Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Loren Vogel bumb Here. You pull up to a four
Speaker 1: way stop and the light is read no big deal.
Speaker 1: You take the opportunity to change the radio station, pick
Speaker 1: a poppy seat out of your teeth from your morning bagel,
Speaker 1: and wait and wait and wait. You've been here through
Speaker 1: half a song already. Oh no, you realize the light
Speaker 1: is stuck on red? Can you just go through it?
Speaker 1: Should you turn right? Even though left is really the
Speaker 1: way that you need to go? There are cars behind you.
Speaker 1: Can they rat you out? Or will they go along
Speaker 1: with your law breaking ways? Most importantly, what is the
Speaker 1: safe move and is it the same as the legal move? Okay,
Speaker 1: if the traffic lights at the intersection are working properly
Speaker 1: in the other direction and cross traffic is still flowing
Speaker 1: in front of you, then the electromagnetic sensor is embedded
Speaker 1: in the pavement. Most likely haven't recogniz your car at
Speaker 1: the light. Those sensors often extend back a bit to
Speaker 1: detect when multiple cars are waiting, so if you're the
Speaker 1: only car the light, that could be the issue. Usually
Speaker 1: you can see the lines in the pavement where the
Speaker 1: sensors are located, maybe you'd need to pull forward a
Speaker 1: bit to hit them, or if they're underneath your car
Speaker 1: and you have the space to do so, try backing
Speaker 1: up and then drive forward over the sensors again. Engineers
Speaker 1: say it's worth a try at least. If that doesn't work,
Speaker 1: and you decide you've waited long enough and you're sure
Speaker 1: there aren't any oncoming vehicles, you can chance it and
Speaker 1: run the red light. But be aware. If you decide
Speaker 1: to do this, you can be pulled over and cited
Speaker 1: by an officer. If that happens, your best chance is
Speaker 1: to explain what happened. The officer may check out the
Speaker 1: light themselves and see that you're correct, or they may
Speaker 1: deem you impatient and write up that ticket anyway. However,
Speaker 1: if cross traffic isn't flowing either, both lights are probably malfunk.
Speaker 1: In this case, it's more likely that the lights would
Speaker 1: be flashing or completely dark, not just stuck on red
Speaker 1: at any rate. If all traffic is stopped, you should
Speaker 1: treat the light as a four way stop sign. But
Speaker 1: what if you're on a two wheeled vehicle. Motorcycles and
Speaker 1: mope heads run across this problem far more often, as
Speaker 1: sensors are usually set to detect four wheeled vehicles that
Speaker 1: weigh at least two tons. You've got a couple of
Speaker 1: choices here. You can look for the loops embedded in
Speaker 1: the road and roll back and forth over them to
Speaker 1: try to trigger the light's sensor. Or you can sit
Speaker 1: in hope that a heavier, easier to detect car comes
Speaker 1: up behind you and does it. Those loops are electromagnetic,
Speaker 1: so strapping a powerful magnet to the underside of your
Speaker 1: motorcycle might help trip those sensors. Maybe. Of course, if
Speaker 1: you find it's the same light that's getting you stuck
Speaker 1: every time you ride to work, it might be best
Speaker 1: to find another route with stop lights that are less persnicity.
Speaker 1: In any case, keep your eyes peeled and be careful
Speaker 1: out there. Today's episode is based on the article if
Speaker 1: the light is stuck on red are you stuck to?
Speaker 1: On how Stuffworks dot com, written by Kristen Hall Geisler.
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how
Speaker 1: stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. For
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