- LOS ANGELES -- Nobody
likes red traffic lights. Hence the perfect new device that promises US
drivers they need never encounter another one again.
-
- It's called Mirt, short for Mobile Infra-Red Transmitter,
and for as little as $300 (£178) it promises to switch red lights
to green from a distance of 1,500ft.
-
- That's good news for commuters who want to beat traffic
jams and don't care too much about the consequences for other road users.
But it is causing palpitations among officials in some of the most congested
corners of the United States, who note with horror that the device isn't
actually illegal. Yet.
-
- A rash of Mirt sales in the Detroit area has got politicians
in Michigan running over with indignation. They want to take the first
opportunity to outlaw the device, which looks a bit like a clock radio
and plugs into a car cigarette lighter.
-
- Michigan Senator Tony Stamas called the Mirt "extremely
dangerous and potentially life-threatening". "Can you imagine,"
he said, "the nightmare our roads would be if everybody had one?"
-
- Mirts have been around for years to help police and fire
crews in an emergency. But now anyone can go online, and order one. If
Mirts operated with radio waves, they would be subject to federal regulation,
but infra-red devices are not governed by existing laws - a loophole retailers
intend to exploit for as long as it exists.
-
- © 2003 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
-
- http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=460547
|
