KANSAS: Bikers to get green light on 'dead reds'

OFF THE WIRE
By Dion Lefler
The Wichita Eagle 
http://www.kansas.com/2011/04/20/1815275/bikers-to-get-green-light-on-dead.html
Bikers to get green light on 'dead reds'
Dwight Harris said he had a problem with dead red lights until he put a "Sensor Sorcerer" on the underside of his bike. "You attach it to the frame and it will trigger it," he said. How long can a motorcyclist sit at a red light waiting for it to change?
"One time I was at Kellogg and Hillside," said Jason Holland. "I sat there and smoked a whole cigarette before a car came up behind me and set it off."
Like Holland, who is both a rider and motorcycle salesman, many Wichita bikers say they've waited a long time for someone to give them some relief from "dead reds," lights that never change for them.
Relief came this week with Gov. Sam Brownback's signature on House Bill 2192, which will allow motorcycle and bicycle riders to proceed through an intersection — with caution — after waiting a reasonable amount of time for the light to turn green.
The measure was packaged with a series of road-related measures, including provisions raising the state's maximum highway speed to 75 mph and increasing the cost of Kansas Highway Patrol auto inspections from $10 to $15.
Riders say the problem is that their bikes often lack the mass to trigger sensors buried in the pavement that control the cycling of traffic lights.
The problem is especially acute with newer cycles that are lighter and built with more nonmagnetic materials such as aluminum and plastic composites.
Not everyone thinks the new rule is the greatest idea.
Ross Reed, owner of Mid America Powersports, said he's concerned that it lets police decide what is a reasonable amount of time to wait for a light to change.
"I tell guys if it's an officer's call, are you going to be willing to get that ticket?" he said.
He also said he's gotten circulars from the American Motorcycle Association, of which he is a member, expressing concern that some cyclists might take it as a license to make stop-and-goes without giving the light time to cycle.
Like just about all cyclists, he's hit dead red lights. But he said he can jump-start a stuck signal by putting his kickstand down on the line in the pavement that shows the perimeter of the sensor.
Many cyclists seem pleased by the new law.
They can cite examples of dead reds — I-235 and Zoo Boulevard, the eastern exit at Towne East Square, Maple at the Target store between Ridge and Tyler, among others.
"I've gotten stuck in there forever," Chris Fecher said of the light at the Target store. "You have to make a right turn and whip a U-ey."
Sometimes, "You have to go a long way out of your way just to get through an intersection," added his friend, Miles Evans.
Dwight Harris said he's hit dead reds many times in his 40 years of riding. He said he used to get stuck a lot at 71st and Broadway in Haysville.
Finally, he said, he got a Signal Sorcerer.
"You attach it to the frame and it will trigger it," he said.

The dead red bill was sponsored by the motorcycle group ABATE — A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments.
"We have had the dead red bill up there for several legislative sessions," said Tony Railsback of Sterling, the regional ABATE representative for an area including Sedgwick and seven other counties.
"I think it feels kind of good for a change to take some legislation up there and get it passed."

A second piece of ABATE legislation, a bill to crack down on car drivers who don't yield the right of way to motorcycles, is stuck in committee and is unlikely to make it through this year.
"We wanted to increase the penalties for people who pull out in front of motorcycles and kill us dead," Railsback said. "I feel like I'm worth more than $88. That's what it is now, $80 plus court costs."