Law To Allow Motorcyclists To Run Some Red Lights

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We were going through motorcycle stories with my dad and he gave me some pretty funny advice:

Him: You know what i used to do when i got stuck at a red?
Me: What?
Him: I would get off my bike and walk it through the light.
Me: But thats SOOO dangerous!
Him: Yeah but it was better getting a ticket for J-Walking than one for running a red light!

We had a good laugh but we both suggest not J-Walking your motorcycle through any road/intersection.

I agree with this law, would make city riding less annoying. SLIGHTY less.
 
Complain to your local town/city council to voice your concerns. Some communities have gone as far as marking the stop location with large white circles to indicate the most sensitive location for detecting motorcycles. The stop light areas are magnetic sensors not weight sensors as some might think. Follow this link as it may have some solutions to your concerns > http://www.wikihow.com/Trigger-Green-Traffic-Lights
 
Bottom line is the sensors CAN work, SOME do .....ergo - if it does not work it's defective....proceed as if it's a flashing red light.
Not up to you to try and "fix" a wonky sensor......it's up to the jurisdiction.
 
After realizing the sensors inability to change the light in your favor, it would be safer to observe it as a full stop, check for traffic,, yield right of way where and when necessary and continue then it is to make the right and then execute a U turn. At least while stopped you can safely look both ways as well as ahead with relative ease as opposed to trying to look over your shoulder or behind you to safely make a U turn while already in motion. Of course this is just my own opinion and experience however and I appreciate that others my not agree. Thanks for lending an ear.
 
No.

Firstly, it is illegal to run a red light in every circumstance other than for a reason which would have placed you in immediate fatal danger should you have stopped. (This happens to also be the only valid reason for violating HTA 172)

Secondly, A traffic light is not malfunctioning if it doesn't change with a motorcycle on it. If you were to be pulled over and you said it was defective, and it's proven that a motor vehicle can activate it, you'd be convicted of running a red light. I know a motorcycle is a motor vehicle as well, and most don't activate these sensors, but that's how it is.

Lastly, unless otherwise posted, a U-turn is not illigal. I know there could be a concrete median preventing you from doing this, but those medians only exist in urban areas, and chances are you'll quickly reach another intersection you can cross or where you can make a right turn and once again proceed to perform a U-turn if necessary. And when has it been safer to cross a red light? Cars pop out of nowhere! If you're uncomfortable with making a U-turn, you can find another intersection.

So unless the swarm is right behind you, you may stop, look both ways and cross that red at your own legal peril.

Thanks for reading.
 
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polo said:
... A traffic light is not malfunctioning if it doesn't change with a motorcycle on it. ...
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Here is your score for that assertion: JPW

A traffic light that is made to detect vehicles is, by definition,
malfunctioning when it fails to detect a vehicle that is properly
located in the proper lane and before the stop-line.

We already know what to do when a traffic light malfunctions:
treat it as a flashing red light or a stop sign. When you are
satisfied the light is malfunctioning, wait until the way is clear, then go.

If hassled by a cop, DO SAY that the light failed to detect your vehicle,
so you waited until the way was clear, then proceeded through safely.
DO NOT say that you waited X seconds or Y minutes. If pressed, repeat
that you waited long enough to be certain the light was malfunctioning.

If the cop invites (or orders) you to place your motorcycle where the
sensor failed to detect it, and thereby prove you are telling the truth,
politely decline. You are not obliged to jump through hoops for a cop.

If you still get a ticket, take it to a convenient police station and complain.

By now you realize what JPW means. Just. Plain. WRONG.

You are welcome.
 
Yeah, I have a light near my house that I know won't pick up my bike. If I see any cars nearby that will trigger it for me, I'll wait. But on returns from a late night ride, I stop, check that no cars are around ( you can see for 300m or so every direction), and make my left turn.
 
I've been in a situation before where a car was behind me but wouldn't pull up close enough to get over the sensors. I'd move up, and move up but they still won't budge.

I'd end up having to point frantically at the snesor and somehow "mime" the driver into driving over the sensor.
 
It's all fine and good to run a red that doesn't detect you when it's safe but if you're making a left on one of the ones that needs to detect you before it gives you a left green, you're screwed until a car shows up. Hard to even get back in traffic and go straight if it's really busy. I've gotten caught a bunch of times trying to turn left of make a U-turn from St. Clair to Vaughan. Very frustrating.
 
