Traffic light trick

brian.o.reilly

Have tried this a few times and I think it works but it could just be coincidental timing.
If you flash your lights a few times at a traffic light before you get to them a sensor automatically turns you light to green, in other words skipping straight to your side of the junction. Its worked early in the morning while it was quite bright out
Anyone else heard of this or tried this?

Kells...

What?!

YbFocus

Ehh no never heard of this? Enlighten us

cormie

Haha, it's true, works with the 2nd set of lights as you come off M11/M50 Northbound at Cherrywood, if you've stopped at the red lights on the off ramp, when they go green accelerate and flash your lights at the next traffic lights 200m away and they'll turn green by the time you get to them

Kensington

Or, maybe it's just the fact you drove over the sensor as you approached the junction which in turn activated the green light for you?

rebel.ranter

I find that a quick "abracadabra" on approach works for some of them too! Try it, out loud with window down.

YbFocus

Could it not just be that the timing of them is such that as one goes green the rest follow a few seconds later, making it seem like as you come to them they are changing for you?? Sligo town seems a lot like this, sometimes you dont need to stop for one if you arrive at the right time. But usually your sitting for a while! Dont think there's anything in this to be honest

brian.o.reilly

Supposedly it for guards, ambulances etc but I thought they had a magnetic thing to change lights for them. I know there are motion sensors at most lights but this seems to skip you ahead of the queue.

Thatnastyboy

Kensington wrote: »

Or, maybe it's just the fact you drove over the sensor as you approached the junction which in turn activated the green light for you?

There's no sensor in the road, but there is one on the lights themselves, rather like the ones on security lights on houses. you know the ones.

They 'see' you coming and flick the lights!

10-10-20

There's an emergency vehicle detection system on most traffic lights.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_signal_preemption#Line-of-Sight

It looks like a camera body with a dark face. This face should filter out visible light and only allow IR light through, but in theory, it may work using the main-beams.

http://www.themirt.com/how.html

brian.o.reilly

Thatnastyboy wrote: »

there is one on the lights themselves, rather like the ones on security lights on houses. you know the ones.

They 'see' you coming and flick the lights!

Actually it probably just triggers those sensors earlier than usual. Either way it saves me petrol by not having to stop at the lights

mike65

Right so we can look forwards to multiple crashes as drivers flash the lights and people step out into the road thinking they've been waved across. This'll be fun!

Oral Surgeon

Maybe flashing the headlights fool the sensor into thinking that a few different cars are coming in that direction and it prioritizes that group for the green...??? I'm gonna look like a total spa trying this one out....

btkm8unsl0w5r4

I am skeptical about the validity of the information in this thread.

cianclarke

Thatnastyboy wrote: »

There's no sensor in the road, but there is one on the lights themselves, rather like the ones on security lights on houses. you know the ones.

They 'see' you coming and flick the lights!

There is a sensor in the road - every, or at least almost every single traffic light has an induction loop sensor, which is a magnetic coil, in the roadway. They're typically behind the white line mind, so if you're on a secondary road late at night it might just trigger the change.

Chuck Stone

The fact that your car happens to be approaching the lights everytime you flash might be a clue as to why they change.

Stinicker

.... sends email to Mythbusters

Thatnastyboy

cianclarke wrote: »

There is a sensor in the road - every, or at least almost every single traffic light has an induction loop sensor, which is a magnetic coil, in the roadway. They're typically behind the white line mind, so if you're on a secondary road late at night it might just trigger the change.

On second thought I don't disagree, but I have looked at spec on lights for work and some of them have had sensors as i described.

laois hibby

i heard of this about 20 years ago in scotland and after flashing at the lights for them to change ( which didn't by the way ) was quickly stopped by the police for flashing at on coming traffic. I told him why i was flashing he just about pissed himself laughing.

coylemj

cianclarke wrote: »

There is a sensor in the road - every, or at least almost every single traffic light has an induction loop sensor, which is a magnetic coil, in the roadway.

It's nowhere near 'every, or at least almost every' junction and nor has it to do with how recently the junction was upgraded, it seems to depend more on the whim of the council engineer who designed the system for that junction and probably the budget for same.

For example the intersection of the new Monkstown relief road and Deansgrange Road seems to have absolutely no sensors whatsoever, it looks like it's driven by a clockwork motor in the sense that it goes through the same cycle all the time regardless of how many vehicles are waiting at each entry point and it doesn't matter if there is nobody turning right, it only shows green to traffic coming from one of the four entry points at a time even though it would make more sense (and significantly reduce waiting times) to let cars coming from opposite directions pass through at the same time when there is nobody turning right, given that there is a separate right turning lane at all four entry points.

What's even more strange is that the junction up at Deansgrange Cross is fully sensor driven and that was upgraded before the Monkstown relief road was completed.

Hal1

I have seen the guards doing this a few times. They come to a complete stop and then flash the roof flashers. The traffic lights turn to green. It's always been at night when there was little or no traffic. Sure why wouldn't you.

