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Traffic Light Switcher Makes Critics See Red
An anonymous reader writes "According to a Yahoo/Washington Post article: 'It sounds like a suffering commuter's dream come true: a dashboard device that changes red traffic lights to green at the touch of a button.
Police, fire and rescue vehicles have had access to such equipment for years, but now the devices are becoming available to ordinary motorists
thanks to advances in technology and a little help from the Internet. Safety advocates are outraged, and news accounts in Michigan last week
led to politicians there seeking a ban on the gadgets'." Update: 11/06 02:25 GMT by S : A previous Slashdot story mentions the device, though not the Michigan legislature's subsequent ire.
Did we forget the old chrome boxes?
where can I get one of these before they are banned?? I hate traffic in LA
Now that these devices are out there, we can't account for all of them, the same way we can't account for all those WMDs in Iraq. A solution might be to change the systems to use a different authentication method so that only authorized users could change the lights.
Gee... I wish I had a similar device for "See it early" Slashdot post... ;P
--
Error 500: Internal sig error
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/10/27/003625 4&mode=nested&tid=126&tid=137&tid=159&tid= 186
although the previous story was from the detroit times...
The Yahoo story even references the detroit times story:
" In Michigan, a story about the devices in the Detroit News last week prompted state Sen. Tony Stamas (R) to promise that he would introduce legislation to make it illegal to possess such equipment."
As the creator of the "Greased Up Yoda Doll" troll I must congratulate all who have followed in my footsteps. May Yoda Doll live forever in our hearts and shoved up our asses. THANK YOU!
why these were legal for non-emergency sale in the first place?
This is a few weeks old...
how similar were they... was it the same cat?
whoes this new guy simoniker anyways...
I'll just use my special getting high powers one more time...
"According to a Yahoo/Washington Post article: 'It sounds like a suffering computer's dream come true: a desktop device that duplicates slashdot articles at the touch of a button. Police, fire and rescue vehicles have had access to such equipment for years, but now the devices are becoming available to ordinary hackers thanks to advances in technology and a little help from the Internet. Safety advocates are outraged, and news accounts in Michigan last week led to politicians there seeking a ban on the gadgets'."
I would expect such blatant racism on Fark, but on Slashdot? Mods please ban this asshole.
Problem solved.
The concept of the so called Chrome Box is very old news. Personally, I had always avoided building/using one primarily because of the safety implications plus I assumed such a device would be illegal for public use.
They are on sale here
"Can you imagine the nightmare our roads would be if everybody had one?"
Couldn't the opposite be true? Maybe the light would stay green longer for whichever side had more traffic? Ideally it could create "democratic" intersections and reduce the amount of time you spend stopped with no traffic going the other way. I'm sure it wouldn't actually work, but wouldn't it be cool if it did?
I'm a resident of Chesterfield, Missouri. Chesterfield is a rich suburb of St. Louis. I work as a crossing guard at a local elementary school...I have seen, without fail, 3 or 4 cars that cause the lights to change when they approach. Chesterfield is a great community, don't get me wrong, but I think there is a set of schlimeles out there that think way too much of their wealth and are corrupting the system.
The linux hacker
....can it run Linux?
You may note that this story is a follow up about how legislatures are pissed. But then again, you may note that you didn't read the story before commenting.
MIRT, 3M Opticom(R), and Tomar Strobecom(R) traffic signal preemption are optically-based communications systems and the main brands of these systems.
Clearly this is illegal (or soon will be) and stupid waste of the public's time and money to refit this lights to stop this silly company. FAC of America located out of Minn. runs websites such as TheMIRT and Guns'N Stuff The are allowing people to be resellers for $300/unit.
There is a flash "demo" of the MIRT in action here
I already refuse to drive because cars are so dangerous, what we need a is yet another tool to assist people in driving dangerously. I was pissed off enough about those bastard speed camera detectors.
I'm a fucking commie. Long live public transport.
fortune -o
plus, in a lot of places all they do is turn all the lights red.
(presuming that is your creation). While I will claim credit for the original concept and the David Bowie parody, the "8 Steps" is a fine contribution to Yodadom for mankind. May your Yoda Doll be slathered in liquid gold!
Have every vehicle installed with a device that interacts with a Traffic control light so that it would act like a load balancer. If no one else is by the light then a vehicle would get through without having to stop. Otherwise the light would see how many requests it is getting and let the appropriate group go.
i was told by a traffic engineering friend of mine that there are detectors out there that look for the strobe lights that apart of a emergency vehicle's blinkinlights, and change the light colors accordingly. I would assume that normal headlights are distinguishable from emergency lights (otherwise the detectors would be useless).
Are these the same detectors discussed in the article?
The One Rule Of Chess You'll Ever Need: Don't play someone who carries a kit in their bookbag.
(oh yeah, you beat the Creator to the First Post, too. :)
I wish to purchase the following number of units:* @ $299.00 ea.
I think taking an extra five minutes to get around is better than dishing out 300 bucks!
"I only speak the truth"
Karma: null(Mostly affected by an unassigned variable)
Dude, when are you in that big a hurry and NOT on the way to a fire already?
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
These devices could be contrasted with radar/laser detectors.
I think the radar/laser detectors are fine, but the devices which allow people to actually change the system should not be allowed.
Radar/Laser detectors serve a good purpose. Yes, they allow people to "undermine" the law by getting around traffic tickets (if you're alert,) but they also slow down traffic when an officer is nearby. The people with the radar detectors slow down when an officer is running radar nearby, and therefore drive safer because they don't want a ticket.
However, devices like the ones coming now actually affect the system rather than circumvent it. My having a radar detector does not affecy anyone but me. But one that allows me to change traffic lights in my favor affects the other people on the road!
This is all IMHO.
This kind of security thinking is akin to hiding your head in the sand. FIX THE PROBLEM! Don't legislate bans on exploits. DESIGN SUCH THINGS SECURELY IN THE FIRST PLACE! It wouldn't be that hard to have developed it with a cryptographically secure access code system in the first place. Sheesh!
I lack hard data, this is all real old (like childhood pre-driving) memory, but my understanding is that this was origionally done way back when (like 60s maybe?)using optical sensors and the pointable floodlight on cop cars. It was abused then and the solution was to switch to to some sort of radio thing and take out the green option, simply turnning the light 4 way red. This did not impede an ememrgency vehicle who was the only thing supposed to use it anyway. So I'm thinkng hoax/urban legend real hard. If its true though, screwing with traffic lights in a busy intersection is gonna kill somoeone right fast. Manslaughter/depraved indiference perhaps? This is unfunny.
I'll speak on this again.
While these politicians are at it, why not mandate fuel governors for all cars to prevent them from speeding?
Why not mandate RFID for everyone so that the police can tell where you are when you're a suspect in a crime?
I can understand making people responsible for using such a device, but banning them won't do any more good than those states that banned radar detectors.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
When everyone has this, the one who clicks fastest gets through!
And I have to get through before the other guy switches the lights back!!
Imagine gangs of trolls mass switching the lights to get through cities quickly!!
Or permanently blockading districts by having the lights out of it permanently on red!!
This is the perfect item for Bubb Rubb. Now he can fly through traffic lights "WOOO WOOOOOOO'ing" and everyone will just assume it's the paramedics.
...have the change event turn all the lights in the intersection go red. Emergency vehicles will allowed to pass through the intersection AND the intersection will be cleared of any vehicles. Who would want a device that turns lights at an intersection all red? Problem solved.
It's not amusing. It's just wrong.
FCC controls RF, nobody controls light (IR)
Unlike England, where the British Post Office (?) (the regulator of radio in Britain) controls electromagnetic waves all the way up through gamma if they carry a communication channel.
Seems some "filthy capitalist" had a bright idea (so to speak) for breaking the BBC's monopoly on broadcast radio: He installed an infrared laser in London pointed straight up, modulated it with a copy of the FM broadcast spectrum built locally, and started to sell receivers rent slots in the modulation.
The light from the (invisible) laser scattered off the clouds/particulates/"clear air" and illuminated the city. The receiver consisted of a photocell to mount on the window sill and point at the pillar of invisible light, connected to a converter that you'd strap to the back of a radio and hook to the antenna connection. Presto: One complete broadcast band full of commercial stations.
