CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More people will be out on the roads this week getting their last-minute Christmas gifts and traveling for the holidays. More traffic means more frustration at lights and intersections, but if you find yourself stuck at a red like that won't turn green we've got a good tip for you.
During the holiday season, the City of Myrtle Beach posted on Facebook reminding people that they need to stop at the white line at the intersection in order to keep traffic going.
THE QUESTION:
Does Charlotte have loop technology requiring drivers to pull all the way up to the white line in order for a light to change from red to green?
OUR SOURCES:
THE ANSWER:
Yes, Charlotte does have loop technology, requiring drivers to pull all the way up to the white line in order for a light to change from red to green.
WHAT WE FOUND:
City Senior Engineer Terry Gortney tells us if you look at almost every intersection in Charlotte you will notice a metal box on the side of the road.
"It puts in a pulse to let us know that brings it to the box that lets it know there is a vehicle there," Gortney said.
Gortney tells us you do in fact need to pull up to the white bar in order to have the light turn.
"If you pull too far past the stop bar or do not pull up to the stop bar, the traffic signal does not know you are there," Gortney said.
Gortney tells us this is loop technology and is placed in the pavement to track where vehicles are so if you are too far back or over the white line, it will act as if there is nobody there.
In an email from City media Relation, Cory Burkarth, he said, "the stop bar is legally where a vehicle should stop, and traffic signals are designed to detect the presence of traffic at the stop bar.
"It's extremely important because we get calls all the time cause they are not pulled up to the stop bar or they are the way to past the stop bar," Gortney said.
Gortney tells us this technology is not at every single intersection but a majority of them.
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