Subject: [NEXTEL-1] The Dirt On MIRTs

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 05 Dec 2003 15:52:31 -0500

The Dirt On MIRTs
Dec 03, 2003

You're late for an appointment. You're stuck in traffic. That left-turn light is
taking forever, and it's short. You pull turn to your $300-$500,
dashboard-mounted mobile infrared transmitter (MIRT) situated right next to your
radar detector, and you change that traffic light to your advantage.

A MIRT device changes a traffic light via an infrared beam that can reach as far
as 1,500 feet, and many official state and local fire vehicles sport one. There
are no current FCC rules preventing the sale of these devices to the rest of the
driving public, and Wireless Data News did its own state-by-state Department of
Transportation search, but to no avail. In light of this, it's a reasonable bet
a few may be finding their way into the holiday gift pile.

MIRTS are handy, but are they legal? MIRTs are readily available online. Some of
them come with questionable warnings that they will be sold only to
public-safety or other authorized entities, and others might as well be sold on
QVC. For those who really want to save money, there even are plans available on
the Internet.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, as of last year, some 26,500
intersections in the nation's 78 largest metropolitan areas had stoplights
equipped with devices that can receive command signals from transmitters mounted
inside emergency vehicles. Outside of the United States, traffic lights can only
be controlled by a central database for emergency services or by GPS on certain
vehicles.
Given the recent flap regarding the potential for gridlock, accidents and
fatalities that could result from consumer MIRT usage, next year could see
passage of stringent new state rulings on MIRTs, especially if they continue to
elude FCC regulation. Bills are pending in a number of states, including
Indiana, California, Michigan and Ohio.

3M [NYSE: MMM] in Minnesota is the largest manufacturer of infrared emitters in
the country. Its Opticom product line, in use by some 70 percent of the
marketplace, uses a coded infrared signal that turns red lights to green, The
approximate base cost of the emitter is $1,400 plus installation. If encryption
is added, analysts believe the cost bumps up another $2,500, which is why many
U.S. states and counties are taking a pass. According to two Michigan cities
that have spent the money to upgrade their traffic lights, the cost hovers
somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000 per intersection.

Donna Fleming, spokeswoman for 3M's Traffic Control Materials Division, told WDN
her company's product has a 30-year history in the field, and its fourth
generation contains upgraded security to help prevent lights from being changed
by non-authorized equipment. The Opticom product is a matched-component system,
in that no other emitter can trip the 3M units. In fact, the system is capable
of logging instances of unauthorized users trying to trip the light, alerting
the jurisdiction of potential problems.
3M's gear has been installed in 50,000 intersections in 11,000 cities, including
Broward County. Fleming says a lot of this equipment has a security feature
built in, and transportation planners haven't switched it on beacause they
either weren't aware of it or, until now, they haven't had a reason to do so.
Just Slow Down

Some jurisdictions are refusing either to install MIRT receivers on traffic
lights or to upgrade older models in an attempt to prevent problems before they
happen. In Ohio, the cities of Toledo, Columbus and Cleveland decided not to
deploy MIRT technology for their public-safety operations for two reasons: The
technology is too expensive, and the cities want to prevent consumer MIRT usage.
Toledo city fathers have gone so far as to tell fire, police and rescue teams to
just slow it down when they cross busy intersections.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office in Florida so far has not run across any
problems with civilians using MIRTs. Jim Leljedal, senior public information
officer, told Wireless Data News, "We've just started hearing about this, and
there definitely is going to be a problem in the future." The department runs
2,400 vehicles, and not one of them is equipped with a MIRT.

Maryland reportedly could be hardest hit by consumer MIRTers. The state has an
infrared control system on a third of the 3,000 intersections it maintains.
However, while some 100 of those stoplights have been secured against
unauthorized tripping, the rest remain unprotected. Neighboring Washington,
D.C., has no secure traffic lights yet, and Northern Virginia is operating the
same number of secure intersections as is Maryland.

Jim Leljedal, 954/831-8300; Donna Fleming, 800/328-7098<<

Who Is MIRTworthy?
First responders
Private investigators
Emergency volunteers
City & state highway workers
Security personnel
Community services
Firefighters
Mass-transit operators
Doctors
Police
EMS

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