Gov. Frank Murkowski signed a bill into law June 8 outlawing in Alaska the possession or use of devices that can change some traffic signals from red to green.

The devices were designed to allow police, fire and other emergency officials to clear intersections before they approach. But some drivers have purchased them on the Internet for personal use.

The new law, previously SB255, bans the possession or use of mobile infrared transmitters, or MIRTs, by anyone other than public safety and transit agencies.

As of Sept. 2, anyone caught with the devices could be charged with a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a fine of up to $10,000, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.

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 are installed at some intersections.

A recent U.S. Department of Transportation survey showed there are 26,500 intersections in 78 cities across the country that are susceptible to MIRTs .

In Alaska, traffic signals in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and the Kenai Peninsula have been rigged for use with the devices, the newspaper reported. The new law will have less effect in Anchorage and Fairbanks because both use technology that is not susceptible to preemption devices bought by the general public.