Of course the BBC squalked and parlement extended the range of frequencies the BPO could regulate all the way up to infinity. End of enterprise.
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
Unfortunately, the key was only one bit long.
What is the range of these things? Could an enemy country mount a space based Denial of Service attack on American auto traffic?? Could put all those Internet based attacks in the shade.
simply make the traffic controls go red in all directions only like in Canada. EOP Alot of pissed of motorists but at least emergency vehicles will still have the right of way. Totally UnAmerican idea though it is too simple and effective! The people who manufacture and sell the devices will just go out of business like they should.
OH THE SHAME I fell off the wagon and use sigs again!
Then what prevents someone from installing 5-6 devices on one car and skewing the requests the light gets?
Before I ever read it on slashdot, my friends and I were hacking traffic lights thanks to phrack. It used to take me 25 minutes to get to work, but now it only takes 15 :P
It also tells you how to get into the main traffic light control system, though you have to go through a bunch of backdoors into a VAX system. Imagine if Al-Qaeda managed to do that, though...
http://www.phrack.org/phrack/60/p60-0x0e.txt
"...news accounts in Michigan last week led to politicians there seeking a ban on the gadgets'."
Thus expanding the underground economy.
(Not that there's anything wrong with that...)
The GEEK shall inherit the earth...
... only Automan could do it.
Now all I need is a magic blinking cursor that will built anything I might need out of thin air and electricity ^^
I have always wanted a car that can turn 90 degress in an instan an a super speed.
errera hunamum ets
Trying to cover that dupe.
First of all, you must understand how incredibly simple these devices are. The transmitter simply sends out pulses of IR energy at a rate of 10-14Hz (yes, Hz, not kHz or anything) depending on thier mode of operation. More advanced systems interleave data in these pulses to form identification of specific vehicles or vehicle classes. Since every intersection must be updated every time a new vehicle is equipped with a MIRT, this is often not utilized.
The devices sold on the websites listed in other's comments use a simple strobe with an IR filter to block out visible light. Interestingly, I have used a standard "party strobe" hooked up to a power inverter in my car to change a traffic signal (done late at night so I wouldn't get busted- I had no filter on it so it was quite bright and I did not want to distract other motorists). It only took about 5 minutes of fine-tuning to get the timing right.
This raises an interesting question. If strobe lights are legal (although not on non-emergency vehicles), can't this device simply be remarketed as a dc-powered strobe with optional IR filter for use off road? Or how about as a device to increase your visibility on CCD cameras or night-vision systems? By the way, you can build one of these yourself for about $10 in parts.
--- At my sig, unleash hell.
As the article states, most cities and counties use the Opticon system by 3M. This system has two components, an encoded flash reciever, and a radio reciever. In order to pre-empt the light, you had to have a valid encoded flasher, and the encoded radio signal. There is no nation-wide standard for the pre-emting devices, so each locality sets up its own code. Good luck trying to us one of these black boxes to trip signals, it won't work 99.99% of the time.
I worked on the traffic signal system in a central california town, and we had 3 different codes: 1 for fire/police, 1 for ambulances, and one for maintenance work. Each time a signal was pre-empted, it was logged at the signal control center downtown. I worked with a guy who had a maintenance encoded flasher on his truck. It was kinda fun cruising through town, never hitting a green, but we didn't do it very often.
I think the black boxes they are selling are just for people dumb enough to think they work.
there are two problems with this:
(a) traffic does not move, and hence
will not get out of the emergency
vehicle's way
(b) emergency vehicles (except police)
are typically _NOT_ allowed to
go through red lights
If you would have read the previous posting of this (last week) you would have seen those argumetnts. Don't be so goddam arrogant that you think you know better then the people who designed the process...
Really.
Sure, you can ban these things. Every state will ban them if they become popular. But anyone who gets something like this is not the type of person that is concerned about laws. Think about it, who would buy one of these things? Someone who routinely ignores speed limits, tailgates, runs lights whenever possible. The prospect of paying a fine just won't deter them.
1. Sell transmitters for varying amounts of money, from $300 all the way up to $1 million or more.
2. Whoever has the most expensive transmitter gets the right of way.
Rank Presidents by th
The ultimate solution is to have each individual become responsible for building their own network of highways.
But now it may be played with all adults. Great, I thought kids were bad.
I gots to get me one of them
First, other emergency vehicles can or should be able to go through red lights. Motorists might not cooperate though since if they see all-red they may treat it as a 4-way stop.
They could however instead flash red and yellow alternately and quickly so that it would mean EXACTLY and ONLY that an emergency vehicle is approaching and ALL ways need to stop to give it right of way.
Gridlock isn't dependent on the traffic lights (remembering various stories about New York where the fire engines were in the middle of a block and it would take 30 minutes to go just over a mile.
This kind of security thinking is akin to hiding your head in the sand. FIX THE PROBLEM! Don't legislate bans on exploits. DESIGN SUCH THINGS SECURELY IN THE FIRST PLACE! It wouldn't be that hard to have developed it with a cryptographically secure access code system in the first place. Sheesh!
You're right. In fact, I'm going to take your prinicle to heart and exploit the weakness in the locks of your residence. Since you clearly believe that if the lock isn't adequate then the laws shouldn't take effect, I am doing nothing you shouldn't fully expect. Five tumbler locks? Come on! You should have 3ft thick concrete walls, thick steel doors with multiple jamb pins, and a cryptographically secure electric lock which requires something you have, something you know, and something you are. Actually, since that makes you the weak link you shouldn't even give yourself access.
Anarchy is fun to think about intellectually, but at the end of the day I don't want to have to do my own policing, I don't want to make my life cumbersome, and I don't want more than a few percent chance of being robbed/burgled in my life.
Of course, my web server is secured out the yin yang, because police protection does not extend to that area of my life... yet.
-Adam
Let's hypothesize that I have one of these devices and use it to speed my journey. During that journey I pre-empt a light just before the ambulance that legitimately needs to cross the junction because it is en route to a heart attack victim. Since I got there first, presumably I win the toss (so to speak) and the light goes green for me. I get home 2 minutes early, joy! But, I delay the paramedics and the victim dies. Can the victim's relatives therefore sue me? They certainly should be able to. My device is (a) dangerous (may cause accidents) and (b) unethical. However, I need to be caught, so if these devices become at all popular, expect to see cameras on every intersection. Thank you, whoever is marketing this. You have done us a great favor and increased our personal liberties (not!).
Just because you can do something doesn't make it right or legal.
If the government tells you you can't use one of those, its real simple, don't use them. Use it and suffer the penalty!
Why the hell should the taxpayers shoulder the massive costs of building a device like that which would be completely immune to misuse? Does it add $1000 per? $10000 per? How much per emergency vehicle? In a town of ten or twenty thousand people with, say, 30 lights, you want the town to give up a teacher or ten because you've got some high and mighty belief that if people CAN do something they SHOULD?
Thats not Score:4 Insightful, it should be Score:0 Retarded.
I have a device that will override anyone else's device. Granted it takes a 500 watts of power, but it's well worth it, just because...
Bow down before the one you serve.
You're going to get what you deserve.
Apparently they only had enough plot for 2 1/2 movies? Think I'll just rent Mr. Majestyk this weekend instead.
I recall plans to make these using a modified Radioshack strobe light in the old Anarchist's cookbook. I _almost_ talked my Dad into making one, but we ultimately decided it wasn't worth the time: we would have to sit at stoplights until an ambulance passed then videotaped their lights to get that city's strobe pattern, according to the directions.
I had an interesting childhood...
I'm sorry, your idea is just too damn smart... We're gonna have to deport you overseas.
In this day and age why don't we just start looking for a better solution rather than trying to outlaw these transmitters.
Surely some sort of RFID tag could be fitted to emergency vehicles that would allow for traffic signal control without extraordinary costs. Retrofitting this new technology to the pre-existing traffic intersection control probably wouldn't be too hard either.
Additionally this technology could be used to inform regular vehicles that there is an emergency vehicle in the area. (Provided vehicles were fitted with a suitable receiver.)
