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Measure targeting traffic signal changers headed to Utah governor

A bill to outlaw controllers that can change some traffic signals from red to green has been sent to Utah Gov. Olene Walker. The bill passed the House and Senate by unanimous consent.

A traffic-light changer is designed to allow police, fire and other emergency officials to clear intersections before they approach. But some impatient drivers have managed to purchase them on the Internet for as low as $100, according to published reports.

People can even buy kits and build the signal changer themselves.

HB201, sponsored by state Rep. John Dougall, R-Highland, would prohibit the possession or use of so-called mobile infrared transmitters, or MIRTs, by anyone except emergency personnel.

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.

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