3/22/05-Gov. John Hoeven has signed a bill into law to outlaw the use of devices that can change some traffic signals from red to green from as far away as 1,500 feet.
Traffic-light changers are designed to allow police, fire and other emergency officials to clear intersections before they approach. But some drivers have managed to purchase them on the Internet for less than a couple of hundred dollars.
People can even buy kits and build the signal changers themselves.
The new law, previously HB1096, is intended to deter anyone other than public safety and transit agencies from using so-called mobile infrared transmitters, or MIRTs. House and Senate lawmakers previously approved the measure by unanimous consent.
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.

1/12/05-The House has advanced legislation to outlaw the use of devices 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 drivers have managed to purchase them on the Internet for a couple of hundred dollars.
People can even buy kits and build the signal changers themselves.
House lawmakers voted 91-0 on Tuesday, Jan. 11, to forward the bill to the Senate.
The bill – HB1096 – is intended to deter anyone other than public safety and transit agencies from possessing so-called mobile infrared transmitters, or MIRTs.
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.
For bill status, call (701) 328-2916. In North Dakota, call 1-888-635-3437.
A similar Senate bill – SB2049 – is in the Senate Transportation Committee.