Do away with all traffic lights, stop signs, and speed limits.
Can you imagine how safe you'd have to drive where there were no traffic controls? You'd really have to pay attention at intersections!
Mod this "funny" if you will, but it is a serious proposal.
in cop cars for a long time here, and fire engines/ambulances, but ours have NEVER switched a light, the ONLY thing ours would do was extend the yellow, and prevent the opposing traffic from turning green. Even with that limited ability it plays havoc on the traffic flow and on a regular basis they had to sync the lights back to the timers down-town or traffic would gridlock. Thinking about it though once the system for over-ride is in place the means to abuse it are there as well :) reminds me of the RDS bandits :)
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
Instead of seeking a ban on the device why can't they invest in a system that works properly? Twat faces....
"'I pass the test,' she said. 'I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.'"
- JRR Tolkien.
About 100 of those stoplights have been equipped with secure sensors so the lights can't be changed by anyone without the proper code, but the rest are unprotected, Hicks said."
And how hard would it be for someone to obtain 'the proper code'? Pretty easily, I would think. Prop up your video camera (with IR nightvision) next to an intersection, record the ambulances passing by, and then go analyze the tape. I may be oversimplifying, but this doesn't sound like a very encrypted method to me. They might as well save the extra $2,500 it takes to 'encrypt' these things and spend it on repairing pot-holes.
With the cameras that have been going up at intersections, I'm sure the next thing will be IR-activated cameras to get pictures of the vehicles using these things.
I can see a way for them to vastly reduce the incentive for the average joe to install one of these on their car: Have the strobe take a picture when it's activated with film that also picks up some of the IR flash to trace the source vehicle. With red light runner cameras, this isn't much of a stretch.
When they pick up a violator, send 'em a fat ticket, suspend the owners license or whatever. It'd be a nice, short term revenue stream for local municipals as well depending on how far these dumb things spread.
Where I live we already have enough drivers plowing through red lights. Six people are dead in the last incident that made the news.
The last thing anyone on the roads needs is loons who can twiddle the stoplights. If someone ever hits me after using one of those things, they'd better get their lawyers lined up.
Ban 'em and change stoplights so they don't work.
-- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
As long as you don't subsequently enter the residence. Remember, it's illegal to enter even if the door was already open (although I've never heard of it being illegal simply to pick the lock or test the doorknob). But barring unsafe conditions, it isn't illegal to enter an intersection on a green light, no matter what caused the light to turn green in the first place.
Speaking of optically influencing the traffic light, is it or will it also become illegal to park directly on the sensor, a carlength or two away from the intersection, in order to force a green arrow?
Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
1.
A portable self-contained device to manipulate Traffic Signals.
Not a phreak box.
Created by Remote Control
Date: June, 14 1988
2.
Old hat.
They're illegal? Now that I know that I'll be sure to not use mine!
What, if any, stuff in the old Anarchist's Cookbook did you manage to talk your Dad into making?
:-)
Ever ignite a little heap of thermite on the car hood of that guy whose dog always shit on your lawn?
The cost of upgrading all of the existing traffic lights is huge. This isn't something where you can just upgrade all of them by connecting to Windows Update.
Yes, new lights should not have the vulnerability. But the massive number of legacy lights in this case justifies banning the devices.
There were 2 strobe lights on the vehicle, and each would flash twice in a 1 second cycle. (I remember from the stopwatch that it was EXACTLY 1 second, down to the hundredth of a second). It wasn't a steady rate of flashes... Kinda like the below diagram (L=left strobe, R=right strobe)
L..L......R..R......
then it goes U..U......D..D......B..A......select..start......
I have a lot of opinions about Cyborgs and Architects
These devices should NOT be given to civilians. Otherwise every self-important cocksucker BMW driver is going to have one, and we'll just get more of that "I'm more important than you because I SAY SO now get out of my way you worthless peon!" behavior. Yeah, THAT's all we need.
They could however instead flash red and yellow alternately and quickly so that it would mean EXACTLY and ONLY that an emergency vehicle is approaching and ALL ways need to stop to give it right of way.
What if two emergency vehicles reach the same intersection at the same time? That's going to be a nasty collision.
Gridlock isn't dependent on the traffic lights (remembering various stories about New York where the fire engines were in the middle of a block and it would take 30 minutes to go just over a mile.
It depends. In manhattan during rush hour (which is about 8 hours out of each day), you're quite right, and turning the lights either green or red could be devestating. In those places it's much better to just leave bad enough alone, unless you're going to coordinate a very complicated system to clear the way.
They'll say "it was green" followed by "because I fliped it"! Ideally that would be 1st degree manslaughter...enough to get people to stop posessing them for fear of Hard Time if they screw up.
Just be sure to line the streets with large sheets of paper during school season...Then you can be on a poster too!
Install video cameras on the top of every light that doesn't already have them. When the device is triggered, take a nice large picture of the triggering car's license plate. If it's an emergency vehicle, then it's okay. If you notice an emergency vehicle doing this often, it could be signs that a policeman is throwing on his flashers just to get through the lights (I've seen it done before.)
They already do that. They're called proximity detectors, and they determine when cars are sitting on top of them. They work based on induction.
Sometimes you can see where they were embedded in the road, especially if the light was retrofitted. Look for a patched-over hole in the pavement directly underneath where the first car would pull up at a stop light.
That is why some lights only change when your car is sitting there. For additional fun, you might be caught behind some dingus who, for some reason, stopped too far back to trigger the sensor. You're going to be there a while.
Toronto-area transit rider? Rate your ride.
These things are no joke and I hope this bill gets through.
Because of posts like your's (whose' intent is obviously hummor) that get modded as Insightful. ...thank god these geeks don't vote.
Telephone conversation:
"Hello FAC of America? My MIRT doesn't seem to be working"
"Aaah, you see the MIRT doesn't emit visible light"
"Then how will I know if it's working?"
"Well, when you drive up to an intersection with it on the lights will change to green after a short delay to let traffic clear"
"I drove up to one and it took seemingly as long as usual for the light to change"
"Well, that is controled by the cities setting of the intersection data"
"Then how will I know if it is working?"
"It is entirely possible that the intersection in question is not controlled by an OptiCom device. If you try it and it doesn't work then the intersection isn't one controlled this way...sorry"
"Click"
-- TT
TT
It goes like this:
1) Fire department installs special racks atop their fire engines. Fire department allows qualified paintball players who pay a fee (say, $100/mo. for unlimited rides) to ride along in these racks.
2) As the engines go zooming through the city, a bottleneck appears. It seems some assmunch of a driver is refusing to get out of the way for fear of losing his precious spot in the mad dash to get to the freeway.
3) Traffic Decency Guardians (aka TDGs) unleash a hail of accurate paintball fire at the offending motorist. The paintballs are colored bright purple, or perhaps a mixture of purple and orange. They are not water-soluble. They do mark said motorist as a complete assmunch, so other motorists are sure to treat the offender accordingly.
4) Violations of right-of-way rules plummet. Paintballers everywhere compete for selection as TDGs. The fire department finally has enough money to get that extra ladder they've always needed. Everyone wins.
Except the guy with purple paint all over his car. ;-)
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
Exactly! Just like I was saying... There should be no law against painting your car like a police car and putting red and blue lights on your top. FIX THE PROBLEM! It's the police's fault that it's so easy to mimic an emergency vehicle by flashing red and blue lights. DESIGN SUCH THINGS SECURELY IN THE FIRST PLACE! This existing law is unconstitutional! Sheesh!
Pulling over to the right is the courteous thing to do but when you can't tell that an emergency vehicle is behind you until it is visiting your tailpipe doesn't help either. You could tell where an emergency vehicle was when they had honest, loud motorized sirens, not the wussy CHEAP electronic ones that put out less audio than a normal stock car stereo. If you want to be known that you are coming, then make yourself HEARD!! Better yet, replace the air horns with ones off a train...far louder!!!! LOUD IS GOOD for getting attention. If a driver doesn't want to move over, then lay on the train horn and blast his/her windows out!!! Guaranteed the driver will get the message.
slow or stop completely, depends on the situation. Th one time i didnt, there were 4 cop cars coming up behind me at a light, they were going like bats outta hell, i was at a dead stop, so i jsut stayed there, figured that was the safest. they blew by on both sides doing about 60 in a 25.
