The Ohio House passed a bill that would prohibit a device that can change some traffic signals from red to green. It has been forwarded to the Senate.

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 $300, The Toledo Blade reported.

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

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Wagner, R-Sycamore, would ban the possession or use of so-called mobile infrared transmitters, or MIRTs, by anyone other than public safety and transit agencies.

Under the proposal, unauthorized possession of the device could result in a fine up to $250 and 30 days in jail. Using it could cost the offender as much as $1,000 with six months in prison.

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.

Traffic lights in 35 Ohio cities, townships and villages are rigged for use with the devices, the newspaper reported.

HB406 is in the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee.