cchris

I have opened some garage doors with scanners in my time but this takes the cake.




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Gadget may wreak traffic havoc

In-car device lets drivers change stoplights; officials fear gridlock, seek to block signal

By Jodi Upton / The Detroit News

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Tired of sitting at endless red lights? Frustrated by lights that turn from green to red too quickly, trapping you in traffic?

Now anyone can breeze through congested intersections just like the police, thanks to a $300 dashboard device that changes traffic lights from red to green, making nasty commutes a thing of the past and leaving other drivers open-mouthed at your ability to manipulate traffic.

But what if everyone had one?

That's the fear of traffic control officials, who believe chaos would take over the roads. That's also the potential facing communities from Troy to Washington Township as Internet-marketed knockoffs of the device -- originally intended only for police and fire vehicles -- have become available to the public.

The knockoffs have traffic engineers investigating whether lockout measures will work against the copycats and whether hundreds of thousands of dollars in traffic technology investments will become obsolete.

Police are worried about the possibility of intersection chaos if people duel over control for lights. But even more fundamentally, the dashboard device may be impossible to detect even from a police car right next to it, and it may be perfectly legal anyway.

"The potential for chaos is enormous," Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel said.

The traffic light changer, called the MIRT for mobile infrared transmitter, emits a beam with a 1,500-foot range to a receiver installed at the intersection, which changes the light immediately, allowing an intersection to clear before a fire or rescue truck approaches.

"That's unreal. I want one," Hackel said while watching a test device change the lights at the touch of a button.

The devices are normally installed on the fire truck and respond automatically. The MIRT requires the press of a button and plugs into the cigarette lighter.

Unlike other devices, like radar jammers and certain laser detectors that emit radio signals, the MIRT and other signal changers emit an infrared beam, so it doesn't run afoul of the Federal Communications Commission, said Chelsea Fallon, a spokeswoman for the agency.

Because no laws apply to the MIRT in Michigan and elsewhere, new ones may have to be written. "I guess I have something to talk to the (state) legislators about," Hackel said.

Copycats sold online

While government officials search legal texts for possible legal infractions, dealers are lining up to sell MIRTs.

Scott Pregler of Shelby Township was one of the first, adding it to his other business of after-market aerodynamic car body parts "like that stuff in 'The Fast and the Furious,' you know?" he said, referring to a movie in which a gang of drivers in super-fast cars repeatedly outwit the police.

Pregler said he hasn't even tried the device yet, and plans to focus on selling it to small police and fire agencies that can't afford the more expensive version of the technology, marketed by 3M, which bigger cities and counties buy.

"We'll probably try to avoid (selling to the public) if it may cause problems in the future," said Pregler, whose company is named Vision Aerodynamics.

The 3M knockoffs, like the MIRT, are available on the Internet, but they work only at intersections that have receivers. There are about 85 such intersections in Troy, along Big Beaver and Rochester Road and other main corridors. Farmington and Novi also have invested in the receivers, which can run $15,000 to $20,000 per intersection, including wiring and installation.

But the real vulnerability may lie in whether the receivers can lock out devices like the MIRT and read only the signal from specific fire trucks. Many receivers already purchased by Troy, for example, can't be locked out and can't be upgraded, said Frank Carrier, the primary 3M dealer in southeast Michigan.

Troy traffic engineer John Abraham said newer receivers are programmable, making it unclear how vulnerable the city is to MIRTs.

"We had a scare a few years ago when we realized there was a potential for the technology to get out, so we upgraded," Abraham said.

In Macomb, Washington Township along Old Van Dyke has been a test site. But the county has only six intersections with receivers, and the technology was able to lock out the MIRT on Friday.

"But if something comes up that gets around the lock, I'll take them all out. It would be chaos," said Dan McInerney, traffic operations engineer at the Road Commission of Macomb County.

For now, Macomb allows only fire trucks to have the device, fearing that if police and paramedics also have it, it would cause havoc at larger emergency scenes.

Wayne County has none of the intersection systems, mostly because of a fear that if there was an accident because of the light change, the county would be held legally responsible, spokeswoman Vanessa Denha said. But there are some similar devices on traffic lights outside some firehouses to help trucks get out.

Because Michigan's communities have not invested in the traffic technology as heavily as some states, problems with copycat devices like the MIRT are just beginning to appear.

Competition, critics grow

Tim Gow, who markets the device through his company, FAC, which also sells high-end weapons and accessories to police, said he's not using the Internet to appeal to the public, but only to level the playing field in a David-versus-Goliath market.

"We will need an army of distributors to go up against 3M," Gow said. He said he is aiming to sell to small police, fire and emergency agencies who can't afford the 3M systems but can afford his $499 device, which is higher than his direct-to-the-dealer price.

He says he has rejected some dealers -- including a pizza delivery guy who wanted to use the device. He asks dealers to promise not to sell directly to the public and to use their device for demonstrations only.

Gow knows he may not hear about infractions. But if he does, he says he will revoke a dealership.

"I have a highly unique product here, and I'm going beyond what I have to do to sell a legal product," Gow said. "The BATF (federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) and the FBI, these are organizations I answer to every day. We have no issues with these governing bodies."

But if communities start locking out the MIRT, Gow may not be able to compete at all.

