Anonymous wrote:They are fine, the induction loop would pick them up.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_loop

99% of lights in DMV are timed anyway. Certainly at the pictures intersection.

I park further back from line in case I am rear ended I’m not pushed into cross traffic. The car on the left is TOO far up. The induction loop starts at least a foot before the white line, and goes 5 ft back.

+1. It really doesn’t matter how close/far you are away from the white line OP.

Many intersections still have magnetic sensors in the roadbed.

Dumb, dumb, sensors are above, not on the lines on the road.

Somewhere where all the lights are on timers.

NP but I think a lot of people here (any maybe everywhere) lack spatial awareness. It might explain why no one can park here, too.

Anonymous wrote:

what light sensor?

Look up. Those little white things that look like cameras on poles are the sensors. If you don't pull your car into the range that it monitors, then it may not trigger that light to change. There are many lights now which have a timer, but if the sensor is tripped, it cuts the current timer shorter to transition the lights faster so that cars do not sit idle for too long. Yes, you can wait for the the light to change on the full timer, but then if there is less traffic from other directions, you'll sit longer than you have to. And you're wasting gas for yourself and the cars behind you because you're idling instead of driving.

Thanks for your explanation.

what light sensor?

Look up. Those little white things that look like cameras on poles are the sensors. If you don't pull your car into the range that it monitors, then it may not trigger that light to change. There are many lights now which have a timer, but if the sensor is tripped, it cuts the current timer shorter to transition the lights faster so that cars do not sit idle for too long. Yes, you can wait for the the light to change on the full timer, but then if there is less traffic from other directions, you'll sit longer than you have to. And you're wasting gas for yourself and the cars behind you because you're idling instead of driving.

^ French PP again. I go right up to the sidewalk myself, and don't stop before the line. But I still don't know about the light sensor.

I learned to drive in France. Many residents of the DC area are foreigners working at the World Bank, embassies, NIH, universities, etc, and learned to drive in their home countries.

As another poster asked: What light sensor?

They are fine, the induction loop would pick them up.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_loop

99% of lights in DMV are timed anyway. Certainly at the pictures intersection.

I park further back from line in case I am rear ended I’m not pushed into cross traffic. The car on the left is TOO far up. The induction loop starts at least a foot before the white line, and goes 5 ft back.

Anonymous wrote:what light sensor? i do that and light changes. don't worry.

as OP asked, where did you learn to drive?

Usually, when I see a car doing this (further back than the Mercedes), the driver is looking down at their phone. For many people, a stop light isn't an obstacle. It's a chance to focus on their phone with both hands. I think these people don't pull up because they just want to stop and pick up their phones.

Anonymous wrote:what light sensor? i do that and light changes. don't worry.

what light sensor? i do that and light changes. don't worry.

If you do what the Mercedes is doing here, where did you learn to drive? Because you are so very, very wrong, and wasting everyone's time by not pulling up and triggering the light sensor. The thicker white line is called a "stop line" and is where the front of your vehicle should be. You should NOT be able to see that line. And honestly, there are so many worse offenders than the Mercedes here, but dear god pull up your car. The other car (Toyota?) is doing it RIGHT.

And if you are thinking "if I can't see the line, how do I know I've pulled up to the right spot?" then please just surrender your license. If you don't have basic simple spatial awareness of your vehicle, you are unfit to be on the road.