Reconciliation

Traffic Signals CAN be Tricky Even Under Good Circumstances
Usually, The CENTER Pavement Cut Would be the Place to Stop Here
The Induction Signal from the Bike Wheel Rim Would be Strongest There

Last week and this, I've acquired a traffic issue to reconcile and I've had an unexpected opportunity to observe motorist behavior in the wild.

The traffic issue is pretty straightforward - at least in theory. You see, the induction sensor that triggers a traffic light leaving work has stopped working. This occurred at PRECISELY the same time as a street resurface project has been underway. How do I know this? Well, the pedestrian button does not appear to do anything. My usual "sweet spot" has stopped working. The final straw is that my four-wheeled companions do not trigger the signal. Well, unless one stops coming from the opposite driveway in which case the signal changes normally. NORMALLY, I'd call to complain to the traffic department of the city in question, but THIS is a sensor on private property. Our guards simply give me a dumb look - clearly none of them have the corporate bullet on the day I talk to them. So I have adopted a new red light policy. If I stop behind other vehicles, I wait until all the motorists in front of me have run the red light. Then I follow my motorists' example when it is safe to do so. If, on the other hand, I happen to be the first to stop, I wait until at least TWO motorists are backed up behind me, and it has clearly been a really LONG time, in which case I lead by example after shrugging and doing some "what else should I do?" signals. Note to self - must bring in stop watch to collect data on how long motorists wait before running a red light. This is really a not "in the mainstream" data collection opportunity. Mostly, signals change quick enough that motorists really aren't sorely tempted to run red lights. In that way, they DO behave better than the typical dweeb on a bike. Still, in the last week, I have observed four motorist red light runnings. I suspect that some motorists are MUCH more patient than others.



Here's WHY I stopped on the Left Pavement Cut at that Intersection
A Traffic Camera that Was Blown a Bit to the Left by the Wind Was the REAL Signal Changer...
Stopping Where I did in the TOP Photo Registered My Pixels and Triggered the Left Turn Signal as Nice as You'd Want
AS LONG AS YOU HAVE LEARNED THE SECRET HANDSHAKE

I also had, what for me is an unusual experience - a "dooring" opportunity. I was inbound to work. It was after dawn. A motorist passed me, pulled over to the curb and opened his door as I was about 20 feet behind him. Conveniently, I was able to observe that there was absolutely NO sign of malice in his face. He simply didn't register he'd safely passed a cyclist only seconds before and that swinging his door wide open without looking might not be considered appropriate and MIGHT actually hurt one of his fellow humans. Luckily for him, I was riding about eight feet off his port beam or I might have had to apologize for putting a dent in the back side of his door with my body. Speaking of which, there's been a "dooring" in a commercial lately where a lady opens up her door and a truck simply whacks it off. My sympathy for her is pretty limited. For my loyal reader, simply STAY OUT OF DOOR ZONES! IMO, motorists simply "forget" there are others out there once they have done the appropriate thing. If that makes ANY sense at all to y'all.