EMERGENCY CALL! Someone Tampered With The Traffic Lights!!

[@JoeCdaYT]

Most of the time when the Homeless mess with these and the light poles in parking lots, they are hot tapping the wires for their cell phone charger. It would be a good idea to put in tamper proof bolts the reduce the risk of them causing more problems like this. Great catch on that. Saw the panel open as soon as you got accross the street.

[@Wolfie_Rankin]

Maybe add a USB port?

[@thedoggolord7675]

​@Wolfie_Rankin light poles and traffic lights are not wall outlets for the homeless. There is other places they can do that.

[@Floridamancan]

@@thedoggolord7675you can solve a problem or you can point fingers. Just install a dang usb

[@JoeCdaYT]

@@Wolfie_Rankin There is no question to adding USB ports to the traffic signal poles. These are not for the public to charge their devices. It is there to control the flow of traffic for safety. I can only imagine what would happen if there were ports added to every traffic signal. There are places that the homeless can charge their phones or even better power banks. Them hot tapping the signal is a major safety risk not only to the general public but to the wanabe electrician/Traffic signal service tech. That is the reason some poles out there have the access panel as in this video put up high only accessible from a ladder or have security bolts to make accessing the electrics inside difficult.

[@charredUtensil]

@@JoeCdaYT Arguably though - if a standard, functional 120V outlet were added, it would (cheaply) remove any incentive to open the pole. Like, a similar situation would be making sure the interior of your car is easily visible and apparent that you do not have any packages in your car. Should people be stealing stuff from your car? No. Is it better than getting your windows smashed? Yes.

[@penguins9645]

Love your clear explanation of your troubleshooting steps. Whether youre debugging a computer program or traffic lights, it's all the same logic!

[@ntsecrets]

That’s neat that it can detect the fault and know to go into flash.

[@remocres]

i witnessed one in florida hit by lightning and within about 60 sec it was on blink and not long back on

[@dashtonic5736]

Most electronics have a self bit tests that run continuously

[@Look_What_You_Did]

@@dashtonic5736 Wrong.

[@that_one_poof]

@@Look_What_You_Didcare to explain why or just gonna shout out one word

[@minecraftmasterminesmith6489]

Your one of those people that say one word and give no evidence, in a court case that would not hold up.

[@richardpeel6056]

In 1989 London England it was the Met Police who tampered with traffic lights, they'd park their Mini Metro on the rubber sensor of a side road onto the main A40 at night. This gave them a 5 second green light for the side road after a few seconds, but if they didn't move the main road only got a 2 second green before going red again. The whole system would cycle every 10 seconds giving the main road only 2 seconds of green. The first car entering the junction on the main road with a fresh green would get a red light citation as the light changed before the car was fully over the line. These cops were willing to tamper with the lights to create a trap and to lie in court that the car had crossed the line on a red light. Recently the Met Police were found to be unfit for purpose after escallating incompetence and corruption.

[@JacTheRipper87]

I would’ve use a jumper bulb (lamp sock with two leads) hooked it to the back panel at 15 red, removed the red in the field and if the intersection stays out of flash you narrowed down the problem.

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

@@JacTheRipper87 yeah I didn’t keep the footage of me debating on doing that but I was confident that would take it out of flash leaving the FYA dark while red and I knew the cops would leave the moment the intersection was running so I decided not to due to the safety concern of the dark signal!

[@ptaszek1983]

Your explination of the issue was great! keep up the great work!

[@MultiTurbospeed]

Messing with the box should be a felony plus tens of thousands of dollars in fines and if you cause a wreck immediately go to jail for 1-3 years

[@Pr0toPoTaT0]

Hey man, merry christmas. Thanks for letting us fellow traffic light enthusiasts nerd out with you and your debugging! Ive thought about getting a job with MDOT but i have no clue where to start with that so your videos will have to do for now

[@jeffblaginess812]

You'll have to go to trade school. At many of those schools employers will come find you. Trades are the best to get into if you dont go to college, which is mostly a waste of time unless its something like engineering, architecture, medical, etc.

[@richj120952]

One of the things here is that the technician should have made a full round of physical inspection prior to opening the cabinet for troubleshooting. He would have seen the open pole access plate and the wiring issue. It would have saved a call to the City for the bucket truck and indication.. All the other things done were proper though. The lesson is never assume something, as he did with thinking the LED indication was a cause for the flash condition. vs. the wiring to it. Live and learn. Nice 2070 controller and wiring. It has been about 14 years since I was trained in one of the first 2070s and involved in replacing the 170s.

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

It’s what I love about the job! There’s always something new to pick the brain! Typically it’s something very noticeable when doing a glance around the intersection while approaching it we get called for most knockdowns! I work for a signal contractor so someone tampering with the lights isn’t a usual thing we deal with. Luckily I found the issue and called back before the city ever mobilized. Complacency will make you relearn the lesson of never assuming anything over and over again and I’m one to admit it lol! Always happy to hear from others in the industry and thanks for watching!

[@anonymuswere]

at least this answers a few questions. the one we had to deal with for the longest time is two left turn arrows at two back to back intersections (though probably a couple miles apart) had the same problem. you would get lane clearance to turn for all of two seconds before the arrow instantly went red...usually with a line all the way back to the turn lane entry! and since both are commonly used by Truckers (one for access to a depot and a rail repair facility, the other to a fill and weigh station with food), i can imagine the griped were extremely loud. took them a while to set the things right, and now you can actually get through those turns without traffic backup.

[@kaceycarter2972]

Um if a pedestrian is in the crosswalk during a flashing intersection they are not jaywalking.

[@anthonywroblewski1802]

Back in the '70s we had boomboxes that took 16 D size batteries. People would hot wires them into the light poles.

[@TerryMrakovichPhD]

Start using security screws on all outside inspection portals

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

Agreed!

[@Dfk429S9fo3]

Then they would just have to go to Lowes and steal a security bit set.

[@cliffordlewis5587]

What our city is using to reduce unauthorized access to the splice cover area is a cup washer under the bolt head. Still accessible using a socket on a ratchet ,speed wrench or impact driver but not a normal wrench or pliers.

[@Pbell]

Mine are all security screws I keep screwing until there’s no head left, that’s the next guy’s problem. If you cross thread too no one messing around with it. Cross thread or no thread baby!!

[@Chris_at_Home]

I worked for a phone company once and there was a 5 side head bolt in a cup on the pedestals. We called the tool a Can Wrench.

[@Josh-of-all-Trades]

Don't use hex headed bolts or anything that are commong enough that people have tools for them. Like in bathroom stalls, they are held together with hardware that very few people have tools for.

[@TheRealScooterGuy]

LOL! My local Walmart has restroom stalls held together with "security Torx" fasteners. There was one little fastener holding the latch mechanism to the door, but it was loose. While I don't use the restroom on every visit, I had been in that same stall enough times over several months to know that they simply weren't bothering to fix it. One time, I came in there with my own "security Torx" hand tool and tightened it up, and moved a redundant one to also hold the latch, which was supposed to have two fasteners. It's been fine ever since. (For the curious, the tool I have is about the size of a pocket knife, and was purchased at Home Depot, pre-Covid, for about $10. The different size bits fold out and the unit become the handle. I use it for fixing scooters as many of them are held together with those fasteners.)

[@SeedlingNL]

This seems like a good intersection to place a roundabout. Can't mess with the wiring of an asphalt circle if there is no wiring :D

[@LawpickingLocksmith]

Australia had to tamperproof all connection boxes. Dead intersection times are at record high levels. 8 states, 8 incompatible systems. Only recent upgrades with telemetry. Our traffic works best when the power is out and the lights blank out!!

[@miluth2]

If you put tamper proof screws they will probably just go to the pullbox, until they find the right one, or the service panel, they can be relentless. They are looking for a constant hot. They probably don't realize traffic signal lights have intervals so it will not work for them, until they connect their charger or the intersection goes into flash.

[@TheRealScooterGuy]

During the video, I saw that there was a standard electrical outlet inside. If they manage to open that box, they won't have to tamper with wiring to get a place to plug in their chargers. Still, not something we should encourage.

