signal within a reasonable
period of time not less than 120 seconds because of a signal
malfunction or because the signal has failed to detect the
arrival of the motorcycle due to the motorcycle's size or
weight.
 
Top Bottom