If you ride a bike of steel, you can leap tall buildings at a single bound...umm...make that trip traffic lights just like a car. At many lights you will notice a box shape with the corners cut off on the pavement just behind the stop line. There may also be a "tail" (two more lines) coming off the box back down the lane. If you place your steel bike along one side of the box, in most instances it will trip the light. The only exception I know about in Gainesville is the left turn signal on SR121 northbound at US441 (right next to the highway patrol station, just where we really need to run a red light).
If you are riding a non-ferrous bike, you may still have enough metal on board to trip some lights, but the results will probably not be consistent.
If you do not see the box with the cut off corners, it is still there; it's just under a newer layer of pavement. Use your experience and place your bike where you think the edge of the box is; if you err, do it toward the center of the box.
Many cyclists stop in front of the stop line at stop lights. If you do so, you have NO CHANCE of tripping the light, and it is illegal (if an officer has been having a very bad day it could cost you $52).