Frank Carrier, the 3M dealer, says that's only fair. If Gow wants to compete, he should create his own system, including a receiver that can be locked as well, Carrier said. Providing only a transmitter as his business is parasitic, he said.

However long the MIRT survives, it's only one of a number of devices that frustrated and lead-footed drivers have snatched up over the years with an aim of having an advantage over the police. The difference is, few of them actually work.

"People are gullible, and they have discretionary income," said P. David Fisher, professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Michigan State University. He said the issue of a national campaign to expose the businesses that sell radar jammers and laser detectors that, by definition, if they are effective are illegal, has been discussed at public safety conventions.

"It's a very interesting ethical dilemma. Here are all these gullible people. Why should we protect them? On the other hand, they are causing a number of crashes."

EDIT -- Name, Phone Number and Email Address Removed to Protect the Innocent...

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troit

It was only a matter of time... just like any other type of technology -- someone out there is bound to figure out how it operates and try to capitalize on it.

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lurkette

On the one hand...COOL!

On the other hand, we move too fast already and need to learn to just breathe and go with the flow. If you're stuck at a red light, take the opportunity to breathe, make a phone call, relax, talk to your kids, whatever. This is just a symptom of the "me first" culture we have become.

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cchris

Radio waves for mine.

Just fascinated again by what they can do.

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Averett

This will cause a SHITLOAD of accidents...

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yournamehere

The traffic light out of my subdivision usually takes a full 2 minutes or so to change - if I had to turn left more than 10% of the time, I'd probably buy one - but I usually turn right.

I sure would have liked one back when I had my bike, though.

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GSRIDER

It's not an instant change. The "manufacture" was on a local show this morning talking about the product. The lights will go through a standard yellow to red before you get a green. So causing accidents may not be a factor.

Fuckin up traffic however will.

link to company site... not fully running yet.
http://www.noredlights.com/

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Jimbob666

This is going to slow traffic down more. City planners study traffic patterns and adjust lights to make travel efficient, and this will screw everything up.

skysooner

This again shows why when they go with cheaper technology, there exists the potential for problems such as this.

splooge

Traffic lights suck.

These could be a good thing. I see the potential of traffic lights becoming smarter, more aware, and reactive to the current traffic conditions. Imagine if EVERYONE had one and a traffic signal could tell when to change lights more appropriately. For example, we have a lot of traffic during the day, so our stoplights 'rotation' is set to a long delay. During the night, it's empty, but the stoplights still act as if it had to allow hundreds of cars through, meaning i'm stuck at a red light for 3 minutes while there's no traffic going through the green lights.

jbrooks544

This is a CROCK!

I GOT INTO A SERIOUS ACCIDENT BECAUSE OF ONE OF THESE THINGS!

(not exactly the same as these, but pretty similar)

The lights turn "almost" instantly - at least on some systems out there... I know from personal experience. In Syracuse the fire trucks have these strobes on them that change all their lights green. I was waiting at a red light and there was a fire truck behind me, not on a call - probably just went out for donuts - no lights on, no siren, etc. I notice some odd, little strobe going on it's roof. I wondered what it was. I decided that maybe he wanted to get by, so I decided to pull over after the light turned green. So, while I'm looking in RV mirror, I notice light changes green and since I'm distracted, I don't look left/right like I always do, I just go forward. SCREEEEECH!!!.... BOOOOOM!!! I get T-Boned by an old delta 88. If I hadn't been in a 4wd pickup then I would have been badly injured. Thankfully, the impact went just under me, since I was up high. The woman swore up and down that her light was green when she entered the intersection and that it must have either changed very quickly or not changed at all. BTW, my light being green didn't convict her of anything, you need to prove that her's wasn't green. The firemen didn't say anything. They knew what had happened. I didn't figure it out until months and months later. Those guys suck. These devices could wreak HAVOK on the roadways. They should be universally illegal and the owners and manuf. should have to pay millions of dollars to all the people that will be killed and maimed because of them. I don't even think emerg. vehicles should have them - as you could have guessed.

Sledge

Oh, good. Individual selfishness vs. collective fear. I can't wait to see which wins.

splooge, that's a very interesting thought that I hadn't considered. But I'm not sure I believe that this device will cause the American traffic system to evolve. I think a lot of self-centered people will use it for self-centered reasons and some people will die. And it will continue because people generally think of themselves as invincible or an exception to statistic, and will take the risk accordingly.

GSRIDER

Just go ahead and make us some flying cars. Or maybe a teleport tube from my office chair to my kitchen... or hoverbikes... yeah hover bikes. screw changing lights on your own... I wanna fly over cars!!!!!!!!!

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cowudders14

The other thought, assuming it does make the other lights turn red very fast, is that it could be used maliciously to stop drivers who you didn't like/your mates who took the "short cut" etc. I admit sometimes I wait at a pedestrian crossing and press the button at the approach of a car that is driving recklessly, just to annoy the driver! Ok, I'm a heartless bas*ard, but it's fun!

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Gungwhooza

Bus' have had then for a long time where I live. Its really handy for the bus drivers cus so many people depend on then to get where they are supposed to on time, but it will create havoc if every second person has one :P

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Esoteric

That will cause many accidents and many deaths I assume.

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