11-16-2015, 03:45 AM
(11-12-2015, 07:59 AM)Randy B_imp Wrote:(11-12-2015, 06:36 AM)veech_imp Wrote: Many places have switched from the wire to light sensors. In Illinois anyway much of the time simply flashing your brights a bunch of times will trigger it, especially at night. Certainly worth a try.
Myth. Those light sensors are not for regular traffic, but for emergency vehicles. Emergency vehicles have a strobe light facing forward that flashes at a specific frequency and that is what trips the lights to change. There is no way that you would ever be able to flash your headlights fast enough to trip that sensor.
I have seen a couple of news reports of people being caught and fined for using devices to trip the lights though.
https://blog.gasbuddy.com/posts/Man-buys...2-922.aspx
Myth. Those light sensors are not for regular traffic, but for emergency vehicles. Emergency vehicles have a strobe light facing forward that flashes at a specific frequency and that is what trips the lights to change. There is no way that you would ever be able to flash your headlights fast enough to trip that sensor.
I have seen a couple of news reports of people being caught and fined for using devices to trip the lights though.
https://blog.gasbuddy.com/posts/Man-buys...2-922.aspx
I can assure it it works, but I admit not reliably all the time. I know about the emergency vehicle systems and that it is illegal to use one of those devices, but I regularly switch lights by repeatedly flashing my brights on both my CB and my BMW auto. When it works, the light easily turns in under 30 seconds at intersections where otherwise I would sit and wait through several cycles of the other traffic lights switching and not mine. Perhaps the light refracts in such a way that it tricks the sensor into thinking it is one of the emergency strobes? However, you don't see the white light turn on which it does when the emergency vehicles trigger it so I don't know.
If you think about it, a light sensor is a much cheaper option than detection systems built into the asphalt so it would make sense.