Biker chick run over by RV on the Dragon at TN Tree of Shame

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Intersection of 129 and 72 at Motorcycle Pitstop, Punkin Center BBQ Motel and Tennessee Tree of Shame

UPDATE: Punkin Center store's security camera recorded the actual crash. "Bike was going no more than 20 mph at time of impact." She would've had no injury except the RV kept driving after impact, actually driving the tires over her head, splitting the full-face helmet.

ZX14 tourist from Indiana got hit by an RV then run over. May lose her leg.

Begs the question, how long was the "response" by Rural Metro Taxi Service?

In Knox County RM has a 10 minute limit or is fined by the county. In Blount County response time is unlimited, with 4 hours common on the Dragon, leading to many unnecessary deaths. Rural Metro is a trillion-dollar private company run for the profit of its European shareholders. RM charges $5,000 for a 5-minute taxi ride to Lifestar, which charges $19,000 for a $4,000 air taxi.

BTW cops carry no first responder kit and provide no first aid.

Did cops even write a ticket for the RV driver who turned in front of an approaching bike? Everybody knows bikes are always at fault, which is why THP has increased biker tickets 11,400% on the Dragon, with immunity to truckers. Note that THP always says sportbikes drive at 60 mph, without evidence.

Was she wearing jeans or kevlar jeans or armored riding pants? Mesh jacket may have protected her upper body but perhaps no hard spine protection, hence the broken back.

Old RV driver had no idea he was in a crash, and kept on driving, dragging the biker under the trailer hitch... (NEED KEVLAR JEANS)

http://www.easttnriders.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36877&page=2

http://www.sportbikechix.com/index.php?topic=2482.0

Note that the most dangerous part of any crash is going to hospital. Doctors are leading cause of death in USA, while riding a bike is one of the safest things you could ever do.

"The most stunning statistic, however, is that the total number of deaths caused by conventional medicine is an astounding 783,936 per year. It is now evident that the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the US. Using Leape's 1997 medical and drug error rate would add another 216,000 deaths, for a total of 999,936 deaths annually. Our estimated 10-year total of 7.8 million iatrogenic* deaths is more than all the casualties from all the wars fought by the US throughout its entire history. Our considerably higher figure is equivalent to six jumbo jets are falling out of the sky each day."
—Gary Null, PhD; Carolyn Dean MD, ND; Martin Feldman, MD; Debora Rasio, MD; Dorothy Smith, PhD, Death by Medicine, March 2004 (plus 1-Million annual aborticides in USA)

"The median pre-crash speed was 29.8 mph, and the median crash speed was 21.5 mph, and the one-in-a-thousand crash speed is approximately 86 mph. Motorcycle riders in these accidents showed significant collision avoidance problems. Most riders would overbrake and skid the rear wheel, and underbrake the front wheel greatly reducing collision avoidance deceleration. The ability to countersteer and swerve was essentially absent."
-Dr Harry Hurt PhD, USDOT Hurt Report (Dr Hurt never crashed a bike then was murdered by medical doctors)

