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Comment by oxplot | Hacker News Reader

Hmm, here in Australia, I can't recall a single time this has happened. I've actually tested how well the software for these lights work, for myself at night time when there's no traffic. Usually the lights on the main roads are green by default. In my case, it'd take 1-2 seconds after I approached the red light of the crossing road for the main one to turn yellow. Same when pressing the pedestrian crossing button.

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The demand sensor wires are too close to the lights, so you wind up having to stop before it turns green. Also, if cars are coming from both directions, the demand system tends to get 180 degrees out of phase with the traffic and makes everyone stop.

A proper system is, well, like one on a self-driving car. Detect traffic from further back using the cameras rather than the sensor wires. Estimate the number of cars, speed, and position, then adjust for max flow.

Given the position/speed data that Google collects through Google play services (which assists then with determining traffic conditions for instance), I think Google could do much better at controlling the traffic lights (or at least provide one source of input for).

In Western Australia the prevailing culture within the Main Roads Department is "If people get used to having green lights they won't stop for a red light so we must try make people get as many red lights as we can" its moronic but true, a technician friend of mine resigned over the stupidity of it.

I'm not convinced that pedestrian crossing buttons are actually hooked up to anything.

Some aren't but the ones that are can mess up timings of lights and in some cases, those require manual readjustments.

You've obviously not tested them on a motorcycle in WA...

Grrr...I'm just waiting for the day I get picked off by some overzealous Judge Dredd cop because I ran a red arrow because I got tired of waiting for it to detect me.

Attach a largeish neodynium magnet (like a cow magnet, as a bonus they are coated in plastic so they don't corrode) to your bike frame. It will increase your magnetic signature massively and cause in wire-loop-in-road light controller to "see" you. (note, not all sensors are magnetic, some are weight based or IR based)

law in WA is you wait one full light cycle and you can run the light. So basically 30-45 seconds and if no one is going you go.

And how do you prove that you did after the red light camera catches you?

Same way they do, you ask for the full tape, which you can get. Or you know just go around the wrong way. Anecdotally red light covered cameras seem to be much better maintained as othewise they lose revenue.

Also this is why you have a dash cam.

The red light cameras I've seen trigger when someone approaches a red light without slowing down quickly enough. Sometimes, late at night, I make a game of setting them off on purpose, by waiting til the last minute to brake. They wouldn't fire if you stopped, waited, then continued after determining that the detector hadn't noticed you.

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