Modern Buddy

Illinois Motorcyclists stopped at a red light may proceed through if it fails to change to green after a reasonable length of time.

Very nice, but whats a reasonable amount of time to the police ?

sickpuppy wrote:Very nice, but whats a reasonable amount of time to the police ?

I would imagine that's up to the individual officer, and how their day is going!

If you see a cop, I'd wait for the light to cycle at least once before going through it...

However, I'd wager that even if you got a ticket for running a red light in an unreasonably short period of time (for example - late night, no other traffic, at a light you know will not register a motorcycle - if you just stop, then go through it immediately after stopping) you could get the ticket waived in traffic court.

HB-2860

Full text available here:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publica ... 1&Session=


The governor had recommended they amend it to be 120 seconds, but it doesn't look like the specific time was in the final version of the bill.

Almost exactly like Missouri's statute. Handy, as I've failed to trigger the sensor near my neighborhood several times.

Helpful to keep a printout of the statute in the pet carrier, just in case some law enforcement officer isn't tuned-in to the new rule.

Virginia passed a similar law this past summer.
The minimum time is 2 cycles of the light or 120 seconds, whichever comes first.

PRODUCT IDEA: A motorcycle light timer for your scooter/motorcycle dash. You tap it when you stop at the light and it beeps and flashes red when your state's traffic light time limit is up. If you had one of these and a cop stopped you, you could just show it to them and they'd probably let you go because that would constitute due diligence in observance of the law.

I hereby place this idea in the public domain. Anybody feels like running with it, go for it!

Better yet, program the various states' laws into it, make it gps aware, and turn it into a smartphone app.

Updatable, of course.

Nice to see that. I have been going through a few late at night for years. But with the advent of the "red-light" cameras I have been more careful. But, yeah Coming home at 2 AM I'm not gonna sit there all night LOL.

Glad to see some states are "fixing" this.

It would be better if the authorities (city or state) were simply required to set the traffic loops sensitive enough to detect smaller vehicles. They ARE adjustable.

Southerner wrote:It would be better if the authorities (city or state) were simply required to set the traffic loops sensitive enough to detect smaller vehicles. They ARE adjustable.

While I completely agree with this in the three years I have lived in the states I have learned that infrastructure is not this country's forte.
I imagine the installation was contracted out without any real negotiation and the company that did the install is the only one allowed to mess with them and would get away with charging a fortune to adjust the settings. Just speculation mind you, but I'm sure it's not a very far-fetched scenario.

It could be in some jurisdictions but my local PIA intersection is maintained by city crews. They've supposedly adjusted it once after I called it in but I can't tell any difference.

In Oklahoma there is a law passed in Nov 2010 allowing motorcyclists to go through a red light after a complete stop and it looks like they haven't been detected. A snippet is below. The law is vague on how long to wait, and no specific stop duration is specified. It does seem that you should only expect a ticket if you don't come to a complete stop or if an approaching vehicle/person constitutes an immediate hazard.

I also have some links with information across the country:
State motorcycle laws (updated; OK change as of Nov 2010 is correct)
http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/asp ... n/laws.asp

AMA Motorcycle Laws By State as of March 2010 (PDF version)
http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/asp ... wChart.pdf

Oklahoma Law
http://www.oklegislature.gov/osstatuestitle.html
http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/OK_St ... s/os47.rtf


SNIPPET FROM OKLAHOMA SECTION 47-11-202, Traffic-Control signals, 3. Steady red indication, d:
d. notwithstanding any other provision of law, the driver of a motorcycle facing any steady red signal may cautiously proceed through the intersection only if:

(1) the motorcycle has been brought to a complete stop as required by subparagraph a of this paragraph,

(2) the traffic control signal is programmed or engineered to change to a green signal only after detecting the approach of a motor vehicle and has failed to detect the arrival of the motorcycle because of its size or weight, and

(3) no motor vehicle or person is approaching on the roadway to be crossed or entered, or the motor vehicle or person is at a distance from the intersection that does not constitute an immediate hazard.

Here is the story on the new law on my local town's Patch
http://lemont.patch.com/articles/new-la ... y-1914676c

Here in Texas:

18. Can I cross an intersection on a red light if my bike doesn't trigger the signal to change?


No, there are no provisions in Texas law that will allow any non-emergency vehicle to bypass a red light. You will need to turn or change lanes legally when safe then find another route. As stated in Texas Transportation Code (TRC) 544.0075 certain traffic-actuated electric traffic-control signals are required to be capable of registering the presence of a motorcycle.
Texas Transportation Code

Straight from the 'Texas Dept. of Public Safety' site.

PeteH wrote: Helpful to keep a printout of the statute in the pet carrier, just in case some law enforcement officer isn't tuned-in to the new rule.

Do most people keep their insurance info in the pet carrier? I was going to question whether a cop would let you get in there to pull out god knows what, but I suppose it might be akin to the glove box for cagers. I keep all my docs in my wallet in my jacket chest pocket, so never really thought about it.

Quo Vadimus wrote:

PeteH wrote: Helpful to keep a printout of the statute in the pet carrier, just in case some law enforcement officer isn't tuned-in to the new rule.

Do most people keep their insurance info in the pet carrier? I was going to question whether a cop would let you get in there to pull out god knows what, but I suppose it might be akin to the glove box for cagers. I keep all my docs in my wallet in my jacket chest pocket, so never really thought about it.

I keep my insurance info in my wallet... but I see no reason why, when asked for insurance and registration, a cop would not allow you to go into your petcarrier/backpack/rollbag/saddlebag for the information he was asking of you. I think it's exactly like the glovebox or center console of a car.

LunaP wrote:

Quo Vadimus wrote:

PeteH wrote: Helpful to keep a printout of the statute in the pet carrier, just in case some law enforcement officer isn't tuned-in to the new rule.

Do most people keep their insurance info in the pet carrier? I was going to question whether a cop would let you get in there to pull out god knows what, but I suppose it might be akin to the glove box for cagers. I keep all my docs in my wallet in my jacket chest pocket, so never really thought about it.

I keep my insurance info in my wallet... but I see no reason why, when asked for insurance and registration, a cop would not allow you to go into your petcarrier/backpack/rollbag/saddlebag for the information he was asking of you. I think it's exactly like the glovebox or center console of a car.

per someone else's suggestion, I use one of those resealable fed ex label envelopes, it's taped to my seat. Keep my registration and insurance in there since I have 5 coats, several different purses and would like lose it eventually if I was always moving it from place to place

Happened to a friend who got pulled over:

"Officer, my wallet is in the glove box. May I please get it out?"

"Proceed." (followed by the unmistakeable sound of the holster being unsnapped)

FYI

In Chicago, you need to wait at least 20s before entering the intersection, due to the red light cams (this includes right turns)