Truth in Motorcycle Crash Statistics

Countersteering stickers by The Dragonator

THE DRAGONATER WINS IN TRAFFIC COURT AT DEALS GAP, RAISES SPEED LIMIT TO 65 MPH ON THE DRAGON - NOLLE PROSEQUI BY BLOUNT COUNTY ATTORNEY GENERAL. NO TESTIMONY, HEARING NOR TRIAL WHATSOEVER. 60 MPH SPEEDING TICKET DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, COSTS PAID BY THE STATE, IN BLOUNT COUNTY GENERAL SESSIONS COURT WITH JUDGE BREWER. THP TROOPER RANDALL HUCKEBY ADMITTED ON VIDEOTAPE DURING TRAFFIC STOP THAT ALL SPEEDING TICKETS NORTHBOUND ON US129 AT MILE MARKER 0.5 ARE FEDERAL JURISDICTION, NOT STATE JURISDICTION (VIDEO BY THE DRAGONATER). HUCKEBY WAS ALSO CAUGHT ON VIDEO SPEEDING AT 60 MPH ON THE DRAGON, WITHOUT THE MANDATORY EMERGENCY LIGHTS AND SIREN REQUIRED FOR IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION (VIDEO BY THE DRAGONATER). TDOT ADMITTED IN WRITING THAT THE MANDATORY TRAFFIC ENGINEERING SURVEY SPEED AUDIT WAS NEVER PERFORMED, IN VIOLATION OF TN CODE, THUS THE POSTED 30 MPH SPEED LIMIT ON THE DRAGON REVERTS TO THE DEFAULT 65 MPH IN TN CODE. THE DRAGONATER ALSO MADE VIDEO OF TROOPER HUCKEBY SPEEDING UP TO 60 MPH ON THE DRAGON IN A 30 MPH ZONE, WITHOUT MANDATORY EMERGENCY LIGHTS NOR SIREN, IN VIOLATION OF TN CODE, AND PERJURY IN HIS PERSONNEL FILE, WHICH SHOWED HIS $100,000+ SALARY. 2007 TDOT SAFETY AUDIT REPORT CONFESSED THAT THP'S JOB IS TO BAN ALL COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES ON THE DRAGON, SO THP TICKETS INCREASED 11,400% IN BLOUNT COUNTY. THP'S STALKER RADAR OPERATOR MANUAL CONFESSED THAT RADAR CANNOT MEASURE THE SPEED OF VEHICLES WITHIN 18 MPH OF ACTUAL SPEED. WATCH THIS SPACE FOR FULL EVIDENCE FILE. UPDATE 7 MARCH 2011

Police State checkpoint on the Dragon, biker tickets increase 11,400% at Deals Gap

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Crash victim barely survives hospital horror

So retired cops get a dose of their own bad medicine... Why you must always carry a gun when you go to hospital.

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Nightmarish Hospital Visit Capped by Beating, Accident Victim Says

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (CN) - A man who was hurt in a car crash but was misidentified as a cancer patient claims security guards at Prince George's Hospital beat him up when he tried to leave the hospital to avoid chest surgery he didn't need - "to have a potentially cancerous mass removed from his chest." He adds that one guard repeatedly called him "bitch" as he roughed him up.

Joseph Wheeler says a June 23 car accident put him in the hospital, which is owned by Dimensions Health Corporation. When he woke up hungry on June 24 and asked a nurse for food, she told him he couldn't eat because he was scheduled for surgery, Wheeler claims in Prince George's County Court.

Wheeler says the nurse checked his identification bracelet and told him the surgery was "to have a potentially cancerous mass removed from his chest."

Wheeler says his ID bracelet "contained a name that was different from Mr. Wheeler's, appeared to be that of a woman, and had a birth date that was 13 years prior to his own."

The complaint continues: "Mr. Wheeler, still in serious pain from the car accident and subsequent treatment from injuries sustained, was starting to fear for his safety as the hospital had misidentified him and he was being prepped to go into a surgery that he knew nothing about.

"At this point, Mr. Wheeler's wife, Felicia Ann Wheeler, came into the room to see her husband. Mr. Wheeler immediately told Mrs. Wheeler about what was taking place. The Wheelers decided that it was in their best interest to leave Prince George's Hospital Center and seek medical care for Mr. Wheeler elsewhere."

Mrs. Wheeler confirmed with nurses outside her husband's room that he was scheduled for cancer surgery, and when she told the nurses that she and her husband were leaving, "an argument ensued."

According to the increasingly bizarre complaint, Mr. Wheeler, "hearing the argument, took out his I/V, got out of the hospital bed, put his clothes on, and started to walk out of the room. He was bleeding from the spot on his hand where that I/V had been connected.

"Mrs. Wheeler and the nurse met Mr. Wheeler at the door. The nurse told Mr. Wheeler that he was not allowed to leave. She put a bandage on Mr. Wheeler's hand to stop the bleeding from the I/V spot, and then yelled for security.