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
Opticom is 3M's solution for priority/preemptive right of way control--it has two modes, depending on what type of traffic you are. One is the "priority" right of way. If you're sitting at an intersection, and the light is red, and this comes up, you will get a shorter red, or a longer green light time when you're coming upon the light and it's green. This was kinda designed for public transit (e.g., buses), where idle time costs the city money in fuel.
The next section is something called the pre-emptive right of way, where the traffic lights that are not the same path as the signal is coming from, get a red light. The reason for this, is so in case the vehicle can make a left turn without worrying about oncoming traffic.
The system works in two parts--one's a transmitter, the other's an receiver, and the system can be set for thousands of possible codes. (for vehicle identification). the odds of something like this working, right out of the box, is very small...you'd need to get a correct code, and hope that no one notices a lot of new entries when it logs.
There is a comapny that makes legitimate Opticom receivers, for 'testing' purposes...however, their testing eqipment is very limited. They do make handheld opticom transmitters, however, they'll only sell them to you if you're a law enforcement/governmnet agency.
I disable sigs...do you?
They should have designed the systems such that a trigger would cause the light to go RED in all directions. The cross traffic would stop, and any real emergency response vehicle could run the red, of course being given authority to do so in emergencies.
I'm surprised I haven't seen SPAM offering these thing yet.
A poster above mentioned they were a crossing guard...think of those implications. The light turns and they lead a group of tikes out into traffic when somebody with a switcher flips the light and plows thru without looking!
There'll be fewer SUVs on the roads soon! That's good for the economy. It will also server to thin out upper/middle management ranks creating job openings and cashing out some IRAs. At least one incident should qualify for a Darwin Award!
There should be no law against painting your car like a police car and putting red and blue lights on your top.
There should't. Laws should apply to everyone equally. Why should the police get red and blue lights but I can't? Sure, I can see a law against using red and blue lights in a non-emergency, but a law against merely posseessing them? I wouldn't go so far as to call it unconstitutional, but it is a bad law.
I can see this thing really screwing up a lot of traffic flow by putting lights out of sync, but is it that dangerous as people are saying?
Don't the lights there follow the same, green, then orange/amber, then red sequence? with a slight lag between the red coming on on one direction, and a green going on the other, so that people from one direction aren't running into the other directions cars?
wouldn't this just cause that sequence to start? so unless other people were going through reds. I don't see why its so dangerous, just something that potentially wrecks the traffic flow.
All this talk about the cities being at fault for not designing a system that wasn't so easily "hacked"... You know what? That's not the problem. The problem is all the fucktards running around who have no regard for anyone else. The government gets to try to keep the rest of us happy due to a few idiots' actions, and it costs US money. I'm sick and tired of my tax dollars going toward the next mundane project because some script kiddies got together in daddy's garage and dedicated 2 days of their lives to perfecting a work around to the city traffic system. How the hell can you blame the cities? It's not exactly cheap to make something impenatrable to every kind of attack. There's definitely a steep curve to that, in fact. The PROBLEM is the people that buy the things, the people that manufacture the things, and every one of you 12 year old "M$ suX! Linux is t3h be57! D0wn w17h 7He gR33dY C0rP0ra7ion5!!!" fucktards who are so obsessed with the idea of anarchy and having a right to break anything that is breakable. Get a life. Grow up. And don't mess with my damn stoplights. I'm sick of paying for workarounds for your pointless and inconsiderate tampering. Get a job.
Easier solution -- with no technology.
I can turn red traffic lights green just by staring at them. The time required varies a bit from light to light, but eventually they all bend to my whim and turn from red to green.
Tired of FB/Google censorship? Visit UNCENSORED!
Plans to create such a device using -- the phreaker's favorite place -- Radio Shack parts have been available at least 7 years online, and most likely longer.
This isn't just old news... its VERY old news.
I suppose the only "new" thing is that now someone has decided to actually manufacture and sell them, rather than make you search for box plans online....
While we're at it, should I mention you can make a box that gets you free long distance? Makes people think you have hung up, when you haven't really, etc...
"PC Load Letter? What the $@#% does that mean?!"
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
I used to be a paramedic and the lights don't work the way you guys thinks. It is a first come first serve type of operation. The first unit that trips the signal gets the green light, all other lights go red. All emergency vehicle drivers are trained to stop on red and then go. The two ambulance or fire truck has happened in the past. Alot of places lost emergency workers to this type of thing in the 50's and 60's. Now running thru a red light and hitting someone will get you personely sued.
That way, whenever the signal-changer is tripped, the camera fires and captures the license plate number of the vehicle going through the light. There's some margin for error, so you'd need maybe a couple shots to get the right car, but by analyzing the data you should be able to see if there are vehicles that tend to show up frequently at the same time the light is tripped.
~ Leilah
That there are actually people who'll pay hundreds of dollars for such inconsiderate and disorderly thing rather than wait for the light to turn green is a sign there are too many people out there with bad tendencies. Is it that stupid "whoa cool!" juvenilism or "i have such an inflated sense of self-importance that i don't have time to wait for the traffic light to turn green" or "this will match nicely with my new BMW penile-extension device and impress chicks" or that worst-of-all-adopters-of-trends postmenopausal overweight churchgoer who'll cause an accident at her local interseciton on her way to wal-mart...
Sick nation...
This kind of security thinking is akin to hiding your head in the sand. FIX THE PROBLEM! Don't legislate bans on exploits. DESIGN SUCH THINGS SECURELY IN THE FIRST PLACE! It wouldn't be that hard to have developed it with a cryptographically secure access code system in the first place. Sheesh!
Right. So.. traffic lights.
They're insecure. let's add a 256 bit encrypted wireless remote changing system.
Now.. someone could tamper with the actual bulbs.. let's make those tamper proof. And bullet proof.
The casing is pretty vulnerable.. let's make it out of 3 inch thick stainless steel..
and on, and on, and on....
Then everybody would be up in arms because your entire town/city/state's budget would be spent on 5 traffic lights
Doesn't it make more sense for people just not to screw with these things in the first place? Sure, it makes sense to put a certain amount of tamper resistance and security onto anything like a street light.. but it's ridiculous to go over the top..
reminds me of a recent TV program I saw (it was on C4 for any fellow brits, called Solomon) about an escapologist - almost as obnoxiously smug as David Blaine, but that's by the by.. at one point he picked the padlock on this girl's laptop case, and then proceded to go off on this smug rant about how easy it was to pick, and how she should get a bigger lock.. and she agreed.
But.. a bigger lock wouldn't help. Because personally, if I was going to steal that laptop (not that I'd do such a thing, but if..), I'd just snatch the bag, complete with lock, then cut open the bag at my leisure to get at the laptop. In that situation even a completely minimal 2 "toy" lock would do the trick - it just needs to prevent someone being able to instantly open the bag and grab the laptop. Anything more just leaves the vulnerability elsewhere.
Curiosity was framed. Ignorance killed the cat.
Funny you should mention turning all lights red.
Today I was sitting at a Wendy's, heard a loud POP of a collision. It was at a busy intersection, and there happened to be an ambulance about 3 car-lengths away, waiting for a green. 8 seconds passed. I wanted to see who was at fault, and I could see traffic lights for both axes. They were all red, and stayed that way for at least 10 seconds.
Conclusion: the ambulance guys were quick on the uptake, and tripped the light.
THEN I'm getting one. I hate waiting at a 90 second red with no traffic at 1am
-Tim Louden
The thing that makes America great, the hting that makes America America is its citizens liberty. But it is this liberty that threatens the very safety of its citizens.It is this same liberty that allows the DMCA to make felt tip markers illegal becuase they circumvent a copyright-protection scheme, while ironically allowing NAMBLA to produce all of its pedophilia assorted information. Americans need to stop being so individualistic and start being more collectiveistic. It is people who are selfish enough to risk the lives of others in pursuit of getting home 20 seconds faster that ruin America. But it is these people who make America. Would I, an American born citizen have it any other way. No. I love my country. I just think that people need to get things back in perspective.
because we all know that here in the US everybody is a very good driver. This device will definately cut down on grid locks and road rage and solve all of our problems with the streets, as the average driver can be trusted with one of these.
