Traffic Hackers Hit Red Light

The Safe Intersections Act, part of the transit bill signed Wednesday by
President Bush, makes it a misdemeanor for unauthorized users to wield
a "traffic signal pre-emption transmitter," a special remote
control used by police, firefighters and ambulance drivers to change traffic
lights to green as they approach an intersection.

Lawmakers took an interest in the devices, called mobile infrared transmitters,
or MIRTs, a couple of years ago, when it emerged that impatient commuters could
purchase rogue boxes online for around $500.

"When you first look at it, you think, ‘It’s not such a big deal,’" says
DeWine spokesman Jeff Sadosky. "But when you realize the possible implications,
somebody using one of these to go 80 miles an hour through rapidly changing lights,
you realize it could be life-threatening."

from Wired News