Many drivers have experienced the seemingly never-changing traffic light.
You’re sitting at the traffic light, turn signal blinking, waiting for the light to turn green… but it remains red.
According to Virginia Department of Transportation officials, there’s a way to keep the lights in your favor, and it’s pretty simple: Don’t overshoot the white “stop bar” in your lane.
VDOT Hampton Roads Signal Engineer Cheryl Tate said stopping far beyond the stop bar — the foot-wide white line at the front of a lane — will prevent the traffic light from sensing the presence of the vehicle.
“The traffic signal thinks you’re already gone, and so you’re never going to get an answer,” Tate said.
It’s a popular topic in the Greater Williamsburg area. On April 9, the York County, Virginia Facebook page shared a post about pulling up to the line at the stoplight, gaining 119 likes and 59 shares.
The problem lies in the location of a “loop detector” embedded in lanes at the traffic light. About 90 percent of VDOT traffic lights have a loop-style detector, but others have video detectors, Tate said.
If a car is not within the loop, the light doesn’t change.
The loop is about six feet wide and 40 feet long, and extends down the lane behind the stop bar. Some loops start about two feet beyond the stop bar, to sense drivers who overshoot the line, District Traffic Engineer is Mike Corwin said.
When a vehicle stops on the loop, it puts a call into the light controller and notifies the light there is a car waiting.
“We try to find the sweet spot so we catch everyone,” Tate said. “They have to be pretty far back to not be in that sensor.”
Besides missing the censor when a driver pulls out into the intersection, Corwin said it also puts the vehicle in a dangerous situation.
“You’re putting yourself out there in the intersection where you can get hit,” Corwin said.
“The stop bars, they’re put there for a reason,” Tate added. “That’s where you stop.”
Another tip to keep traffic lights working in your favor is to drive the speed limit, Tate said.
Some roads are “controlled corridors,” where traffic lights are timed to change in-sync. When a driver speeds or goes well below the speed limit, they will not catch all green lights.
Sometimes, however, traffic light controllers do malfunction, Corwin said. Drivers who notice traffic lights acting abnormal should call VDOT.
Road problems can be reported by calling 1-800-FOR-ROAD.
