After my close encounter with the line-hugging cyclist on Thursday, I got around him and continued towards my bank. There's a section of this road that has a 3-way stop. It has traffic lights. Imagine an intersection that looks like this: lC, but with the top part of the C missing.
I was heading straight, but was stopped because the light was red. You have to wait for the C part of the intersection to get a red light, then you can go straight through when your light turns green. Cars coming toward me from the straight road also had a green light like the C part. That's actually MAIN STREET, and my part is a different road coming in to join it.
Anyhoo... ahead of me at the light was a young dude on a motorcycle. I use "motorcycle" loosely. It was not very big. Bigger than a Shriner's motorcycle. Bigger than a mini-bike. But not full motorcycle size. It was not a scooter, nor a moped. Just a really small motorcycle.
Anyhoo... Young Dude was sitting on his cycle, revving his engine, waiting his turn. The problem was, he was as far to the right side of the lane as he could get. I don't know why. Motorcycles have the same right-of-way as a car. They normally go down the middle of the lane.
Anyhoo... this little motorcycle and Young Dude were not in place to trigger the sensor under the pavement that signals the light to change. That light mainly stays green for the C and the oncoming part of my road. It's the main thoroughfare. If there's traffic waiting on my road, the sensor turns the Main St. light red, so my lane of traffic can proceed.
Such a dilemma. I was back a respectful distance, as I would allow for a car. So I was behind where the sensor is for the light. Yet Young Dude was not on the sensor. Even on a small motorcycle, I'm sure he would have triggered the light. It's not like traffic engineers don't know that motorcycles exist.
We had been waiting an extraordinarily long time. Longer than I've ever waited at that light. At first I thought it might be malfunctioning, but then I noticed the position of Young Dude. What else could I do? I let T-Hoe creep forward until we were over the sensor. We were still behind Young Dude a bit. But so close that a car driver would have taken exception to my tailgating.
Young Dude didn't turn around to look at me. He didn't have mirrors. He didn't have a helmet. But at least T-Hoe triggered the light, and we got our green to proceed.
Roads are designed for automobiles. Or big fat motorcycles.
I'm not so sure about sensors triggering the lights like that. I think the sensors are on timers or counters and trigger the lights after a certain amount of time or after a certain number of vehicles have crossed them.
ReplyDeleteI have seen plenty of those small motorbikes, they are one size up from the scooter types probably 75 or 100 cc powered. Not at all heavy and unlikely to do much damage if a rider had an accident.
River,
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the intersection. At some of them, you can see the seams of the giant rectangle they cut out of the pavement, to install the sensors. I'm there so much that I notice a difference in the timing, depending on whether a car is on the sensor or not. The intersection over by the Devil's Playground is different. It's on a timer. Two minutes. Always. No matter how many cars coming from what direction.
Anybody on a motorcycle is in danger these days, with the car drivers pretty much ignoring the rules of the road, and doing what they darn well please!