Since You Asked: No, you can't ride through a red light

Q: In an attempt to reduce the traffic impact, and to reduce smog, I ride a motorcycle for most of my around-town needs. Why is it, then, that most of the ferro-magnetic detectors buried at intersections are too weak to detect motorcycles? At off-peak times, motos can get stuck at a light forever — or until someone is nice enough to pull up behind you.

Are motorcycles given the OK to proceed if the light never triggers? I was recently pulled over for proceeding through red after waiting for about 10 minutes. The officer said I would have to walk my bike to the right lane , turn right and go around the block to get back on my intended route. What is the official position of law enforcement?

A: You think you've got it bad — try riding a bicycle.

Well, the official position of local law enforcement — if it can be called official — seems to be that you can't ride your motorcycle through a red light no matter what.

Presumably that would apply even if you've been sitting there long enough for cobwebs to form between your wheel spokes and the pavement.

"We can't give the advice that you should proceed through a red light," said Yuba City Police Department spokeswoman Shawna Pavey.

The only option, then, would seem to be what that officer suggested. At least he didn't cite you.

Marysville Police Chief Wally Fullerton said he's had the same problem when riding a motorcycle.

"I always wait for another vehicle to trigger the light, or I have turned right and bypassed the light legally," Fullerton said. "It's a mechanical problem all over the state, not just here."

But there might be another option, according to Diana Langley, principal engineer with the Yuba City Public Works Department.

At most intersections, the sensitivity of those iron plates in the pavement can be increased to detect motorcycles. But it can't be increased to the point where vehicles in the next lane are detected, she said.

Langley said she actually has not received any complaints from aggrieved bikers. But they can try calling the Public Works Department at 822-4626, she said.

In the meantime, it might help to ride the biggest, heaviest hog you can find. Or "armor up" the bike you've already got by welding on heavy steel plates and loading your pockets with nails.

Since You Asked is published Tuesdays. Send questions to reporter Rob Young at the Appeal-Democrat, P.O. Box 431, Marysville CA 95901, e-mail him at ryoung@appealdemocrat.com or call 530-749-4710.