Originally Posted by
ShortLegCyclist
That's actually legal now in Seattle for both bicycles and motorcycles, but you have to wait at least one full cycle where the magnet sensor fails to detect you first.
That has been legal in all 50 states for a very long time. It's part of the Uniform Vehicle Code that all states use as their template for traffic rules. Colorado's Vehicle Code states
...In the event that any traffic control signal at a place other than an intersection should cease to operate or should malfunction as set forth in this section, drivers may proceed through the inoperative or malfunctioning signal only with caution, as if the signal were one of flashing yellow.
A car doesn't have to sit at a light forever until it turns green if the light is malfunctioning. Bicyclists don't have to sit at lights either...if the light is malfunctioning.
I find, however, that a major problem with cyclists and motorists as well as the general public is that they don't have a clue as to how an inductive loop...the "magnet" sensor...works or how to position themselves so that they can actually trip the light. If you ride directly over the wire in the pavement, the light can be easily tripped even by a carbon fiber bike. It's not the bike that trips the system but the wheels of the bike that trip the system.