SkyRider said:
right turn, u turn is way faster easier
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sticker said:
^...not if there is a concrete median for a couple hundred meters
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Or a sign that says no u-turn allowed. That makes it just as illegal as "running a red".

The "malfunctioned" approach is fine and will cover you if you somehow get a ticket.
 
not really. there was someone on here a few years back. they got a ticket for running the red, went to court explained that they waited, stop hand was blinking, then turned back to walk. the light never turned green for them. thus, a malfunctioning light, because the sensor never picked him up. that being said, when its low traffic times i usually just hop off and hit the crossing button, it makes sure the light changes.

Griffin said:
Part of the problem with this is: how long do you need to wait for you to know it's malfunctioning? I sat at a light for what seemed like forever. No one else around and I was just about to blast through when it changed.

I think so long as there is no cop to see you, no camera to record you and no traffic to hit you, all lights are green. If any of the previous three conditions are present though, well, then you're screwed regardless of how long you waited.
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This would be awesome. There are a few lights that don't pick me up on my way home. Actually considering my bike is very high off the ground most lights don't pick me up. If I already know they wont pick me up, it sucks that I have to wait for a while before I can go through the red.
 
Mavelick95 said:
We were going through motorcycle stories with my dad and he gave me some pretty funny advice:

Him: You know what i used to do when i got stuck at a red?
Me: What?
Him: I would get off my bike and walk it through the light.
Me: But thats SOOO dangerous!
Him: Yeah but it was better getting a ticket for J-Walking than one for running a red light!

We had a good laugh but we both suggest not J-Walking your motorcycle through any road/intersection.

I agree with this law, would make city riding less annoying. SLIGHTY less.
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How bout this for a catch?
Definition, “stunt”
3. For the purposes of section 172 of the Act, “stunt” includes any activity where one or more persons engage in any of the following driving behaviours:

1. Driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to lift some or all of its tires from the surface of the highway, including driving a motorcycle with only one wheel in contact with the ground, but not including the use of lift axles on commercial motor vehicles.

2. Driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to cause some or all of its tires to lose traction with the surface of the highway while turning.
3. Driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to spin it or cause it to circle, without maintaining control over it.

4. Driving two or more motor vehicles side by side or in proximity to each other, where one of the motor vehicles occupies a lane of traffic or other portion of the highway intended for use by oncoming traffic for a period of time that is longer than is reasonably required to pass another motor vehicle.
5. Driving a motor vehicle with a person in the trunk of the motor vehicle.
6. Driving a motor vehicle while the driver is not sitting in the driver’s seat.
Click to expand...
 
PandaFu said:
Buddy of mine sat at a red waiting for a left turn once. It was around 1 or 2 in the morning so unlikely that another car would show up where he was. He waited 20 minutes before just going. Hadn't seen one car the entire time.
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20min wow thats about 18 more than I would have
 
imnothng said:
If the vehicle isn't moving, then you are not driving it. Therefore, you can get off your bike to push the crosswalk button.
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Technically you can't abandon your vehicle while it is running AND in the lane of traffic (even though there are no other cars around you in plain sight).
If you're gonna get off to press the crosswalk button....just grow some chest hair and treat the damn light as a stop sign.
I don't see why some people can't compute the common sense used for this action.

Stop at red.
Wait a few minutes.
Look behind you to see if there's a car that can maybe creep up on you and help trigger the sensor.
If no cars around at all, look left, right, left.
Drive straight or make your left turn.
Move on with your life.
Feel like a criminal and smile.
 
A good thing to also remember is that a cop can decide to charge a driver under whatever section(s) under the HTA. A charge is one thing a conviction is another.

Get charged under section 172. Your punishment starts right there at the side of the road. The officer can decide not to show up in court, charges get dropped but you've still been punished anyway...
 
jeero said:
Technically you can't abandon your vehicle while it is running AND in the lane of traffic (even though there are no other cars around you in plain sight).
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Yeah, I was just saying that in response to the bolded section of HTA172 that Bambaataa posted. It says 6. Driving a motor vehicle while the driver is not sitting in the driver’s seat.

Bambaataa said:
Get charged under section 172. Your punishment starts right there at the side of the road. The officer can decide not to show up in court, charges get dropped but you've still been punished anyway...
Click to expand...

Yep, can't forget about that bull.
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