Traffic lights not recognising cyclists?

[mangid]

Sat at a set of lights this morning for about five minutes, as the lights on the crossing road turned to green about six or seven times. Tried moving back a bit then figured the sensors must only recognise cars. Does this happen a lot or was I at a set of rubbish lights? Eventually got going when a truck pulled up behind me and lights went to green.

Happens to me occasionally, and as I'm an early starter waiting for a vehicle to come along and trigger it can be a long wait. When it does, I typically wait like a prat for ages, and then proceed extremely slowly across (without dismounting). It typically happens at major junctions with extremely good sight lines. When I've reported them via the councils online form for road faults they've been fixed pretty promptly. Mostly I've got the lights I hit down to a tee, and when they're red on approach I can change my speed to guarantee they're green when I arrive at them :-)

On the plus side the traffic lights on the busway trigger from IR as a fallback (I'm led to believe), which works well for a toasty cyclist when they hit Milton

 

[fossyant]

I have one on my route back to office from the city centre. It's a right turn off a dual carriageway, but is only set off by cars. I either turn left at the junction then u-turn and await the light sequence, or hop onto the crossing, and cross into the side road that way. It's too busy to risk running the lights.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

I don't know exactly how they're done in the UK, but in Australia, the induction loop sensors are generally identifiable by a rectangle cut into the road, with the rectangle being bisected by a line parallel to the kerb. I find if I roll my bike slowly over this centre cut line, it will trigger the sensor, although there are a few exceptions, and for those I just end up pressing the pedestrian crossing button.

 

[sazzaa]

Nope - don't work. Don't care how many people believe it does- it don't. 20 years of installing and maintaining the things is a bit more experiance than most and the sensors on the TL pole do NOT detect flashing lights [still, believe what you will].
The pole mounted detectors usually sense an object approaching at a speed of about 5 - 10 mph so don't creep up to them and they are angled not to detect things in the gutter/ on the footpath.
If inset type in the road [look for the tell tale black shape cut into the road surface] be carefull that the last on [at the stopline] is not a square. If it is try to stop on the line of the cut [on top of the cables] not in the centre of the "box" where your tiny mass of metal may be too far away from the cable to be detected.
Also be aware that many sets in the rush hour are under control from the traffic control offices [every city has them] and designed to speed the flow of traffic into [or out of] the centre. and may well not "service" a side road for several cycles. Also in a large junction if the main roads are running to "max" ie maximum time allowed by the time a small side road gets a green the time can SEEM to be forever [just try sitting still waiting for five minutes - it can feel like hours].
Finally not all TL engineers are "stupid" or "dumb" and many of us ride bikes too and take care to make sure the lights DO detect bikes. I'm sorry but 90% of the time the problem is impatience. "Oh I waited X minutes and nothing happened then a car came along and they changed" - the clue is in the "I waited X minutes".
Finally there are only three possibles
1 - there is a fault on your approach detection. This would cause a PD [permanent demand] and the lights would always assume there is something there [a fail safe]
2 - there is no fault and you are impatient [sorry but often true].
3 - the detection has not been set up/maintained correctly and needs to be reported to the council
If all else fails I would just hop off and walk the bike across. For the sake of a few seconds is it really worth taking a risk ? After all we need more cyclists - not more accidents.

It's this set... https://www.google.com/maps/@57.154...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1stAMJ52oeSU7B8JLxyCjMMw!2e0

 

[HLaB]

Been tons of threads on this subject. You basically have to ensure you know how they are sensored Microwave (box above the lights) or inductive loop (wire in the ground). Microwave you approach in the middle of its field of view and it usually triggers, with loops you have to make sure you ride over them to get them to trigger. At the end of the day though sometimes they are not sensitive enough and reporting to the council may result in that sensitivy being increased. The other option is to activate a pedestrian push button if present.

 

[HLaB]

It's this set... https://www.google.com/maps/@57.154...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1stAMJ52oeSU7B8JLxyCjMMw!2e0

They look to be the microwave detector type, approach them in the centre of the detectors field of vision.