TwoShedsJackson

rebel.ranter wrote: »

I find that a quick "abracadabra" on approach works for some of them too! Try it, out loud with window down.

Bonus points if you stick your spare car key fob under your mouth whilst doing this, so the lights change from even further away.

killwill

rebel.ranter wrote: »

I find that a quick "abracadabra" on approach works for some of them too! Try it, out loud with window down.

Now that is a load of bull. Everyone knows that you have to get the child in the backseat to blow the lights to change them.

jenizzle

coylemj wrote: »

For example the intersection of the new Monkstown relief road and Deansgrange Road seems to have absolutely no sensors whatsoever

Which is strange considering the junction of the new road with Newtownpark Ave has sensors everywhere, it's like a disco in the morning with the amount of traffic light changes!

JoeySully

I generally use "The Force" when approaching a red light to turn it to green. Perhaps you are also Jedi but dont know it yet. I would suggest getting your Midi-chlorian counts checked as soon as you can.

I have found this to be a very informative and equally witty thread

biko

It's the anti-radar CD you have hanging from the rear-view mirror that does the trick OP.

-Corkie-

Have I wandered into After Hours without knowing????

galwaytt

biko wrote: »

It's the anti-radar CD you have hanging from the rear-view mirror that does the trick OP.

...nah, it's the anti-static rubbing strip hanging from the back bumper that does it.........


btw, EV's do have a device to change lights in their favour.......

Saruman

An angled laser pointer aimed just so... might work... :pac:

stevenmu

I remember a set of traffic lights I used to go through where the sensor before them was a bit dodgy. If you just drove over it normally it didn't seem to register and if it was a t night you could be sitting there ages waiting for the lights to go green. But if you stood on the brakes going over it the extra pressure seemed to trigger it and the lights would go green straight away.

I wondered a few times if I was mad until I saw other people doing it too.

roberto_98

i am fascinated by all this.

kwalshe

the slip road from chapelizod onto the n4 has a sensor you can activate. Pull over to the far rhs when you get to the top of the hill at the lights and voila.....

cormie

Just to clarify, I was joking in my post above

ThisRegard

kwalshe wrote: »

the slip road from chapelizod onto the n4 has a sensor you can activate. Pull over to the far rhs when you get to the top of the hill at the lights and voila.....

Erm, it's a sensor, that's what they do, activate.

pippip

I've never heard of this on normal traffic lights (i.e. a light sensor) but I know from a builder that the "stop go" systems they use can have a sensor that pics up the emergency vehicles.

Tea drinker

Don't forget there is of course a microphone to go with the camera in the lights.
Just ask the lads to change the lights to change as the lights seem to be stuck on red.
some of them can be quite ignoarant and ignore you, but show them who's boss and you will be motoring in no time.

*some of the mics are mounted high on the light pole, so you may need to raise your voice substantially.

frag420

rebel.ranter wrote: »

I find that a quick "abrakebabra" on approach works for some of them too! Try it, out loud with window down.

How does a greasy kebab change to lights to green?? Maybe its the lettuce??

biko

Lol, Abrakebabra has ruined it for Abracadabra.

rebel.ranter

frag420 wrote: »

How does a greasy kebab change to lights to green?? Maybe its the lettuce??

Green Lettuce go please!

BlackWizard

I often have to beckon drivers behind me to move up onto the sensors because my bike won't work on them. Many women drivers choose to ignore me. Most male drivers move up. Most trucks and buses try to run me over. More often than not I just run the red light if no one is around.

When I'm coming out of work the electric gates never work. What I do is put the front wheel down a pothole right on the sensor and it works then!

coylemj

BlackWizard wrote: »

I often have to beckon drivers behind me to move up onto the sensors because my bike won't work on them. Many women drivers choose to ignore me. Most male drivers move up. Most trucks and buses try to run me over. More often than not I just run the red light if no one is around.

When I'm coming out of work the electric gates never work. What I do is put the front wheel down a pothole right on the sensor and it works then!

Taxis often do that as a delaying stunt at places like Donnybrook church. The taxi is coming into town and turning right at the church, the taxi driver (if he's first at the lights) can simply stay behind the stop line in the right turning lane and during off-peak periods he might be waiting for a few changes of the lights before he gets a filter to turn right.

Of course the passenger doesn't notice the white box with the right arrow painted in the middle of the junction under which there are sensors to activate the filter so the taxi drivers get another few quid up on the meter!

It's also amazing the number of people intending to turn right at this junction who wait at the stop line through sheer ignorance, they wait at the stop line even though the light is solid green and there might be no traffic coming from town yet they still wait for the filter because they don't know the difference between an up pointing green arrow and a solid green light and they don't notice the white box with the right arrow in the middle of the junction.

Victor

TO a degree, the OP is correct. Many traffic lights have a light sensor that detects changes in the lighting immediately before the white line and this triggers the traffic lights to change.

Typically, the sensor looks like a CCTV camera.

