I guess it can be considered a wave of death of sorts; around here I often experience the traffic agents who help direct traffic at congested / busy intersections waving the cars through without fully checking to see if any bikes are coming.
Just the other day, the agent had his back to the bike lane, which had the green light, and started to wave the cars through despite them having a red light. Luckily I had enough time to stop but if the timing was slightly different it could have been a different outcome for me and the other bikes around me.