 

[Svendo]

I remember some lights near where I lived in Holland a few years back that had a button for the cyclists and brommers (mopeds) to press.

This junction near me has a button for cyclists and for horse riders! It looks like it has motion sensors on the top of the lights for cars. Also lots of informatrion in this recent thread.

 

[MontyVeda]

This junction near me has a button for cyclists and for horse riders! It looks like it has motion sensors on the top of the lights for cars. Also lots of informatrion in this recent thread.

there's a contra flow cycle lane near me which ends with a traffic light controlled junction onto the one way system. The problem is the lights are only controlled by the pedestrian crossing's buttons, which are on the main road and not this side road... no peds crossing = no green light for cyclists

 

[Rancid]

Maybe the traffic lights decided to ignore the cyclists for a change.

 

[mr_cellophane]

I was out with a group of about 20 and we got to a set of lights which we didn't set off. After a couple of changes on the other sets, we parted and let a car move up and set the sequence going.

 

[HLaB]

Thats another reaaon why I don't always push through to an ASL, I let a car trigger the lights.​

 

[HLaB]

@User it seems more like to me the must get in front/ to the ASL folk are more like children ;-)

 

[HLaB]

@User I'd rather be practical, I want to get through the set of lights immediately, not possibly in 6months, if a car is there to trigger them, I let them, if not I'm not bothered. ;-)

 

[Psycolist]

I've got 2 sets of lights in my home town that try as I might, I cant get them to recognise the presence of bikes. I was seriously interested in the info from 'the expert', but would like to know who any such problems should be reported to. One of these sets is at the on a VERY steep hill, and pulling away on a bike is a challenge. Non-compliant lights mean that I now dismount as I approach them. Its situated on a delivery road which links to a cycle path. I have to wait for one of the trucks using the delivery road to trip them, or ride through a red light. I realize the local authority are the people to speak to, but which department or section. I have made several phone calls in the past and just ended up being pushed from section to department to person without anyone actually putting their hands up and saying 'ITS ME' so anyone know what section, department or jobsworth I should speak to please.

 

[Soup890]

Nope - don't work. Don't care how many people believe it does- it don't. 20 years of installing and maintaining the things is a bit more experiance than most and the sensors on the TL pole do NOT detect flashing lights [still, believe what you will].
The pole mounted detectors usually sense an object approaching at a speed of about 5 - 10 mph so don't creep up to them and they are angled not to detect things in the gutter/ on the footpath.
If inset type in the road [look for the tell tale black shape cut into the road surface] be carefull that the last on [at the stopline] is not a square. If it is try to stop on the line of the cut [on top of the cables] not in the centre of the "box" where your tiny mass of metal may be too far away from the cable to be detected.
Also be aware that many sets in the rush hour are under control from the traffic control offices [every city has them] and designed to speed the flow of traffic into [or out of] the centre. and may well not "service" a side road for several cycles. Also in a large junction if the main roads are running to "max" ie maximum time allowed by the time a small side road gets a green the time can SEEM to be forever [just try sitting still waiting for five minutes - it can feel like hours].
Finally not all TL engineers are "stupid" or "dumb" and many of us ride bikes too and take care to make sure the lights DO detect bikes. I'm sorry but 90% of the time the problem is impatience. "Oh I waited X minutes and nothing happened then a car came along and they changed" - the clue is in the "I waited X minutes".
Finally there are only three possibles
1 - there is a fault on your approach detection. This would cause a PD [permanent demand] and the lights would always assume there is something there [a fail safe]
2 - there is no fault and you are impatient [sorry but often true].
3 - the detection has not been set up/maintained correctly and needs to be reported to the council
If all else fails I would just hop off and walk the bike across. For the sake of a few seconds is it really worth taking a risk ? After all we need more cyclists - not more accidents.

I have just read this. This is the most educated answer I have come across. Not only have you taken time to go into detail. You have displayed knowledge and wisdom. To keep it short. We need more people like you.