I almost never get a leading green, and sometimes need to wait whole red, yellow, green cycles before the traffic light will notice my FD is there.

Is is just my car, or do others experience this?

 

I can't help you with your FD getting noticed by the traffic lights but I can tell you that the majority of traffic lights in my area are timer based, not sensor based. I hate them. You sit at a light at 2am on my way home from work with no one around waiting for the time cycle to go around. This is when I drive my '05 Titan so I know it's not because the sensor doesn't see me.

 

Sensor lights suck... end of story. I'd rather wait at a light than have some douche pull up to that light and make me slam on my brakes when I'm 20 ft from the light.

 

u kno its really wierd that some one brings this up cuz it happend to me too. i was at a light and had to wait 2 cycles before i could go. oddly enough the light turned green after a large truck stopped behind me...coincidence or maybe our FDs are too small to trigger certain sensors?? idk just a thought

 

The sensors are wheight based so its likely the FD is to light for some sensors.

 

Try driving a motorcycle. I could have the fattest bitch on the back and I still won't trip the weight sensor.

Day or night, it helps to flash my brights while coming up to the intersection. But sense my FD is still pop-up, that could get annoying. I've never had a problem around here, and I take the same route with both the bike and the FD. I highly doubt the FD is too light to trip the sensor.

 

The sensors aren't weight-based. They're induction loops buried into the pavement, which sense metal above them in the same way as a simple metal detector.

My car has no problem triggering any of the sensors around my area. Bikes and scooters are small enough that they might not get picked up by some sensors, but the ones around here seem to be pretty sensitive.

 

There is a particular light in Augusta GA that I avoid altogether because it never is triggered by the FD, a few times at night, when nobody else came along to trigger it, after three or four minutes, I just had to run it.

I'm sure if a cop saw me, I would get a ticket no matter the explanation.

 

Around here I don't see weight-based sensors. I could certainly see how a weight-based sensor might have trouble with motorcycles and light cars.

PA uses induction loop sensors. You can usually see the sawcuts in the pavement where the line is laid in. They work 100.0% consistently. I always laugh at the people to stop too far into the light, go past the loops, and then do that back-forth thing because they're not tripping the sensor. The sensor is one of the first things I look for.

Dave

 

It happens to me when I'm on my VW ghia but with the FD

 

In Northern Virginia we have some lights with sensors that pick up when you are speeding. That light will send a signal to the next light which will break up it's signal pattern.

Bottom line: When you are 20 - 50 feet away from a green light it suddenly goes yellow then red. When you fly through a series of pictures are taken and then mailed to your home along with a fine of $50 and no points.

The pictures are broken down in 10th of a second intervals. Kinda funny/kinda sucks.

Super77