This guy is selling the plans for $110 He even accepts paypal!
I loike trah-fic loights.
I loike trah-fic loights.
I loike trah-fic loights.
No mat-ah where they've bean...
I loike trah-fic loights.
I loike trah-fic loights.
I loike trah-fic loights.
But only when they're green...
continued...
p
In Korea, long hair is for old people!
In the US the use of Opticom is restricted which uses a standard strobe operating at a fixed frequency which was often used to change lights. However with the rise of under cover police cars etc.... infared has become the new choice. Priority Green a strobe based system could come with a IR filter that would make the light emited harder to see. Being a fire fighter people coming out with items like this makes our job alot harder. Hopefully the IR version of these system will be come illegal and all will be fine.
Here's the idea: everyone on the road has transponder that emits a unique code. The code is specific to your vehicle, but not linked to it in any way...you can get a new transponder code whenever you want, with no ID required.
When a vehicle approaches an intersection, a traffic control node at the intersection picks up its transponder. The traffic control node is smart enough to know which side of the intersection the vehicle is coming from, and potentially even how fast the vehicle is travelling.
At any point in time, the traffic control node knows how many cars are coming from each direction as well as their average speed. It can use this information to make an *intelligent* decision on when to change the traffic lights!
During periods of high traffic, the control node can switch to using a fixed program, or coordinating with nearby nodes in the traffic control network. Late at night, or during low-activity periods, it can change the lights on demand whenever a vehicle approached.
Now, I'm a privacy nut, so this scheme isn't quite good enough for me. I'd argue that transponders will still make cars too easy to trace. So, instead of using a centralized node for each intersection, let's turn traffic control into a distributed system. Now, each of the transponders is actually a peer in the traffic control network!
In the distributed traffic control network, every car coordinates with nearby cars using positioning information supplied by the roadway. They come to a concensus on how to behave. The red light and the green light are now located inside your car! Luxury cars with "city cruise control" can actually control their own speed, leaving you to concentrate on steering the car! When you come to an intersection, your car knows the optimal approach speed. When the "light" changes, your car knows to slow to a stop. If your car's traffic processor malfunctions, nearby cars take notice and go into caution mode, using onboard sensors to safely stop themselves, automatically flashing their hazard lights.
A crazy scheme? Sure! But hot damn, what an exciting and traffic-free world that would be...
It is a first come first serve type of operation. The first unit that trips the signal gets the green light, all other lights go red.
The suggestion that I was responding to was that the lights "flash red and yellow alternately and quickly."
All emergency vehicle drivers are trained to stop on red and then go.
Which is why the light needs to turn green if it's going to accomplish anything. Not red, not yellow and red, green.
LOL. As if Crime isn't already outlawed! Oh, how would you define crime, if it wasn't illegal?
I mean, I could design several orders of magnitude better system while eating pizza, and I'm just stupid sysadm/programmer.
Yeah, I think we've heard this one before. And it's quite common for stupid people to have exaggerated opinions of themselves...
The answer to traffic is telecommuting. Immense tax breaks should be given to businesses that allow their employees to telecommute at least three days a week. There is no reason for a room full of cubicles when those people could be working from home or somewhere else so they aren't all on the freeway at 7:30AM and 5:30PM.
Naturally, middle-management, in their rush to control everything and to expect their highly qualified and exhaustively interviewed employees to become irresponsible morons the moment they have left the room, will claim telecommuting cannot ever be approved and go on to schedule another meeting.
Business isn't willing to pay for products, innovation and careers, so we get brands, mortgage commercials and layoffs.
4. Artificially add to the cost of the greedy strategy, until it is no longer better than the cooperative strategy - e.g. by having enforcement agents who can fine greedy strategists.
Damn, that's a good idea. I think I'll patent it. I could apply it to other antisocial behaviour like theft and murder too.
Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
Much simplier approach, which is widely used here in Canada and
:)
in the most of Europe, is to embed sensors in a form of loops of wire
into the road on each side of the intersection. The loop can sense
the car directly above it, which allows streetlight controller to learn
the length of the line-up on every side and switch the lights accordingly.
Simple design rules
3.243F6A8885A308D313
Explanation of Traffic Signal Preemption (Stoplight Changing)
The normal operation of any traffic signal controlled intersection is designed for the maximum and efficient throughput of vehicular traffic.
Unfortunately, a common occurrence at any intersection is traffic back-up, which can require many signaling cycles to clear. Without the ability to change the operation of the traffic signals themselves, police and emergency response vehicles can also be forced to sit in traffic, thus dramatically increasing their response times to crime scenes and fire or medical emergencies.
Furthermore, even without heavy traffic, a police or emergency response vehicle entering a traffic signal controlled intersection at a high rate of speed places all motorists (and sometimes pedestrians) at extreme risk.
The MIRT is an optical communications system that allows equipped vehicles to alter the normal operation of traffic signals.
An overview of a typical scenario is as follows:
A fire truck is dispatched to an emergency.
The fire truck is equipped with multiple emergency warning lights and a siren... The fire truck is also equipped with a preemption transmitter, which, in operation, is a high intensity forward-facing strobe light that is flashing at a rapid rate - much faster than normal attention-getting lights on the fire truck.
When the fire truck approaches within 1,800 feet (line-of-sight) of a preemption-equipped traffic signal controlled intersection, the preemption detector (normally mounted on the cross-arm that suspends the traffic signal) "sees" the fire truck's preemption transmitter and locks onto its flashing strobe.
Once the traffic signal "sees" the fire truck, it begins to initiate a "preemption sequence" of the actual traffic signal that is different from normal operation.
If the fire truck already has a green light, the light will remain green. Any other direction that also has a green light (usually the opposite direction) will first get a yellow light, then red.
When all of the other directions are then red, and the fire truck's direction is the only one that is green, the left turn arrow will illuminate (if one exists), and a brilliant white flood lamp mounted near the traffic signal will begin to flash. This flood lamp tells the driver of the fire truck that he now has control of the intersection, and complete right-of-way.
If the fire truck has a red light, any other direction that has a green light will transition to yellow, then red. When all the directions (including the fire truck's) are red, the traffic signal facing the fire truck will then turn green, along with the left turn arrow (if one exists), and the brilliant white flood lamp will begin to flash.
Once the fire truck has passed through the intersection, optical communication with the preemption detector (on the traffic signal) is lost. At that time the traffic signal will default back to normal operation. Conversely, until the fire truck passes through the intersection, it will have a green light, regardless of the time duration.
If several intersections are within the 1,800 foot range of the fire truck's preemption transmitter, they will all respond accordingly to the above operational description.
These two geeks decided to go to lunch, and one of them volunteered to drive. They motored off, seatbelts on and laptops open. When they came to a busy intersection, geek 1, who was driving, ran the red light and didn't even flinch. Geek2 panicked and screamed, "Why'd you do that??" "Geek 1 told geek 2, "calm down...no issue...my brother drives like this and he never has any problems." Geek 2 does his best to accept this, and they continue on.
Another few blocks, and another intersection and another red light and through they go....geek 2 remains quiet, but he's backing up his laptop to his home server, just in case.
Next intersection and this time, the light is green....geek 1 stops. Geek 2 does a double take at the green light and asks geek 1 what he's doing "Why are you stopping?", to which geek 1 replies "Are you kidding? I'm not blowing this intersection on the green....my brother might be coming through here!"
Are emergency services in the US not allowed to go through red lights or something? 'Cause if that's the case, that's pretty stupid. It's an emergency! Screw the traffic lights! They have a siren and flashing lights on emergency vehicles for a reason. Here, when you hear a siren you get out of the way damn quick or you get a nasty fine. When an emergency vehicle approaches an intersection here, everyone stops and makes sure they arn't in the way. That includes pedestrians and cyclists, too. It's just logical.