[@miluth2]

​@TheRealScooterGuy I am confused about your response. Are you letting me know there is a outlet inside or are you saying that I am encouraging? I don't know what your experience is when it comes to the homeless. I have had my share of dealing with them and I am still dealing with them every week. They don't have to be encouraged.🙂 Some of them are knowledgeable, they are watching you work and waiting for you to leave. I have seen one open up a R cabinet and slept inside. Trust me, when they really start they don't stop. I knever drink out of a water cooler that is attached to the outside of a truck, just carried because of OSHA and emergencies or I mounted inside of one of the bends if there was room, and I never left my truck running unless I had a ground man or a spare key and lock the doors. They stash drugs and needles inside hand holes on the poles, so always have to be careful when reaching in. I have had one grab me while I was in a pullbox and start kissing on me, disgusting. I can tell you some stories. Based on some of the things I have seen them do, I would say some have electrical experience.

[@TheRealScooterGuy]

@miluth2 -- Making an observation from the video. I understand the difficulties that _some_ homeless people cause. I'm only pointing out that if they are going to look for places to charge their devices, it's probably less harmful if they use actual 120V outlets, instead of trying to wire up their own solutions.

[@miluth2]

​@@TheRealScooterGuy Understand.

[@BalooUriza]

Not sure that person was jaywalking considering pedestrians have the right of way at four way stops...

[@jamesphillips2285]

Jaywalking is bullshit made up by the car lobby anyway. They did not like the idea of requiring cars to have a flag person walk ahead of them in-city.

[@jamminwrenches860]

Tac weld the fastener with a Temu cordless welder lol

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

🤣

[@BartlettTFD]

I saw that Tac weld on Temu and was wondering if it was any good. Do you like it?

[@t1m3f0x]

I agree if homeless are a known problem then the means of access needs to be something beyond their means to bypass, at minimum it needs to be locked. Wrenches are to easy to come by, bolts aren't enough in a location with people who have a reason to want to get in.

[@jamesphillips2285]

@@t1m3f0x If home less are a known problem: the city/state needs to provide housing.

[@InsideOfMyOwnMind]

Meth heads and wires are just like rats and wires.

[@Arthur-ke9vz]

I must say as someone that lives near a homeless camp, I’m asked almost daily if they can charge their phone. It’ll never stop

[@jamesphillips2285]

If you have houseless neigbours: your city/state needs more public housing.

[@Arthur-ke9vz]

@ it’s HOMELESS! You are so misguided. We need to force them to get a job or be arrested

[@jamesphillips2285]

@@Arthur-ke9vz Just providing them with housing is FAR cheaper than putting them in prison. It also allows them to avoid the "prison rules" that shelters impose that may make it diffcult or impossible to hold a job. This can include curfews that conflict with work hours, bans on tools, bans from sheltering during that day if you get sick.

[@Tigerpanzer6666]

i wonder why traffic lights dont have camera protecting its self

[@jonathankeenan80]

Out of curiosity. What is the power requirements for traffic light control cabinets?

[@TylerStartz]

So cool. I know this area very well. Merry Christmas to you!

[@oswynfaux]

Guessing the LED signals last a lot longer then the old bulbs

[@MagentaRV]

So that makes me ask why there aren't security screws in the poles to keep people from tampering with them?

[@randomloafer]

That wouldl slow them down , maybe , temporarily , just keep in mind " Nothing is foolproof if you have a sufficiently persistent fool .

[@tonyc6278]

I would use security screws for service panel.

[@Look_What_You_Did]

Says the trumptard.

[@ironcross420]

Since you're there should of checked tightness of the rest of the terminals in the pole to prevent comeback.

[@dawolf7784]

Why do you use security screws to keep the crack hears from tampering ? That would just be a simple fix .

[@BalooUriza]

9:49 is *exactly* why I don't understand why it's even allowable to have anything other than a steady red light for conflicting vehicle movements with a crosswalk having the walk indication. FYA conflicting with a walk indication isn't safe.

[@rfitzgerald2004]

Could you add tamper switches to the lid that flag your office when someone removes a cover?

[@waynep343]

Has any traffic signal crew been issued pallet banding tools and sections of stainless strapping to put a secure crimped band around the access. Making it easier to spot early stages of theft

[@jon-kl9mk]

Is there certain screws you can install so they can't grab it with pliers or can't use either a phillips or flat head?

