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                      -- Oregon man fined $500 for unlawful study suggesting yellow traffic lights too short

"Järlström, a former mechanic in the Swedish military, was slapped with the absurd penalty because his work contravenes licensing regulations in the state, according to the Institute for Justice.

He started his investigation into traffic lights after his wife got a ticket for turning right on a yellow light back in 2013. He wanted to know "how how exactly yellow lights are timed."

Järlström found out that the formula used in traffic lights was deficient, and invented his own one, while corresponding with one of the formula’s original creators.

He took his research and started reaching out to people in the scientific community, government authorities and the media.

His new formula ended up at the state's Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying. But rather than appreciating his findings, the Board fined him $500 because he engaged in unlicensed "practice of engineering.""