"Mr. Wheeler, now bandaged and clothed, began to walk toward the exit of the floor while his wife gathered the rest of his belongings. As he moved toward the exit, two large men in security uniforms moved quickly toward Mr. Wheeler."

These men, defendants William Reese and Donovan Scott, worked for the hospital and/or defendant Broadway Services, according to the complaint. The Wheelers say the two security guards were "immediately hostile."

"Defendant Scott harshly asked, 'Where do you think you're going?' Mr. Wheeler told both Reese and Scott that his business was finished at the hospital and that he was on his way out," the complaint states.

"In the moments immediately following this exchange, defendant Scott began to appear angry and upset with Mr. Wheeler. He began to use profanity directed at Mr. Wheeler about getting back to Wheeler's 'damn room.'

"At this point the two officers put on black padded gloves in front of Mr. Wheeler and defendant Scott started to hit his fist against his own hand and moved closer in proximity to Wheeler's face. Defendant Scott appeared angry and agitated."

Wheeler, "in fear for his safety," tried to reason with the guards.

"He told the officers that he had been in a serious car accident and suffered from multiple injuries to the torso and shoulders. Wheeler also told the officers that he was retired from the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office and that he knew that the security officers had no right or authority to detain him. Wheeler stated that he wanted to leave."

At that point, Wheeler says, Scott grabbed him and shoved him "hard from behind into the adjacent wall and metal railing," hurting his ribs.

The complaint continues: "Mr. Wheeler, in serious pain and feeling like he was going to black out, fell to floor. Defendant Scott stood over him and yelled, 'Get off the floor bitch! This game is over!'

"Defendant Scott continued, 'I don't care who you think you are, this is my camp, you listen to what I got to say!' The vocal officer then grabbed Mr. Wheeler and pulled him up off of the ground as Wheeler pleaded with the officer to stop hurting him.

"At this point the defendant Reese said to the vocal officer, 'Man, ease up on him. He might really be hurt.' Defendant Scott replied, 'Hell no, he don't come up in here and be telling us what the fuck to do!'"

As the two guards "escorted" him back to his room, "Scott accused Wheeler of attempting to push the second officer down a flight of stairs," and "continued to shout expletives at Wheeler," according to the complaint.

Wheeler says the men took him to the hospital security office, where an unidentified lieutenant questioned him.

"After Mr. Wheeler explained what had happened, the lieutenant looked at Wheeler's hospital-provided identification bracelet and acknowledged that Wheeler had been misidentified," Wheeler says.

But that was not the end of the conflict. Wheeler says the lieutenant became agitated when he would not return the incorrect bracelet, and ordered the security guards to stop him from leaving.

He says a plainclothes hospital employee, a woman he identifies as an "administrator ... intervened in the conversation" and after he explained the situation, said she would make sure he "would have his own private room and any type of drug he wanted, just to name the pain killer."

Wheeler says he and his wife chose to leave the hospital, but when he tried to leave with the incorrect ID bracelet, one of the security guards "charged Wheeler, again calling Wheeler 'bitch,' and shoved him against the wall."

"Mr. Wheeler spent the next three days at St. Mary's Hospital and was diagnosed with four broken ribs, a sprained shoulder, a ruptured spleen, and a concussion," he says.

The Wheelers seek $3.2 million in compensatory damages and $9.5 million in punitive damages for assault and battery, false imprisonment and infliction of emotional distress.

They are represented by Bryan Dugan with Dugan, McKissick, Wood & Longmore of Lexington Park, Md.

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Doctors murder 2-million Americans every year, and are the leading cause of death in USA.

Police State kills another biker on the Dragon

Click for artwork of Steve Ferrell

The Police State crackdown, with martial law closure of the Dragon in 2010, has reaped another bumper crop of fatalities.

