Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

By Mr. DEWINE:

S. 1825. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide penalties for the sale and use of unauthorized mobile infrared transmitters; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today, to introduce the Safe Intersections Act of 2003. This bill would criminalize the unauthorized sale and possession of a mobile infrared transmitter, MIRT.

A MIRT is a remote control for changing traffic signals. These devices have been used for years by ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks, allowing them to reach emergencies faster. As an ambulance approaches an intersection where the light is red, the driver engages the transmitter. That transmitter then sends a signal to a receiver on the traffic light, which changes to green within a few seconds. This is a very useful tool when properly used in emergency situations.

In a 2002 survey, the U.S. Department of Transportation found that in the top 78 metropolitan areas, there are 24,683 traffic lights equipped with the sensors. In my home State of Ohio, there is a joint pilot project underway by the Washington Township Fire Department and the Dublin Police Department to install these devices. Other areas in Ohio where they are in use include Mentor, Twinsburg, Willoughby, and Westerville. Across the country, law enforcement officers, fire departments, and paramedics utilize this technology to make communities safer.

However, recently it has come to light that this technology may be sold to unauthorized individuals—individuals who want to use this technology to bypass red lights during their commute or during their everyday driving. MIRT was never intended for this use. MIRT technology—in the hands of unauthorized users—could result in traffic problems, like gridlock, or even worse, accidents in which people are injured or killed.

Let me quote from an ad that was recently posted on the Internet auction site, "eBay":

Tired of sitting at endless red lights? Frustrated by lights that turn from green to red too quickly, trapping you in traffic? The MIRT light changer used by police and other emergency vehicles Change the Traffic Signal Red to Green [for] only $499.00. Traffic Signal Changing Devices—It's every motorist's fantasy to be able to make a red traffic light turn green without so much as easing off the accelerator. The very technology that has for years allowed fire trucks, ambulances and police cars to emergencies faster—a remote control that changes traffic signals—is now much cheaper and potentially accessible.

This ad demonstrates the extent to which the potential widespread sale and possession of MIRT technology by drivers would be a hazard to public safety and must be stopped before it starts. That is why I am introducing the Safe Intersections Act of 2003. I encourage my colleagues to cosponsor this important piece of legislation.

I ask unanimous consent that the legislation I have just introduced be printed in the appropriate place in the RECORD immediately following the conclusion of my remarks.