The horses of Belconnen

bitterness said :

BenMac said :

nescius said :

I don’t think horses are made of metal, so maybe they moved forward of the line to allow a car to trigger the lights rather that stand there for all eternity?

Traffic lights are triggered by pressure plates in the ground. A horse is heavy enough. I’ve seen cyclists trigger lights, then ride off causing others to have to wait for no one, but that for another thread.

Benmac: nescius was 100% correct. Inductive coils (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_loop) are used, not pressure plates. As such, a horse is unlikely to trigger them. It’s the same reason some bicyclists have to hit crosswalk buttons to indicate their presence depending on the sensitivity of the induction loop and type of metal in their bike.

There are some people feeling a little stupid about now I suggest. There are some that enjoy shooting from hip with little thought outside the box and then look pretty stupid when a valid reason presents itself.

BenMac said :

nescius said :

I don’t think horses are made of metal, so maybe they moved forward of the line to allow a car to trigger the lights rather that stand there for all eternity?

Traffic lights are triggered by pressure plates in the ground. A horse is heavy enough. I’ve seen cyclists trigger lights, then ride off causing others to have to wait for no one, but that for another thread.

Benmac: nescius was 100% correct. Inductive coils (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_loop) are used, not pressure plates. As such, a horse is unlikely to trigger them. It’s the same reason some bicyclists have to hit crosswalk buttons to indicate their presence depending on the sensitivity of the induction loop and type of metal in their bike.

bd84 said :

They did the right thing by stopping safely in that location rather than continuing through.

One pace forwards, or one pace backwards would be sufficient.

nescius said :

I don’t think horses are made of metal, so maybe they moved forward of the line to allow a car to trigger the lights rather that stand there for all eternity?

Traffic lights are triggered by pressure plates in the ground. A horse is heavy enough. I’ve seen cyclists trigger lights, then ride off causing others to have to wait for no one, but that for another thread.

dvaey said :

Too bad if you were a pedestrian who wanted to cross at the intersection.

Why are horses allowed to stop after the thick white hold-line? Is it only if theyve got police ‘watching’ their back?

Maybe the reason for that is the horses won’t be able to trigger the traffic light sensor so they have to move up further so the car behind them can trigger it?

Davo111 said :

vg said :

You are effing kidding aren’t you?

It might be a hard concept to understand, but police are required to follow the road rules.

Check out section 305 of the Australian Road Rules.

It might help you not looking like an idiot next time.

In your world please tell me exactly what evidence of the commission of any offence you see in the above picture?

Davo111 said :

bd84 said :

The speed of the signal change of the traffic lights would be quicker than the stopping distance of the horse..

Then they should be riding at a speed that allows them to stop safely in time.

Truck drivers can’t drive through reds for the same reason.

You really didn’t put much thought into your comment did you?

The police horses would have likely been travelling at walking pace, what speed would you like them to ride at? The change of lights gives vehicles travelling at the speed limit enough time to exit the intersection, anything slower (like walking horses approaching an intersection) will get caught in the intersection. They did the right thing by stopping safely in that location rather than continuing through.

I don’t think horses are made of metal, so maybe they moved forward of the line to allow a car to trigger the lights rather that stand there for all eternity?

dvaey said :

Too bad if you were a pedestrian who wanted to cross at the intersection.

Why are horses allowed to stop after the thick white hold-line? Is it only if theyve got police ‘watching’ their back?

Just add that to your list of pathetic gripes.

dvaey said :

Too bad if you were a pedestrian who wanted to cross at the intersection.

Why are horses allowed to stop after the thick white hold-line? Is it only if theyve got police ‘watching’ their back?

Well, to be fair, I don’t think a horse rider can ever exercise complete control over a horse. As Jerry Seinfeld said, they are jittery, glassy-eyed dinosaurs.

bd84 said :

The speed of the signal change of the traffic lights would be quicker than the stopping distance of the horse..

Then they should be riding at a speed that allows them to stop safely in time.

Truck drivers can’t drive through reds for the same reason.

vg said :

You are effing kidding aren’t you?

It might be a hard concept to understand, but police are required to follow the road rules.

dvaey said :

Too bad if you were a pedestrian who wanted to cross at the intersection.

Why are horses allowed to stop after the thick white hold-line? Is it only if theyve got police ‘watching’ their back?

You are effing kidding aren’t you?

I saw a couple of police on horseback braving the morning peak traffic in Civic a couple of weeks back. First time in Canberra I’d seen them. The cops rode up Nangari Street, slowed crossed over London Circuit, and then rode up the Circuit past the Assembly.

The motorists were a bit taken aback, especially as the horses were not travelling single file.

Incidentally I don’t think motorists can make a right hand turn from Nangari Street into London Cct – but the horses just ambled across when there was a break in the traffic.

dvaey said :

Too bad if you were a pedestrian who wanted to cross at the intersection.

Why are horses allowed to stop after the thick white hold-line? Is it only if theyve got police ‘watching’ their back?

The speed of the signal change of the traffic lights would be quicker than the stopping distance of the horse..

Hard to tell? I thought the police uniforms and the glock was a bit of a giveaway.

They’re a bit over the line. Any pedestrian crossing over would have to avoid them.

Too bad if you were a pedestrian who wanted to cross at the intersection.

Why are horses allowed to stop after the thick white hold-line? Is it only if theyve got police ‘watching’ their back?

“When the lights changed, they turned right. Guess they knew the cops were watching

Sarcasm? Not sure. But these are infact police officers. AFP badge on the saddle rug and the rider closest has their firearm on their hip.

I wish the horse units of the AFP/Act Policing got more use. They’re mainly used for ceremonial work. It would be great to see them out every Thurs/Fri/Sat nights.

Kinda hard to tell from this pic, but looking at the way the two riders are dressed, it looks like they are the cops!

we need more police horses around!