[@TheRealScooterGuy]

There are dozens of security fasteners available that require specialized tools to open.

[@jon-kl9mk]

@@TheRealScooterGuy You think they would use something like that to slow down these wire thieves from getting into the pole. Just saying!

[@sammypresser471]

How would I be able to get into this line of work?

[@gameasasin]

Always wondered how they fixed traffic lights. Had one right off an exit ramp I have to take to get my sister to work stuck in flash mode for over 3-4 days before I saw it actually fixed.

[@applestienwilocox6381]

What kind of loser tampers with a traffic light.. even if they are homeless and on drugs thats some real loser shit.

[@TransitAndTeslas]

Most of the time people don’t mess with traffic lights which makes this odd to begin with. Even during the riots etc, traffic lights are usually left alone or at the most climbed on. To tamper…that’s actually quite rare.

[@jamesphillips2285]

I suspect they were looking for power to charge their cell phone; and had no idea what the wire did.

[@applestienwilocox6381]

@@TransitAndTeslas yeah because first you have to think about it then actually do it in front of everyone.. but with meth people will take apart a completely fine car to "fix it" then spray paint it flat black with spray paint.. lol

[@applestienwilocox6381]

@@jamesphillips2285 meth 4 lyfe

[@johnnyo7621]

9:39 The inspection hole whatever the hole is needs to be much higher OR need bolts that or something that can't be undone without a special tool. Scum bags are most likely trying to steal the copper out of it. Normal bolts are totally no good at all.

[@OH-IO937]

What music after you talked to the cop?

[@jadeanderson9651]

That's nuts man I live in long beach. Are you from Mississippi?

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

I am!

[@TheEliteGrim]

So I have a question. How do the timer work comparison to automatic light change with amount car's there. Because I play a game called Worker's and Resources of The Soviet Republic, the game has traffic lights trying to find out the timer for real-time, so do math make game time.

[@Jake_Gaming34]

I was in Gulfport earlier and I saw a homeless man tampering with the wires. me and my wife were in Gulfport to eat at a casino and gamble It was the first time that I have seen that

[@i2devus4u]

How can I get a decommissioned signal light or a walk do walk signal?

[@GeneralPurposeVehicl]

I wonder what would you do if some one wired up a solar powered loadspeaker that yelled "Stop!!!" to one of those red wires in the pole boxes.

[@el_bino_burrito_695]

Had guy break into the back lot of a gas station next to the place my girl works and he did 100k worth of damage stripping wires all around the gas station they close at 11 so he was there all night no cameras or alarm cause he cut the power. Took them 3 months to get it repaired and cost them over 325k dollars in lost revenue for being down for so long. Just a local mom and pop gas station been there 30+ years. it blows my mind what people will do for a quick high. When I think back on it if he was so skilled in wiring why doesn't he find a good job? No way its easy peddling copper.

[@waynep343]

Question. Last night in hollywood ca a traffic signal reset to east and west traffic after the cross walk signs counted down . Never giving north and south traffic a cycle. Do networked signals keep computer logs to show the time and how many times they failed to complete a full signal? My friend slowly went thru after it reset 3 times. Cops were hiding.

[@miluth2]

@waynep343 ATSAC monitors those intersections. To my knowledge, I would say no due to what you might see as a fail, which could be normal depending on the time you approach that intersection or a vehicle may have missed the yield point. Those intersections are coordinated. When they are trying to sync up, you might see that happening due to the Coordination Timing Plan change based on traffic or time of day where a direction gets skipped or someone pushes a ped pushbutton and the walk comes back up due to the split having enough time to service that ped signal again before reaching the yield point or hold release depending on the type of controller program. The peds will also time out and start over again for the coordinated phases based on if it is set to ped recall, rest in walk, or dwell during Cordination. I do know that they will get alarms if a detector is on too long, which would should prompt them to take a look at that intersection. I will check and get back to you. Do you know the name of the intersections?

[@Pittsburgh_Sports_365]

I seen a drugged out skinny guy open a pole thinking he was disabling the cameras but instead ended up cooking his hands and bottoms of his filthy feet after grabbing some sort of live wire in the same type of cover at the intersection. He was unresponsive and no clue if he even survived but he got blasted. I have no clue what voltage is in them but it was serious.