Dang. I rember reading how to much such a device a few years ago, never got around to making it and now it will probably go the way of phone phreaking, too many people cheating the system just inst cool. But it is fine when I do it ;)
+-+-+-The folowing statement is true. The previous statement is false.-+-+-+
To put this in slashdot terms, this is same as the difference between banning Music piracy and enforcing DRM, one is preventing you from doing what you shouldn't do through legal means, the other is implementing something that watches you as you do things that you should be doing.
When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem
Fire trucks in my area change the lights so that ALL 4 directions get RED. Then because they are an emergency vehicle, they can cross into the ongoing lane and pass all the normal traffic in the intersection. This wouldn't help normal people unless they had blinking lights and sirens on their cars.
Try that mirror in the center of your windshield. It's called the 'rearview mirror', and it should be positioned such that you, the driver, can see through the rear window with it. That way you will see the emergency vehicle behind you no matter how loud you are playing your normal stock car stereo...
...and what if you are two cars ahead of the ambulence and can't see it? In that case a rearview mirror isn't going to do jack squat, whereas a friggin loud siren would.
Emergency-like lights inside of cars. After all you see those all over th.... wait, you don't.
Radar detectors don't tend to interfere with emergency activities of the authorities (a traffic ticket is not an emergency), these do. They could also endanger lives if they break the existing system. Some things are banned for a reason, it's just too bad the politicians can't sort the real legit ones from the financial pocket-lining ones.
... but I finally understand the ending of Reloaded:
Neo learned how to active his IrDA transmitter.
Doesn't it make more sense for people just not to screw with these things in the first place? Sure, it makes sense to put a certain amount of tamper resistance and security onto anything like a street light.. but it's ridiculous to go over the top..
IN order for Democracy to work, you must have a responsible citizenry. It is a required ingredient. Irresponsible citizens, no democracy for you.
Like what I said? You might like my music
Personally I believe the guy who posted that this is BS and that the devices are probably crap. But if they did work, how would they be any different from the proposed airport security fast-lane cards?
There are plenty of existing laws already on the books to deal with misuse of these devices. As one example, in my own home area, RCW 46.37.190, Section 4, clearly states (among other things) that "Optical strobe light devices shall not be installed or used on any vehicle other than an emergency vehicle authorized by the state patrol, a publicly owned law enforcement or emergency vehicle, a department of transportation, city, or county maintenance vehicle, or a public transit vehicle."
The section goes on to define, in very specific detail, what the state of Washington considers to be an "Optical strobe light," and it explicitly includes devices to control traffic signals.
As another example, the California Vehicle Code, Section 25258(a), explicitly authorizes traffic control strobes only for emergency vehicles.
Final example: Oregon Revised Statutes, Chapter 816, Section 12, prohibits any kind of flashing light, other than the normal turn signals or hazard lights, on any vehicle other than an emergency or school bus type.
Now, you might be thinking "Hey, these things emit in the infrared region, so they're not visible to the unaided human eye. No problem!"
Well, there is a problem. First, 'unaided' is the keyword here. Normal video cameras see into the infrared region very well indeed (I know -- I've experimented along those lines), and many intersections now have these cameras installed in the interests of catching red light jumpers, speeders, etc.
That same camera will, if you're using one of these devices, pick up your strobe flash, IR or no IR, with no problems at all.
As if that's not enough, lots of cities have remote telemetry and monitoring of their traffic signals, and that monitoring includes an indicator that the pre-emption device has been tripped. Couple that trip indication with an image from the intersection camera, showing a nice bright white light from your dashboard where there's not supposed to be one, and you could be in big trouble really quick.
The thing that'll really kill the sales of these things is digital encoding of the strobe flash. King County (WA state again) has already done this. I've noticed that the Opticom emitters on our local fire and PD vehicles are all flashing in a very distinctive pattern, compared with six or so years ago where they were simply flashing at a certain frequency.
I guess the short way to say it is that there's going to be an awful lot of ticked-off people when they discover that their $300 time-saver either gets them at least the same amount in a traffic ticket, or when said device suddenly ceases to have any effect.
Bruce Lane, KC7GR,
Blue Feather Technologies
Not be Greedy - With A Big Stick.
The answer to the "prisoners dillema" is to create an artificial penalty to greedy behavior - in this case, a big nasty fine for possessing equipment that changes traffic lights.
paintball
Watch the brake lights of the car 200 yards in front of you. When they brake for no apparent reason, slow down.
paintball
These devices are obvously illegal because they circumvent the encryption scheme that prevents unauthorized vehicles from changing traffic lights.
paintball
The guy in the Andre the Giant-sized car. The guy with the traffic light changer.
And guess what: that's me, pal. Mr. Individualism Man. And I got a lot more individualism where that came from.
For starters, I want a device that will restart the movie in the theater when I arrive fifteen minutes late. You already saw that part? Screw you, I didn't! And if I like it, we're all gonna watch it again.
Then I want a telephone that, when there's a busy signal, dumps the other joker off the line and puts my more important call through with a terrifying ***Sqwonk!*** and the message, "Please hold the line - I'm patching the president through now."
I want my taxes cut, and yours raised! I want my bio-engineered grass to grow roots that sneak across the property line, strangle your grass's roots, and make mine the greenest yard on the block!
If you're a chick, I want to grope your tits, wash your head in a toilet, dangle you out a third story window, and still be the man you call governor in the morning. I want my shit not only not to stink, but to be in demand from florists on holidays and anniversaries.
Got a problem with any of that, you socialist? See how you like sitting at all the red lights I'm gonna throw your way.
You've been able to do this for *years* with any learning remote control!
I browse at +5 Flamebait- moderation for all or moderation for none.
I've seen enough people already disregard the common rule about treating a traffic light as a 4-way stop when the lights are out (they just blow through like it's green for everyone). You try to introduce a new rule into the drivers handbooks that deal with the light patterns. I bet you there'd be trouble.
Anyone with common sense should be outraged...
you had me at #!
A previous Slashdot story mentions the device, though not the Michigan legislature's subsequent ire.
Nice way to try and cover up the dupe. "Ummmm. We did post this story already, but not from the same source!"
Hey, I don't know if you were kidding or not, but your approach is not far from the "correct" one to help reduce traffic jams! Amateur scientist William Beatty has a really interesting page on the physics of traffic jams. Standing waves are a big culprit in causing and keeping traffic jammed. When you rush ahead to cover a gap, hurrying up and to join the jammed cars ahead, you simply perpetuate the life of the standing wave. When you slowly cover the gap, you not only give time for the wave ahead to dissipate, but you smooth out the flow to a pace more suitable to traffic conditions. The result is more than just trading off a continuous, modest pace for hurry-up-and-wait... hard breaking causes ripple effects that actually produce jams.
We have these strobe-preemptible lights in Tucson. The thing is, on top of the traffic signal's crossbar, right next to the detector is a strobe light that flashes when an emergency vehicle is preempting the light. It's actually very useful, since the flashing usually lets you know they're coming before you hear their sirens. However, it would sort of give you away if you were using a preempter, rushing to work, cruising through all the greens with the strobes going off while everybody else slowed down and wondered where the emergency vehicle was...
I am presently working on a traffic tracking project that, in addition to other things, is for the purpose of tuning a city's traffic lights for efficiency.
At many of these intersections are video camera. They can record for a variety of purposes including accidents and even ticketing. But have you ever recorded yourself with a video camera and used an infrared remote? Did you know the light from the remote is very well displayed to the camera? IT IS!! Looks like a blinking strobe! CCDs pick up light differently than the human eye, so even though we can't see it as people, the watching video cameras can potentially see you!
The device may not be illegal, but using it might be! I'd recommend against it strongly.
Steal an ambulance!
If I seem short sighted, it is because I stand on the shoulders of midgets
Arnt most traffic systems connected to a network? simply give the police etc codes that are transmitted to the lights when they press the button, the lights then check this code against a central computer and the lights change. Then they can add on whatever level of security - eg rotating codes, revoking if they are cracked etc, encrypted links. using a simple signal in this sort of thing is just stupid and bound to be found out sooner or later, i dont know why they are so surprised.
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
I live in "regional" South Oz.
