7/22/04-Gov. Mike Rounds has signed a bill into law outlawing the use of a device 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.
The new law, previously SB115, is intended to deter anyone other than public safety and transit agencies from using the so-called mobile infrared transmitters, or MIRT.
Under the new law, a person caught using the device could be fined $200 and/or spend 30 day in jail.
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.