6/30/05-A bill that sought to outlaw the use of devices that can change some traffic signals from red to green is dead.
S94, sponsored by Sen. Sen. Kenneth LaValle, R-Port Jefferson, remained in the Senate Transportation Committee at the close of the session June 24, effectively killing it for the year.
A traffic-light changer is designed to allow police, fire and other emergency officials to clear intersections before they approach. But drivers can purchase them on the Internet for a couple of hundred dollars.
The bill called for fining violators as much as $100.
The measure was intended to deter anyone other than public safety and transit agencies from using 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.
A recent U.S. Department of Transportation survey showed the devices are in use at 26,500 intersections in 78 cities across the country.
LaValle can pick up the bill from where it left off when lawmakers return to the Capitol for the session that begins in January 2006.

3/4/05-A bill before the Senate Transportation Committee would 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 drivers can purchase them on the Internet for a couple of hundred dollars.
S94, sponsored by Sen. Kenneth LaValle, R-Port Jefferson, calls for violators to face fines as much as $100.
The measure is intended to deter anyone other than public safety and transit agencies from using 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.
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 bill status, call (518) 455-7545. In New York, call 1-800-342-9860.
A similar bill – S281 – also is in the Senate Transportation Committee.