Traffic Signal Changer gets a guy a Ticket!

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LONGMONT, Colorado (AP) -- A man who said he bought a device that allowed him to change stop lights from red to green received a $50 ticket for suspicion of interfering with a traffic signal.

Jason Niccum of Longmont, Colorado, said the device, which he bought on eBay for $100, helped him cut his time driving to work.

"I guess in the two years I had it, that thing paid for itself," he told the Daily Times-Call on Wednesday.

Niccum was issued a citation March 29 after police said they found him using a strobe-like device to change traffic signals. Police confiscated the device.

"I'm always running late," police quoted Niccum as saying in an incident report.

The device, called an Opticon, is similar to what firefighters use to change lights when they respond to emergencies. It emits an infrared pulse that receivers on the traffic lights pick up.

Niccum was cited after city traffic engineers who noticed repeated traffic light disruptions at certain intersections spotted a white Ford pickup passing by whenever the patterns were disrupted.

City traffic engineer Joe Olson said engineers plan to update the city's Opticon system this year to block unauthorized light-changing signals.

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[BrokenVisage]

Yeah those are pretty convenient for routes where the lights have that capability. That ticket was kinda cheap compared to what he could have got.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Awesome.

That goes double for your nick.

 

[FallenHero]

Good. I think his fine should have been higher though.

 

[Hammerhead]

I always see idiots flashing their high beams at lights trying to get them to change.

 

[Stuxnet]

LMFAO

I'm sorry, but that's pretty fscking awesome.

Talk about grabbing the world by the balls.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: Hammerhead
I always see idiots flashing their high beams at lights trying to get them to change.

LOL, they must not be flashing them fast enough. :laugh:

 

[thirtythree]

Originally posted by: FallenHero
Good. I think his fine should have been higher though.

Sounds like it.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

thats amazing

i bet guys on the gumball use them too, along with all the cb radios, scanners, jammers, gps ******....

 

[eelw]

Originally posted by: 0
LONGMONT, Colorado (AP) -- A man who said he bought a device that allowed him to change stop lights from red to green received a $50 ticket for suspicion of interfering with a traffic signal.

That's it???? It's normally a much heftier fine if you're caught with this IR strobe lights. Jail time can also happen.

 

[Motek]

Wow,
Never knew this existed,
I thought that emergency services would just not obey the signal rather than actually changing it with this IR thingy.

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: Motek
Wow,
Never knew this existed,
I thought that emergency services would just not obey the signal rather than actually changing it with this IR thingy.

It depends on the lights. If they're equipped, they'll use this stuff. If they're not, they'll just blow on through.

Most people with these things who do it and get away with it are driving the same model and color vehicle as their local unmarked cruisers - not frickin' white Ford pickup trucks.

 

[Slew Foot]

Haha, there's going to be a rush for these things on ebay now.

 

[BooGiMaN]

he admits he has used it for two years and only gets a 50 dollar fine...yeah that will discourage other people from using it alright

 

[WolverineGator]

This system only works with newer traffic signals that have receivers on their masts. They are getting more sophisticated too. The Department of Transportation presented this to us last year:

New transponders (available today) will be GPS equipped and work only when lights are flashing. Transponder signals are encrypted. Emergency responders won't abuse the system when they're going to the grocery store or donut shop. Also, emergency vehicles can be tracked from headquarters. HQ will know what vehicles are en route without clogging up the airwaves.

There's even more in store coming down the road for buses and regular traffic. For example, don't you hate it when there's a long left turn lane and as you enter it the light turns yellow before you can turn? Then you have to wait a complete cycle to go again. With this system, it would know to hold the turn light green for just 3-4 seconds longer for you to make the turn. The system can take into account all other traffic, so it's not just "me first" because I have a transponder.

 

[altonb1]

$100 is a bargain. My commute in 98% interstate, though, so I guess I wouldn't have much use for it.

 

[zanieladie]

Wow...guess that's why I was ALWAYS late to work while I noticed this guy in a white pick-up always getting the green light.

 

[minendo]

A member here has the directions for making one on his website. No need to blow $100 on eBay.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: WolverineGator
New transponders (available today) will be GPS equipped and work only when lights are flashing. Transponder signals are encrypted. Emergency responders won't abuse the system when they're going to the grocery store or donut shop. Also, emergency vehicles can be tracked from headquarters. HQ will know what vehicles are en route without clogging up the airwaves.

There's even more in store coming down the road for buses and regular traffic. For example, don't you hate it when there's a long left turn lane and as you enter it the light turns yellow before you can turn? Then you have to wait a complete cycle to go again. With this system, it would know to hold the turn light green for just 3-4 seconds longer for you to make the turn. The system can take into account all other traffic, so it's not just "me first" because I have a transponder.

I like.

 

[mugs]

What an ass. I hate people who think they're more important than everyone else on the road.

 

[Syringer]

How can this work if there's a pedestrian crossing path lined up with the light? Don't pedestrians need a certain amount of time to cross, and so this device would make the light change before a pedestrian has crossed?

 

[Stvfarmboy]

Originally posted by: Syringer
How can this work if there's a pedestrian crossing path lined up with the light? Don't pedestrians need a certain amount of time to cross, and so this device would make the light change before a pedestrian has crossed?

While there is a minimum amount of time needed for pedestrians to cross I'm not sure how this would work with that. My guess is that the light would change and the pedestrians would have to realize that an emergency vehicle is coming and move out of the way. The emergency vehicle should also be slowing down near the intersection just to make sure everyone else is stopped so they should see the pedestrian and take action to avoid them.