BlackWizard wrote: »

I often have to beckon drivers behind me to move up onto the sensors because my bike won't work on them. Many women drivers choose to ignore me. Most male drivers move up. Most trucks and buses try to run me over. More often than not I just run the red light if no one is around.

You need to drive the bike right over the line of the sensor cable (typically marked by a line of pure tar).

cianclarke

coylemj wrote: »

-It's not nearly every junction.
-The one on Monkstown relief road->Deansgrange Road has no sensors.
-Another slightly older road has.

It's nowhere near 'every, or at least almost every' junction and nor has it to do with how recently the junction was upgraded, it seems to depend more on the whim of the council engineer who designed the system for that junction and probably the budget for same.

For example the intersection of the new Monkstown relief road and Deansgrange Road seems to have absolutely no sensors whatsoever, it looks like it's driven by a clockwork motor in the sense that it goes through the same cycle all the time regardless of how many vehicles are waiting at each entry point and it doesn't matter if there is nobody turning right, it only shows green to traffic coming from one of the four entry points at a time even though it would make more sense (and significantly reduce waiting times) to let cars coming from opposite directions pass through at the same time when there is nobody turning right, given that there is a separate right turning lane at all four entry points.

What's even more strange is that the junction up at Deansgrange Cross is fully sensor driven and that was upgraded before the Monkstown relief road was completed.

fyp

Solnskaya

A lot of lights have an inductance loop installed in the road just before the junction. This is basically a loop of heavy wire with a low voltage current feed buried in the road and feeding back to a sensor. This loop can detect when a large metallic object ie car/van/truck passes over it . Many traffic light take their cues from these loops as to volumes approaching the junction and sequence accordingly. It may well be that you are being detected by the loop as you approach, and flashing your lights is just having a coincidental effect. I've installed a lot of inductance loops in warehouses to trigger automatic doors and gates to open when a vehicle approaches. Same system.

Victor

Solnskaya wrote: »

A lot of lights have an inductance loop installed in the road just before the junction. This is basically a loop of heavy wire with a low voltage current feed buried in the road and feeding back to a sensor. This loop can detect when a large metallic object ie car/van/truck passes over it .

The test for these loops is to pass a drinks can over the cable, so it doesn't necessarily have to be a large object.

Bandana boy

On a traffic light green means 'go' and yellow means 'yield', but on a banana it's just the opposite. Green means 'hold on,' yellow means 'go ahead,' and red means, 'where the **** did you get that banana at?'

From the might Mitch Hedburg

Solnskaya

Victor wrote: »

The test for these loops is to pass a drinks can over the cable, so it doesn't necessarily have to be a large object.

Nope, has to be a large object, carsize at least, even bikes wont work, they just don't have the metallic mass and cannot cover enough of the loop.

blue5

I've heard the flashing lights is for Emergency Services, I'm not convinced it always works.

As for the sensor at the traffic lights, I once had to get out at the Malahide Road / Hilton Hotel Junction to ask the guy in the car in front (a learner in fairness) to drive over the re-painted white lines to where the sensors were, to trigger the lights as we had missed 4 changes!

Nobody on the other side of the road (oncoming traffic) moved over the line either, including the taxi driver with a fare too busy chatting away to 'notice' the lights.

I'm always getting funny looks from 'fuddy-duddy ma/pa' at the lights when I drive over the line to the sensor, they seem to think I'm trying to race them or being ignorant of a pedestrian crossing which is another good few feet away.

On a side not I also refuse to let any taxi driver take me down Georges St, ever. It's nothing but a taxi rank, full from one end to the other of taxis bumping up fares. It's the worst road in Dublin City and wherever they pick you up they nearly always insist on using that road.

Victor

Solnskaya wrote: »

Nope, has to be a large object, carsize at least, even bikes wont work, they just don't have the metallic mass and cannot cover enough of the loop.

No, the on-street ones are designed to be triggered by a bicycle. Unless you have carbon fibre wheels.

Solnskaya

blue5 wrote: »

I've heard the flashing lights is for Emergency Services, I'm not convinced it always works.

As for the sensor at the traffic lights, I once had to get out at the Malahide Road / Hilton Hotel Junction to ask the guy in the car in front (a learner in fairness) to drive over the re-painted white lines to where the sensors were, to trigger the lights as we had missed 4 changes!

Nobody on the other side of the road (oncoming traffic) moved over the line either, including the taxi driver with a fare too busy chatting away to 'notice' the lights.

I'm always getting funny looks from 'fuddy-duddy ma/pa' at the lights when I drive over the line to the sensor, they seem to think I'm trying to race them or being ignorant of a pedestrian crossing which is another good few feet away.

On a side not I also refuse to let any taxi driver take me down Georges St, ever. It's nothing but a taxi rank, full from one end to the other of taxis bumping up fares. It's the worst road in Dublin City and wherever they pick you up they nearly always insist on using that road.

Sorry, but when I first read that, I laughed out loud, took it the wrong way altogether.:D