[@miluth2]

Sounds like the 6.6 amps high voltage street light circuit that we have here.

[@Pittsburgh_Sports_365]

@miluth2 he didn't get up on his own he went out via ambulance with blackened hands and unconscious.

[@keithshort688]

Interesting video. The access panel on the poles need to have security screws that can only be opened with a special tool. Was someone hoping to steal copper wires from the traffic pole?

[@uzlonewolf]

Nah, there wouldn't be a single inch of wire left at that intersection if someone was trying to steal copper. Most likely they were trying to charge their phone or something.

[@inothome]

Probably going for the copper until they got shocked. lol

[@davidbehrend7054]

Stealing copper was my first thought. Didn’t think about tapping in for “free” power!

[@wthorwirth]

Dont use heagon bolts, that every guy may easy to unlock

[@RaineStudio]

Asphalt steps away and you park on the grass?

[@Tigerpanzer6666]

what does the green els mean on the truck

[@cmudd9788]

I really wish people would stop calling them homeless people and start calling them addicts like they are. There are people who are legitimately homeless due to no fault of their own and calling addicts homeless people just gives actual homeless people a bad name. Other than that, great video. I've watched a few of your videos as of recently and it's fascinating to see how these lights work.

[@TheRealScooterGuy]

Jumbo-jets are aircraft, but not all aircraft are jumbo-jets. If the people who happen to be addicts are without a home, they are homeless. Not all homeless people are addicts, and we don't know if it was an addict or not who tampered with this signal. (It probably was, but there is the possibility that it was something else going on. Wait until you hear about Tik-Tok trends.)

[@anthonywroblewski1802]

I'm the type of person who can find something good about anyone, but with you I'm having trouble.

[@cmudd9788]

@@anthonywroblewski1802 That’s a rude thing to say to someone whom you know nothing about.

[@renedekker9806]

I really wish people would not call homeless people addicts. There are people who are legitimately homeless due to no fault of their own and calling all homeless people addicts just gives non-addict homeless people a bad name. Other than that, great comment. _"That’s a rude thing to say to someone whom you know nothing about"_ - and it is not rude to call homeless people addicts, even when they are not?

[@anthonywroblewski1802]

@@cmudd9788 That's correct

[@jamesphillips2285]

Probably trying to charge a cell phone or something.

[@ov_079]

0:59 you might wanna move over a bit earlier, this late it's not rly gonna do anything anymore....

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

Yeah the car on the right hand side of me slowed down at the same time making it hard to get over!

[@Iamdedsec23]

Yo question do you live in sandhill landing bc if you do you live near my dad

[@TheDeadmanRules]

Awesome video! A long time ago it seemed like it was mandatory to have a set time to put the traffic lights into flash mode at night until like 5 or 6 the next morning. Now it seems to me a lot of locations keep the signals going red, yellow and green all night long, with the only time flash mode ever being activated by power outages. I wonder why the locations that stay red, yellow and green chose to do that? It's not usually very busy during the late night to early morning hours so it makes no sense not putting the signals into flash mode. Obviously flash mode is still at least somewhat important sense it's still a function of the traffic light control box. There have been a few times in my life that I saw some traffic signals automatically switch from the normal functioning aka red, yellow and green to flash mode red and yellow aka caution light. I thought it was cool.

[@007ullrich]

Streetlights, trafficking, new testament. don't stop believing

[@babakoosaw]

homeless people trying to get power

[@kens.3729]

Hope they got a Good Shock since they have NO Bidnez screwing with someone else’s Property. 🤔👍

[@jovetj]

Shame the graffiti taggers can't get one too...

[@inothome]

@@jovetj That would be awesome!!!!

[@Dislob]

I would guess those systems use 24v for control. A tingle at most.

[@inothome]

@@Dislob That's probably what they thought too, but he checks for voltage going out of cabinet and measured 120V. So I assume the heads are 120V. Maybe he'll chime in and clear it up. Don't forget, going long distances with lower voltages and voltage drop, especially if a few lights are paralled and current draw goes up. Plus, I am sure the old incandescents were 120V so to keep it simple the LED assemblies probably run on 120V too. So they can just be dropped in.

