Does flashing your lights, or rolling back and forth at red lights REALLY make it change faster?

[aphex]

I'm impatient, i admit it.

But i noticed tonight that when i flashed my brights at a semi-stale red light, it changed a second later. Was this cooincidence or does it work on some lights?

Also, Does backing up and rolling foward REALLY make the light think there is more cars there and needs to change faster?

 

[BenRosey]

That is an age-old question. I wonder if any civil engineers lurk around here and know the answer to that.

I play it cool and just sit there.

 

[yujin]

It works on all lights. It fools the signal into thinking you're an emergency vehicle.

 

[SWirth86]

Nope.

I hate it when people stop about 1/4 to 1/2 of the way on the sensor at a left turn, and miss the light.

 

[iamme]

Originally posted by: yujin
It works on all lights. It fools the signal into thinking you're an emergency vehicle.

whaaat? no way....

 

[Pr0Hawk]

Man.....you gotta stop posting tonight

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Pr0Hawk
Man.....you gotta stop posting tonight

Im trying to keep my mind off my girlfriend.

 

[KingNothing]

It depends on the intersection and what sensor the light is using. If the light has a camera mounted on it, it responds to flashing light. Normally the flashing light is provided by your turn signal, but I suppose flashing your brights would work too. Most older intersections use an electromagnetic field that is tripped when a large hunk of metal (i.e. your car) moves through it. Some use a weight sensor.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: KingNothing
It depends on the intersection and what sensor the light is using. If the light has a camera mounted on it, it responds to flashing light. Normally the flashing light is provided by your turn signal, but I suppose flashing your brights would work too. Most older intersections use an electromagnetic field that is tripped when a large hunk of metal (i.e. your car) moves through it. Some use a weight sensor.

The 3 black little lines in the road are the weight sensors, correct?

 

[iamme]

Holy crap, I've gotta try this.

 

[Grey]

Kingnothing has the best explanation so far. And I have been on weight sensor lights with my motorcycle. It sucks because they don't freaking change!

 

[aphex]

I should go down there with my digicam a little later when the traffic thins out and take a movie of it.

 

[brtspears2]

I dont think it would change at all, these things change whenever.

Besides cops/firefighters/EMT's just use their "other" lights to get by.

 

[deerslayer]

That would be cool if it did. I wish more people on this planet understood the fact that if you pull ahead onto the white line it makes the light change. My dad had to get out of his truck one day and tell a little old lady that the light was never going to change if she didn't pull forward. We were at a four way intersection and she was about 6 feet behind the line and the left turn would not turn green. :|

 

[iamme]

are you sure it's not just a placebo effect? i mean, the light will change eventually. if it's a stale light, you could give the light the middle finger and it'll probably change

 

[AZGamer]

User Rating : 1.00;Lower than AZGamer's
The Bottom Line is Money; Nobody gives a Fsck SOAD- Everytime

That's hard to do.

 

[tweakmm]

if the light is near a hospital, around here atleast, if you flash your lights a couple times the light will turn green because it thinks you are an ambulance

 

[KingNothing]

Originally posted by: aphexII

Originally posted by: KingNothing
It depends on the intersection and what sensor the light is using. If the light has a camera mounted on it, it responds to flashing light. Normally the flashing light is provided by your turn signal, but I suppose flashing your brights would work too. Most older intersections use an electromagnetic field that is tripped when a large hunk of metal (i.e. your car) moves through it. Some use a weight sensor.

The 3 black little lines in the road are the weight sensors, correct?

Hmmm...If they're going across the middle of the road, I would say yes. The electromagnetic sensors generally take the form of grooves in the pavement surrounding a 6x6 square of pavement.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: iamme
are you sure it's not just a placebo effect? i mean, the light will change eventually. if it's a stale light, you could give the light the middle finger and it'll probably change

It wasnt very stale at all really. Prolly waited 30 seconds or so before i flashed them just to see if it would work.

 

[GRIFFIN1]

Most of the redlights around here are just on timers. Eventually, you just learn how to drive to keep from avoiding them. Drive 15 miles an hour for half a mile to catch the first light green. Then floor it so you can get up to 60 mph on a 35 mph road to catch the next one green. Then hit the brakes to get back down to 15 for the next light. Some streets require you to go 10 miles over the limit to catch all the lights green, and some require you go 15 below.

My favorite road was highway 71 going north out of shreveport. For about 3 miles, you had to go 30 in a 45 to catch all the lights green. If I was first at the light, everyone would get pissed at me for only going 30. They would then spead up and get in another lane. Ofcourse, they would get stoped at the next red light while I was still getting there. As soon as I was at the interesection, the light would turn green, and I would roll on by them going my 30 miles an hour. There are something like 6 red lights that are like this, and as long as i wasn't in a hurry, I would just laugh my ass off of the other people that insisted on stoping at every light.

 

[KingNothing]

Originally posted by: iamme
are you sure it's not just a placebo effect? i mean, the light will change eventually. if it's a stale light, you could give the light the middle finger and it'll probably change

Come visit my dorm. Attempt to make a left turn onto 72nd at midnight. Get out of your car and do a rain dance if you like, but that light ain't a-changin' until your turn signal be a-flashin'.

 

[aphex]

Most of the redlights around here are just on timers. Eventually, you just learn how to drive to keep from avoiding them. Drive 15 miles an hour for half a mile to catch the first light green. Then floor it so you can get up to 60 mph on a 35 mph road to catch the next one green. Then hit the brakes to get back down to 15 for the next light. Some streets require you to go 10 miles over the limit to catch all the lights green, and some require you go 15 below.

Hahahahahaha

 

[SuperSix]

Ack.. such misinformation.

The lines you see are the "channels" that are cut into the asphalt to run the sensor wires. Under the center of the lane is the sensor, which senses weight, some sense the large amount of metal above them.

Emergency vehicles have transmitters in them that communicate with the traffic boxes and change the lights as they approach. This applies to large cities only..

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: SuperSix
Ack.. such misinformation.

The lines you see are the "channels" that are cut into the asphalt to run the sensor wires. Under the center of the lane is the sensor, which senses weight, some sense the large amount of metal above them.

Emergency vehicles have transmitters in them that communicate with the traffic boxes and change the lights as they approach. This applies to large cities only..

Are you implying that light sensors don't exist?

 

[MacBaine]

Originally posted by: aphexII

Originally posted by: SuperSix
Ack.. such misinformation.

The lines you see are the "channels" that are cut into the asphalt to run the sensor wires. Under the center of the lane is the sensor, which senses weight, some sense the large amount of metal above them.

Emergency vehicles have transmitters in them that communicate with the traffic boxes and change the lights as they approach. This applies to large cities only..

Are you implying that light sensors don't exist?

Let me clear up the confusion for everybody concerning flashing your lights... Emergency vehicles use what is called an Opticom system. A sensor is mounted on the traffic lights in an intersection. The vehicles have a high-frequency IR strobe light mounted on their roof. When activated, the IR strobe light is set to a specific frequency which the sensor on the lights responds to. Most systems have a small spotlight along with a sensor on them on the traffic light. When the spot light is flashing, it tells the approaching emer, vehicle that it has the right of way, and the light will be green. When the spotlight is solid, the lights will be red in that direction. (The spotlight system was implemented to solve the problem of if two emergency vehicles were approaching the intersection at the same time.)

Flashing your lights to trigger this system doesn't work, it is an urban legend of sorts. Now, on the other hand, you can find plans (read: buy plans) from science magazines and such that will tell you how to build a system that will trigger the Opticom. It is legal to own, but you may get in trouble for using it. (I will let you know if it works when mine is done )