Red light green light

[monkey1031 0]

What makes stop lights turn green?

I know they have the metal strips in the road, but what makes those work?


Sorry, I sat at a light way to long trying to make it turn green and it got me to thinkin'.

[plowdirt 0]

Try flicking the high beems a couple times, if that don't work run it.

I don't know what makes um turn green, but I know what makes um turn red, and thats any time anyone needs to get anywhere in a hurry. You know they watch you with those lil cameras they got over every light in town. They must sit there and say hey marvin watch this, red,red,red,red,red hahahahahaha

[wildcard451 0]

Al lot of systems use pressure plates.

[Superman32 0]

Aren't they on timers?

Inveniam Viam aut Faciam
I'm back biatches!

[bumgangster 0]

I think they're magnetic, so when a car, truck, motorbike or any metal object is over them it sets them off.
But I'm just guessing.

[doddy 0]

the weight of the car my dad told me.

unless you are at a major set then they are determined by the time of day as to what secence they will change at.

Maybe its all B/S but that what i was told!

A man who views the world at 50, the same as he did when he was 20, has wasted 30 yrs of his life.

"Muhammad Ali"

[monkey1031 0]

What about for a motorcycle, is that enough pressure?

[doddy 0]

Quote

What about for a motorcycle, is that enough pressure?

Spose coz when they ride up to turn lanes and there are no car's they bloody get the light!

A man who views the world at 50, the same as he did when he was 20, has wasted 30 yrs of his life.

"Muhammad Ali"

[justinb138 0]

From what I've seen, alot are based on timers, some on magnetic switches, and some a combination of the two.

Alot of the busier areas are programmed differently during different times of the day to manage a higher traffic volume (lights stay green along main roads longer for rush hour, etc..). Alot of the ones on busy roads with low-volume intersecting streets are set to stay green all the time until someone pulls up to the intersection at one of the smaller roads. Most of the ones I've seen use magnets in the road. The magnets are about 1/2 in in diameter, and most are hard to see because they are covered with road grime.

Alot of the roads in my area use the magnets, and it's a real bitch at a stoplight w/ a motorcycle because the magnets won't detect the bike there. There are a few companies that sell magnets to stick on the bottom of motorcycles specifically to prevent this.

[dorbie 0]

The thing that detects your car is like a giant metal detector where the metal moves over the detector rather than the detector moving over the metal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_detector

Some lights have a system for emergency responders and it gives rise to the whole flashing light myth. There are lights on fire trucks etc that will signal to lights to change. I think it's some simple infra-red thing (kinda like your TV remote) but I don't know the details. Some guy was caught breezing through green lights wherever he went because he sourced the transmitter from the original manufacturer. It wasn't illegal!

[SansSuit 1]

Quote

What makes stop lights turn green?

I know they have the metal strips in the road, but what makes those work?


Sorry, I sat at a light way to long trying to make it turn green and it got me to thinkin'.

There are different types, but up here in the frozen north where there is snow on the roads for 6 months a year, they use a electromagnetic system to trigger the lights.

As I understand it, the grooves cut in the road are in a circle and the wires therein form a coil. When a big metallic object, like a car moves over the coil, it changes the field, which in turn activates whatever it has to activate in the control box.

I used to do alot of bicycling and would occasionally get stuck at lights because my bike didn't contain enough ferrous metal to trip the thing.

---

Peace,
-Dawson.
http://www.SansSuit.com
The Society for the Advancement of Naked Skydiving

[bluheelrtx 0]

Not always. I used to work the late shift and ride a bike. It would piss me off when I would would head home in the middle of the night and have to sit at a red light for several minutes until I either ran it or a car drove up.

--
Shaggy.

--
Jason
--
Some people never go crazy. What truly boring lives they must lead.

[doddy 0]

Shit thats nasty, i drive a 4x4 so im heavy enough to set em off, but a trick my dad taught me, when the other set is turning red count to 3 and yours will be green works 90% of the time when there are no turning cars or bikes.
Failing that just go through!

A man who views the world at 50, the same as he did when he was 20, has wasted 30 yrs of his life.

"Muhammad Ali"

[justinb138 0]

Quote

Some lights have a system for emergency responders and it gives rise to the whole flashing light myth. There are lights on fire trucks etc that will signal to lights to change. I think it's some simple infra-red thing (kinda like your TV remote) but I don't know the details. Some guy was caught breezing through green lights wherever he went because he sourced the transmitter from the original manufacturer. It wasn't illegal!

IIRC, there is one company that sold the devices to trigger the lights (I think it was infrared as well), but I believe that there is a lawsuit involved, so sales have ceased. Many of the newer systems being installed are digitally coded specifically to ensure that only emergency response people can trigger the system.

[Amazon 7]

I have seen a strobe thingie on top of Fire Trucks around here. They trip the lights and jam all of the lights to red.

[n2skdvn 0]

clicky!! <--- how traffic lights work

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