MrCjolsen

Do I have to dismount, walk over to the crosswalk and press the button (assuming that there is a button to press)?

Can I just go when there are no cars coming?

bkrownd

Its legal to proceed with due caution if the light is red longer than any reasonable person would expect if its operating properly. OTOH, if crossing is never safe then you have to find a detour. I'm not sure of the details, but it isn't an uncommon situation. There's a lot of room to hang yourself.

superwombat

Turn right, u-turn, turn right again. Beats the camera.

Shaman

You might have to become a pedestrian and hike the bike across the street.
If your laws are like they are in Oregon, pedestrians have total right-of-way.
Several police stings have been based on this policy!

bkrownd

Those laws are very misguided, IMO. In Massachusetts they've created lazy pedestrians who don't look before crossing the street and expect the world to come to a stop for them. The town centers are a mess with the traffic backing up everwhere to wait for every pedestrian that comes along. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

Da Tinker

In some states, after three cycles (or a resonable time, depending on the law), you may declare the light to be malfuntioning, and treat it as a stop sign.

va_cyclist

Run it and hope for the best.

CommuterRun

Not sure what the law is in California. In Florida just treat it, and report it, as a malfunctioning light.

-=(8)=-

Mr. Jolson...you are fixie rider now.
Lights dont apply to outlaws. They stick
so we can run them.

jwc

I asked a DMV officer a simlar question last year. His answer was the same as one above. Get off the bike and walk it through. He did add that, no one is going to give you a ticket for it, unless you disregard traffic or go through it above the speed limit. He also said, tell the officer you don't have your driver's license on you. Without that, the paper work isn't worth the effort.

JRA

The law is pretty vague and subject to interpretation. If the signal is malfunctioning, it should be legal to proceed with caution (treat the signal as a stop sign). That's what I do if my bike won't actuate a signal.

I've had some success actuating signals by riding my bike directly over the crack in the pavement where the detector is buried.

At one intersection I've been riding through for years, I often go through on red because there's no practical way for me to actuate the signal. It's kind of an interesting situation (at least to me). There's a bike lane to the left of a right turn only lane, then a straight thru lane, then a left turn only lane (this is an intersection where there are a lot of left turns). There are sensors in the straight and left only lanes, and they operate independently. If there's no car in the straight-thru lane, then the signal skips the green light phase although it still has a left turn phase. What I do is go during the left-turn only phase. The only conflict would be left-turning traffic coming toward me, which I can easily see.

A funny thing happened the other day. I was waiting in the bike lane with a couple of cars in the left-turn lane. A lady in the left-turn lane apparently changed her mind and tried to pull into the straight-thru lane. She did such a lousy job of changing lanes that I knew she wouldn't actuate the signal. Several cars lined up behind her.

Well, anyway. When the left arrow came on, I went, leaving the line of cars behind. I don't know how long it took those cars to get through that intersection (I was long gone) but they could sit there all day like that and they'd never get a green light. Even cars coming the opposite direction and going straight wouldn't help them because the green lights for each direction are actuated independently.

genec

Not very practical when one is in the left turn lane... walking over to push the button that is.

I don't know if there is a specific law dealing with this, but like my situation yesterday, I waited an entire light cycle and then went when it was safe.

Shaman

Larger metropolis cops love giving tickets to bikes for running or jumping lights.
Most suburban and rural areas just shine it on.

Don't mess with Portland, OR cops! Bikes are treated like cars within PDX proper.

CB HI

It is not vague at all. What happens in a power outage? The law in every state I know of says you treat the intersection as a 4 way stop unless otherwise directed by a police/traffic control officer.

genec

And if a light never changes for a cyclist... what the cyclist dies waiting?

Shaman

The Cyclist's estate will be sent an ambulance bill

scottmorrison99

In California, if the light doesn't change after a reasonable time, I've heard 3 minutes but cannot confirm it, It is considered a malfunctioning signal and should be treated as a stop sign. Just make sure to contact the local traffic authority to report the defective light. That way maybe it will be adjusted and work for you next time.

donnamb 

It there a "bicycle lawyer" where you live? These are attorneys/firms that take a lot of bicycle personal injury cases, ticket appeals, etc. if your state has an active pro-bicycle political lobby, these lawyers are often involved, especially if they are cyclists themselves. They tend to be the most knowledgable about the traffic laws where you live and how they can be interpreted.

Our local "bicycle law firm" is very open to answering questions via telephone or email and I find they know the laws better than a lot of the police officers do.

LCI_Brian

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc21800.htm

21800 (d) (1) The driver of any vehicle approaching an intersection which has official traffic control signals that are inoperative shall stop at the intersection, and may proceed with caution when it is safe to do so. This subparagraph shall apply to traffic control signals that become inoperative because of battery failure.

A few notes:
1. 21200 says that cyclists have the rights and duties of drivers of vehicles, so 21800 is applicable to cyclists.
2. "Inoperative" does not mean "defective".
3. This applies to signals that become inoperative due to power failure, but does not ONLY apply to such signals.

Roody

I don't know what the law is in your state. Well I have to admit that I don't know what the law is in my state either.

I wait a while, if it doesn't change I ride through. Funny though, usually the light changes while I'm riding through or just after. Maybe I'm too impatient.

LilSprocket

I've really enjoyed this thread, thanks for all the info and chuckles

sbhikes

G for green, G for Go
R for red, R for Run it!

sauerwald

For those signals which have the coils in the road to sense cars, they work by magnetic induction, assuming you have conductive rims on your wheels (carbon fibre rims wont work), lay you bike on it's side, either inside the loop, or near one of the corners, and you will trip the detector.

Prime Directive

^Isn't it the steel in the frame that matters?

LCI_Brian

The strength of the field drops off as a function of the square of the distance from the pavement, so the rims are the best as they are the closest metal to the ground.