If I was really that bothered by the two sets of traffic lights, I'd take one of the other 6 roads without them.
Now, if someone invented something faster than these you-beaut 1200/75 modems - perhaps something fast that doesn't need telephone lines, like a "wireless internet connection" or something - then I'd be on that quicker than you could say AyeEssDeeEnn!
They are generally required to stop for the light and make sure nobody is stuck in the intersection before they continue. They can then proceed to go through the light.
It might seem silly because it adds a possibly significant amount of time to the trip, but it does help prevent another accident.
If it were true, the above would be very interesting. But it's complete and utter bullshit.
First of all, the Post Office in the UK has had nothing to do with regulating e/m waves of any frequency since 1969.
Secondly, the BBC has not had a monopoly on broadcast radio in the UK since 1972. There are many more commercial, privately-owned stations than BBC stations across the country.
Thirdly, radio transmission by shining an infra-red vertically upwards? Hello? Moderators, are you smoking crack. Here's a few reasons why it couldn't work:
* Lower light frequencies, including infra-red light, are not scattered much by the atmosphere. That's why sunsets are red and the sky is blue: blue light is scattered all over the sky, red light passes more or less straight through.
* During the daytime at least, any infra-red signal from a scattered laser beam would be hopelessly swamped by infra-red coming from the sun (not to mention other IR sources in a city, i.e. anything hot)
* For this to stand a chance of working therefore, the laser beam would have to be very powerful. As noted above, the BBC's radio monopoly ended in 1972 and Post-Office regulation in 1969. Please tell me, what private individuals had access to powerful lasers in the 1960s? Dr Evil?
So please, moderators, don't mod up a story because it seems superficially plausible. Stop and think about it for a bit. 5 minutes Googling is usually sufficient to establish veracity.
The author of this post asserts his moral rights.
This device does not need a specific ban, as it probably is already illegal to use except in limited circumstances. Think about it. If you turn your traffic lights to green, it stands to reason that you are turning the other road's lights to red. This would almost certainly constitute "interfering with the progress of other road users without due cause" -- the same catch-all that makes it an offence to park too near an intersection. Therefore, using this device probably already contravenes most countries' Highway Codes, and does not need a specific law against it. "Authorised users" would simply mean anyone who has due cause to interfere with other road users, i.e. fire engines, abulances &c. Ting! Next, please.
Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
No one really cares about this. We should simply direct 100% of the entire law enforcement and legal system in the USoA against MP3 thieves instead. They're the real danger to freedom, democracy and safety.
Well, here in MA [ob Boston driver ref], on limited access highways, the rule seems to be to pull as far right as you can, but NOT into the breakdown lane (which is used for emergency vehicles if the other lanes are jammed). In downtown traffic, there are seldom breakdown lanes, so the rule is to pull right if you can, but sometimes, like if you're in a line of traffic at a light, it's better to freeze, and let them use the wrong side of the road.
The traffic laws say to pull right always, but in practice it's not always possible.
In regard to the "light changer" box, some towns have them, IMHO, you'd be a fool to buy one of these things, because the cops hang around at the lights, waiting to ticket cars that run reds. You get caught with one of these on your dash, and you'll be walking home (if you're lucky).
Being a motorcyclist, there have been numerous occasions where stopped at a light the sensors don't realize that there is a vehicle there. Often times the bike is just too small for the sensor (which I beleive is similiar to a large metal detector) doesn't pick up the bike. These types of devices allow the light to turn green for those on motorcyles...
Get yourself a mid engine, non-metal bodied car, and you may be sitting there a while too. Unless you stick the engine over the detector.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
In metro Denver we have a cheaper/easier solution. Ignore the lights.
don't disallow the possession of technology, only it's irresponsible use.
Institute whopper fines for anyone caught running an intersection they've caused to change using this technology.
Many cities already have cameras mounted at major intersections for purpose of traffic monitoring. If these were triggered to record the scene after being sent an unauthorized RF burst, the offender could be identified quickly.
Actually, a modified upgraded version of this technology for changing traffic signals that included vehicle identification could be a revenue raising tactic for impoverished cities; more cost effective than speed traps.
Allow drivers to bid on signal changing; high bid gets the green light and the city collects the revenue.
"Provided by the management for your protection."
Well...this doesn't help me much living in nyc until they invent the device that changes the light to green and then shoots out an evaporating laser to zap all the cars in front of you.
this pisses me off to no extent. Fucking self important assholes who think they are god's gift to the world. If I ever happen to see someone using this I would have to follow them then stab em in the face repeatedly or mabey not. They deserve a much slower painfull torture type of death. I think I'm gonna become a vigilante....
"At first, we thought it was just another snake cult."
amen !
but if given the chance would use this in a heartbeat. While the morals of its use are up in the air it's perfectly legal to use. If something isn't illegal and there is a way to exploit kudos goto to the person who figured out how to do it. I for one would love to have one. I'm also pretty sure it doesn't work like we think it does. Press a button and blink the light goes green/red. It sounds like there is a pretty involved process that goes on.
Hold up, wait a minute, let me put some pimpin in it
Crossing on the subsequent green light isn't illegal in itself, it is the prior actions in order to obtain that green light, that breaks the law.
As for parking in or near the intersection, I would guess that parking here is already prohibited given that your vehicle would block the traffic on the traveled way.
SIGBUS @ NO-07.308
You can just put a strong magnet on the bottom of your bike. I have an old hard drive magnet on the frame of my Sporty and it works great! Don't even need to glue it on. You ever try to pull one of those off of a refrigerator?
Never multiply an equation without necessity.
> Oddly, it appears to me that the best response to problems like this is to use technology to redefine the problem. Make signals on the units used by emergency vehicles to affect traffic lights digitally signed and encrypted in a dynamic fashion - then not only would it be difficult to replicate for third parties, but you could use the same means to keep data about emergency vehicle path and response times.
Keeping information about EMV routing is a good idea, but encryption isn't. Firstly, according to the article itself, encryption makes the units more expensive, which is bad for the emergancy departments that really need them. Second, it begs a "solution" which will lead to a constant war for better encryption, which recording companies have shown is not winnable. The solution that works is surprisingly simple. Don't encrypt, and allow any signal to trigger it. However, whenever it triggers, a camera mounted on the unit takes a photograph of the vehicle triggering it, much like photo radar devices or red light cameras. Implement a "three strikes" law that states that if you're not a legitimate emergancy vehicle, and you trigger traffic signals three times, you pay a fine. This eliminates the odd false positive, and limits abuse by making the abusers pay for it. It's cheaper and more effective than encryption, and it uses technology that already exists.
Virg
EOF
I have read newspaper stories that the city buses in Seattle have these devices installed on them. But I don't think that's correct. This is based on the observation that at least once or twice a day, I see a city bus run right through a red light (and I don't mean, "It was yellow when I entered the intersection, officer").
I am assuming that this is a troll but I'll bite anyway.
It is illegal to have red and blue lights on top of your car because they are used as a method of identifying police cars. If a car has the red and blue flashing lgihts, it is effectively saying "I'm a police officer." (Impersonating a police officer is against the law.) So when you see the red and blue lights, you can instantly associate that with police cars and not have to worry that when you pull over you are going to be robbed or something.
I'll just stop here. I find it very hard to believe that you don't understand why it is illegal to try to pass your car off as a police car.
Not everything is analogous to cars. Car analogies rarely work.
now thats what i call "running a red light!"
Thanks, jackass. We have porn-monitoring software at my workplace, and I probably just got tagged.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
There's clearly a need for a smarter system ...
...
Using technology, we could have a system that would still allow emergency vehicles right of way through traffic lights, while curbing abuse.
After only 5 minutes of brainstorming, I've devised this system
1. Emergency vehicles are equipped with a GPS device and a communication medium capable of data transmission... radio, cell, etc.
2. When an emergency vehicle is activated, the vehicle would authenticate itself via the data link to a central server which can control traffic lights.
3. As the vehicle rolls, it reports its speed, location, and direction to the central control computer. The computer would then be able determine which traffic lights the vehicle is approaching and could adjust traffic patterns accordingly.