[@ftroop52]

just here for all the useless suggestions from the experts,lol

[@CapStar362]

I thought you were based in Florida? maybe i'm wrong in that matter, just curious

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

We do work throughout Mississippi!

[@CapStar362]

@@Trafficlightdoctor ahh my bad, i thought you were in FL.

[@josiahguthrie5797]

Audio is a bit garbled at various points in the video.

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

Yeah the GoPro was set to the wind mode that kinda hurt the audio when outside! I apologize for that!

[@Nighthawke70]

Copper scavengers. time to spot weld the access doors shut. Might as well have the city come out with a welding truck and seal them up.

[@jamesphillips2285]

More likely looking for a place to charge their cell phone.

[@macman85602]

Most likely Tweekers

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

Very much so!

[@macman85602]

Sorry they don't like to be called Tweekers anymore now they are called METHican Americans

[@chris76-01]

Ne'erdowells😂

[@james6794]

they might of been trying to charge a phone or something

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

Good point! 🤣

[@jovetj]

Nah

[@OsvaldoMartinez-v6k]

You need to fix that mic feedback or whatever is going on there

[@4GSR]

Some red Loctite will fix the problem of removing the bolts.😁

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

Hard time for me to remove it when needed then too! 🤣

[@4GSR]

@@Trafficlightdoctor Yep. A little hear from a benz-O-matic torch will free it up!

[@pepeshopping]

Wow. You would think these non state of the art expensive systems could detect no-load, or at least have a test routine where you could hear/see the relay or contact getting power...

[@lwilton]

It did detect no load. That's why it went into flash.

[@Look_What_You_Did]

Six figure LEO's too lazy to get off their ass and manage traffic per their job requirements. Instead add confusion by camping out in active traffic.

[@that_one_poof]

Six figures??? are you INSANE? The average is 60K - 70K per year in the US.

[@rrotwang]

Just put an outlet on the pole so they won't try to open it

[@ronaldhudson169]

Then they will open the outlet to steal to copper inside.

[@Master-ls2op]

.... give an inch they will take a mile and still does not matter they will be camping out even more at the light and doing more damage.

[@tomtom1541]

​@@Master-ls2opsooner or later people with electric cars will start charging at any public outlet. So will use up all the electric.

[@Ryan-McLaughlin]

This isn't a great idea, people shouldn't be hanging out in intersections in the first place. My city puts outlets in public parks which is a much better solution.

[@jamesray9009]

the panhandlers did it to slow down traffic to increase time to try to get you to toss them money ..

[@UnknownGuest220]

videos are to short

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@MikeF1189]

Not loving the musical montages.

[@chris76-01]

You'll survive 😂

[@MikeF1189]

@chris76-01 we"ll see ⚰️

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@Peter_Riis_DK]

What? The whole system goes in limp mode because of one malfunctioning lamp? Strange.

[@tomtom1541]

It's just like the check engine in your car, it knows when there's an issue.

[@Peter_Riis_DK]

@@tomtom1541 You don't say!

[@5443-p1s]

Why do people think it's okay to film a video AND drive a car at the same time. That's so dumb. Feel free to pay full attention to driving when you're behind the wheel. Go ahead put your damn car in park before pretending to be a TV host.

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

Have you never had a conversation with a passenger? You don’t make any sense brother just calm down and enjoy the video. Thanks for watching.

[@Ajwajw-k5c]

​@@Trafficlightdoctorgreat answer!!

[@miluth2]

@5443-p1s I guess you are the person who has never talk on the phone, look at a map, drink liquid, or ate while driving.🤔

[@pressinpickle345]

Shame on you for telling the cops to harass the homeless with no proof.

[@Trafficlightdoctor]

@@pressinpickle345 lol it’s an all day adventure dealing with the meth heads around this area. I’ve worked this area enough to know who was involved…

[@Ryan-McLaughlin]

​​@@TrafficlightdoctorIt's disappointing to see you jump to calling them "meth heads" after someone mentions homeless people, lots of homeless people are just trying to survive and haven't ever touched drugs.

[@cbar687]

@@Ryan-McLaughlin lol ok.

[@Irilia_neko]

Use a security screw, will solve a big part of your problem. 👀