5/18/04-A bill that would have outlawed unauthorized use of controllers that can change some traffic signals from red to green has died.
HB1060, sponsored by Rep. Jack Goodman, R-Mt. Vernon, remained in the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee at the close of the session May 14.
The traffic device provision, however, was included in a larger transportation bill – SB1233 – that was approved on the Legislature’s final day and forwarded to Gov. Bob Holden.

1/19/04-HB1060 would outlaw controllers that can change some traffic signals from red to green.
A traffic-light changer is designed to allow police, fire and other emergency officials to clear intersections before they approach. But some impatient drivers have managed to purchase them on the Internet for as low as $100.
People can even buy kits and build the signal changer themselves.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jack Goodman, R-Mt. Vernon, would make the possession or use of Mobile Infrared Transmitters, or MIRT, by anyone except emergency personnel a Class A misdemeanor punishable up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The devices, which sit on a vehicle’s dash, are not regulated by current federal standards because they rely on a beam of light instead of a radio wave to trigger the light-changing mechanisms that have been attached to some intersections.
A recent U.S. Department of Transportation survey showed the devices are in use at 26,500 intersections in 78 cities across the country.
For House bill status, call (573) 751-4043.
A similar House bill – HB1052 – has also been introduced.