This way, we'd eliminate the direct vehicle to traffic light control that is widely open for abuse. On this system, only emergency vehicles would be able to control traffic lights through a central controlling facility. This would eliminate abuse almost entirely while allowing emergency vehicles continued control of traffic lights.
Skiers and Riders -- http://www.snowjournal.com
This is a classic example of prisoner's dilemma, where individual welfare is pitted against the common good.
Sorry, this ain't a "prisoners dilemma" at all. A prisoners' dilemma involves two groups and the interaction of their various choices to produce differing outcomes. Only one side here has a choice: those people with traffic switchers - the other group (motorists without switchers) can't influence the outcome.
A prisoners' dilemma is a conflict between an individual and group rationality. In a prisoners' dilemma, a group whose members pursue rational self-interest may all end up worse off than a group whose members act contrary to rational self-interest. More generally, if the payoffs are not assumed to represent self-interest, a group whose members rationally pursue any goals may all meet less success than if they had not rationally pursued their goals individually.
What this is, is a case of a free-rider. It works best only so far as only one person has a traffic light switcher - they "free ride" on their ability to change lights, which no one else (other than the cops etc) has. That diminishes as more people get traffic switchers - in the same way that if if one spectator at a basketball game stands up to watch the game he/she gets a better view - but if everyone does, they all get the same view and no one is better off. Game theory, yes, but not a prisoners dilemma.
Sit around all day at an intersection and hope that an emergency vehicle comes by and activates the system in such a way that I can capture the code? What a great time saver.
I could spend the rest of my life making red lights turn green and still never make up the time I spent capturing the code.
I know! I could avoid spending all day at the intersection by developing and placing a remote detector... that'd probably only take a couple weeks. And probably no one would walk off with it. Or trace it back to me.
For this kind of thing to be a real problem, it has to be a net time saver. A few obsessed traffic light phreaks are really not going to perturb the system that much.
Sean
Thanks, jackass. We have keyboards at our workplaces, and I just snorted coffee into mine.
... dedicated to ... camcorders with ... ability to see through thin clothing
This site
Hmm... Was there a clue in this sentance?
Naw, I'll surf on through anyway!
You probably triggered the intelligence-monitoring software.
Tell you what, this link should be safe: www.bbc.co.uk
"Those who cast the votes decide nothing; those who count the votes decide everything." (attrib. Joseph Stalin)
How about if they make the lights go red in all directions when somebody triggers them? All cars stop, and the emergency vehicle can go through the red. This defeats the purpose of the traffic switcher for normal drivers.
In Soviet Russia, traffic light switchers hump YOU!
I am the Russian Humper !!
I am assuming that this is a troll but I'll bite anyway.
It's not a troll. I seriously don't think it should be illegal to have red and blue lights on top of your car.
If a car has the red and blue flashing lights, it is effectively saying "I'm a police officer." (Impersonating a police officer is against the law.)
That's only because we have this law in the first place. And if an existing law (impersonating a police officer) already applies, then why do we need another one?
So when you see the red and blue lights, you can instantly associate that with police cars and not have to worry that when you pull over you are going to be robbed or something.
Yeah, cause police never rob people.
I find it very hard to believe that you don't understand why it is illegal to try to pass your car off as a police car.
And I don't see why police need to get any special privileges in the first place. Police should follow the law, not be above it.
Every morning when I traverse a major merge-with-a-left-exit-soon on I-95 in Providence I do this along the merging lanes, letting about 30 cars that need to merge in, the people behind me go NUTS but as soon as the 'pressure' is relieved farther ahead the traffic picks up to about 65MPH. I've had a friend stand on an overpass and tell me via cellphone if I help out the overall situation when I do this, and he said I singlehandedly clear the mess for several-hundred cars. Idiots jam themselves back up in under a minute though.
If everyone left a few spaces in front of them and got to their lane ASAP there'd be little or no stop-and-go traffic.
"Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
lame traffic lights.
just give me a car that can fly
Black Sky
2D Elite Inspired Game
In suburbia, however, the worst traffic occurs on Saturday afternoon.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
i saw the matrix last night and learned to do this without any technology / gadgets -- hold your right hand in front of you kind of a little sideways and concentrate. wearing a bandana over your eyes helps tremendously -- and then just will the signal to turn green. works every time
> Punishment is a difficult option though. Unless police can adequately prove that YOU are the one triggering the light, there's too much room for pedestrian pranksters.
This part is relatively easy. Make the actuator such that it takes the picture, then changes the light. If the strobe isn't on when the picture goes off, the light doesn't react. Therefore, one would need to run the strobe long enough for the camera to see it, which would show where it came from. If it's a pedestrian, the picture would show it, or at very least it'll show that the car in the picture wasn't where the strobe originated.
> Cameras would definitely be a deterrent, but putting up cameras that can take a large-angle photo at decent resolution, and hiring someone to scan each picture looking for suspect license plates would be outrageously expensive.
No real need for large angle of view. Sure, you wouldn't be able to spot that pedestrian, but your picture would clearly show that it wasn't (or was) the car approaching the light, so false positives wouldn't occur nearly as often. Second, since the camera would only trigger a photo when the strobe was activated, not with every passing motorist, there wouldn't be very many pictures to scan. Lastly, with positive enforcement, the number of people who would adopt the device would be relatively low, so your photo recognition people wouldn't get overwhelmed. Remember that not everyone will be using the device right away, and it only takes two or three reports of a thousand dollar fine to discourage the vast majority of the public.
Virg
No it's not that they're not allowed to go through the red light, it's simply the fact that even with the strobe lights and the loud noises, American's simply can't drive! They know siren+flashing lights should equal get out of the way... But there's always someone that thinks that getting to wherever they're trying to go is more important than getting the poor guy that just got hit by a drunk driver, thrown from his car, and pinned between the car and a tree to the hospital. So they think "Well there's an ambulance coming... But I've got a green light my way so screw the ambulance I'm going... So if the ambulance runs the redlight, at the same time this idiot goes through their green light, then another ambulance has to be sent out for that wreck. So when an ambulance, or other emergency vehicle gets to a red light, it stops at the redlight to make sure that the intersection is clear both ways then starts going again. They don't have to stop and wait for the light to change.
When the fireman hits the magic dashboard button, a white light flashes 4-ways at the intersection, and the public has been educated to know that it means that emergency vehicles are trying to get through that intersection and that they should get the hell out of the way and let them through.
My other car is a 1984 Nark Avenger.
Well, smart boy, while you are doing your LEISURE TIME stuff -- ON THE CLOCK, YOU SHOULD BE TAGGED. yA fuck'in theif
video cameras can see the IR signal... The makers add says no visible light is emitted - perhaps not but to a standard video surveillance camers the pulse will stick out like dog's ..... what nots.
This is going to be interesting to see how this unfolds. Whenever any new technology comes out we always find a way to missuse it or exploit it. You either are rewarded for knowing a lot or you get in trouble for the abuse of your extensive knowledge.
Is this device plug and play?
That's the real solution. With a white-collar job, cheap, virtually ubiquitous home computing, and nothing to do but watch company emails fly into (and get deleted from) your inbox, there is no good reason not to telecommute.
The problem, as cubicledrone puts it, is management's fears that they will lose control of their employees' time. At the .gov where I work, telecommuting was widely hyped at one point. People started signing up right and left, especially the ones who have to drive from Vancouver, WA, to Portland, OR (a miserable return drive every 5:00).
Management panicked and put in a new rule. Only one group of employees is now eligible for telecommuting. And of course, that would be...
Management!
There's no sig like this sig anywhere near this sig, so this must be the sig.
the only reason you want blue lights on your car is because it is illegal. If it was legal you wouldn't care. And stop with the shit about "Yeah,cause police never rob people." Troll. Troll. Troll. I'm sure your honda civic is pimped out with stupid mods but get over it. Don't put blue lights on your car. End of story. pick another color. cops are not above the law. the law you are referring to is meant to protect individuals from idiots like you from impersonating cops to impress your loser friends.
the only reason you want blue lights on your car is because it is illegal.
Actually, it's legal. I'm a volunteer firefighter.
...or going away from the intersection, what's the point of changing the light?
-=- Many seek good nights and lose good days.