Advocacy & Safety - Blue Light Proposal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB4dR-JZP-M

What does everyone think on a light system similar to this? Blue light turns on giving cyclists free reign for 10 seconds in any direction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB4dR-JZP-M

What does everyone think on a light system similar to this? Blue light turns on giving cyclists free reign for 10 seconds in any direction.

No good. It will just be used an excuse by drivers to run cyclists' over with impunity and without fear of retribution.

I'm not a fan of separate bike signals of any color. They are generally implemented in such a way as to cause cyclists to wait longer at intersections than motor vehicles. Aside from the time loss, this also causes me to breathe even more toxic exhaust fumes. Far better to teach people how to ride and drive and enforce that teaching with citations and license suspensions/revocations.

I liked the start of the video, a simpler time when motorists and cyclists alike empowered themselves and were accountable & responsible. Just makes too much sense, of course it's what I preach in every thread, become a pedestrian when it's to your benefit. To me, the blue light is nothing more than serving the same purpose as an electronic cross walk does for pedestrians. It's pointless to add them in my opinion. Again the food chain is pedestrian, cyclist, motorist in terms of protecting the lives of those that precede them in that order.

On my commute home there is a traffic light setup years ago. It looks like any other traffic light from the dark ages before left turn arrows. But it is different, there is a little sign that says "Three way Signal' What that means is when you see a green light you also have a left arrow. About once a month I see a close call, where a car turning left where the driver is not familiar with the situation stops and the driver behind him barely stops in time.

Note that retrofitting this would ne a minor change, an additional left turn light bolted on and on the same circut as the current green light.

Putting in those blue lights is a major change and is one apt to create more confusion and God help the cyclist who depends on that light and has not cleared the intersection when the green light comes on.

It also will be apt to disrupt traffic flow. I have found cycling to be safest when traffic is flowing smoothly. I also think I would not be pleased to wait an extra 10 seconds at each light for a special blue light for bikes that still happens when there are no bikes there.

I also have to wonder how non-cyclist drivers will view those lights, will they think of them as a head start for cyclists or as the only time cyclists should be in the intersection?

And why bikes only? I can think of very few intersections with enough bike traffic to justify this that do not have just as much pedestrian traffic. (In fact I can think of only one wher that is consistently the case, and it works just fine with a normal light, though it is not a normal intersection).

Given the inability of many drivers I see with the existing signals and laws, I think this might prove confusing for them.

Here in Holland a similar strategy is used: Bikes go in front of the line in a spot separated from the cars and get a green light ~10 seconds before the cars. It works very well, drivers let the cyclist go first. Sporadic a driver wants to go first anyway but a stern look will put them off.

Streetview (http://maps.google.nl/maps?hl=nl&ll=52.49616,4.783494&spn=0.002557,0.006968&z=18&layer=c&cbll=52.496171,4.783428&panoid=TktKEHJVk67Fbzhi15Pk-Q&cbp=12,109.26,,0,17.53)

Outside of K-Mart and their "blue light specials," blue lights often have restricted use in most state vehicle codes, being restricted to specific law enforcement purposes.

Although, a goodly number of European ambulance used blue lights (as well as the Polizei) during my tours over in Germany...

Motorists will be delayed for 10+ seconds. Just another "reason" to hate cyclists.

Other countries have cyclist lights that work fine without adding a new color. 'Course they got bike lanes and bike boxes in such countries as well...

Cost of adding blue lights to existing infrastructure...?

I am curious why blue was chosen.

Most motorists around here know that there is a delay built in the signal process so the convention is that you are safe to run reds as long as you do it within 10 seconds of change. I think this blue light scheme is an idea that may look good on paper; however I don't think it is a good idea in reality. It relies too much on good behavior on the part of a motorist.

-Gary

This isn't so much "sharing" the road as "taking" it. I can't imagine how a reliable bicycle sensor would work either.

Law enforcement would never allow blue lights to be used either, their unions would fight it. Blue is *their* color.

Blue and Green look the same to a lot of color blind people too.

I think the idea is good, being sparingly instituted in certain hotspots.

Blue and Green look the same to a lot of color blind people too.

Uh, that's red and green: http://www.hhmi.org/senses/b130.html
Blue deficiencies are much less common.