Motorcyclist killed in wreck on the Dragon - A 45-year-old Rogersville, Tenn., man was killed this morning while driving on U.S. 129 in Blount County, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Stevie Ferrell, was traveling south on his 2007 Yamaha motorcycle, when he ran off the right side of the road and hit a tree. He was thrown from the bike and landed 57 feet west of the vehicle. It is unknown whether alcohol or drugs were involved in the accident, authorities said.

ETR Gap News

129 Fatality Today......Sat. Morning!

Killboy

That's two sportbikers killed this month at Deals Gap by delay or lack of medical response. Is Blount County Rescue Squad still banned in Blount County? Neither BCRS nor Blount County Sheriff Office would answer their phone (Sunday 7pm). A trooper alleged BCRS did assist in the delayed rescue, but he seemed confused about other aspects of the crash ('eyewitness saw a stoppie'), so what's the true story?

Wear your chest protectors. And maybe a parachute...some of those drop offs are 600 feet.

Cops don't carry first responder kits and do not perform first aid to crash victims. Time for a change.

It takes up to 4.5 hours for Rural Metro Taxi to deliver a crash victim to Lifestar for an $18,000 flight in Blount County:







The first fatality on the Dragon in 2010 resulted from a 24-hour response time by Rural Metro (or whoever in NC). Knox County requires Rural Metro to respond in 10 minutes, or be fined.

Map of fatalities on the Dragon

Allegedly the rider had a GoPro video on...another hit-and-run? Same with the previous victim this month. Allegedly the rider said he just went into the corner too hot, locked both tires, and ran out of road. Braking makes a bike stand up and go straight BTW.

Is somebody targeting sportbikers, like the oil bandits and old man trucker with a birdie? Is this a murder investigation? Is there a serial killer on the loose on the Dragon? Is there a serialkiller cop killing sportbikers in Blount County, again and again, when killing biker cops is approved by police? Or is the artificially slow speed limit putting bikers to eternal sleep?



Rockford Police Dept, Blount County Sheriff Office and THP assassinated Knox County cop Mickey Laton for the crime of speeding while riding his sportbike to work at the jail. A Blount County jury declared open season for all cops to murder all bikers in Blount County. Blount County even renamed Pellissippi Parkway to honor the convicted hit-and-run killer of a sportbiker, aided and abeted by THP and BCSO.

"I’ll burn your house down, set your dog on fire and there won’t be a member of your family left, do you understand me? I won’t hire it done, I will do it myself! Do you understand me?”
-Blount County sheriff James Berrong, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, Nuchols v. Berrong, No. 04-5645, July 11, 2005

REALITY CHECK

Only 4,000 to 5,000 bikers die per year in USA. This proves motorcycle riding is one of the safest things you could ever do.

USDOT's Hurt Report proves that 90% of riders don't know what Countersteering is, since all state police censor that word from motorcycle rider tests, thanks to greed by MSF's cop-run riding schools. That would explain why this dead rider didn't leave any skidmarks to find him by. Failure to countersteer feels like the handlebars are welded straight. Bikes steer in the opposite direction of a curve, in order to make the bike lean. Bikes steer in the opposite direction to cars and trikes.



Order your Countersteering Warning stickers from the Dragonator today!

MOTORCYCLE CRASH FACES OF DEATH - Not even safety gear can help you survive Uncle Scam's defective highway designs and automobiles built for roadkill.

Crash victims who die as a result of medical malpractice are still listed as dying from a crash. Medical doctors murder over 2-million Americans every year, the leading cause of death in USA, equivalent to six jumbo jets falling out of the sky every day. Ambulance crews are now murdering crash victims to harvest their organs, which can only be harvested from living bodies, at a gross profit of $500,000 per murder victim, whether or not the victim was gullible enough to sign an organ donor contract.

Stick and ball sports kill 200,000 healthy young Americans every year, from sweating.

"For decades, speed was the subject of the most widespread slogans drummed into the public. 'Speed kills' and 'slow down and live' are familiar ones peddled by the National Safety Council. The findings showed a more complex picture of the role of speed than had ever been assumed before. Accident involvement rates are at a minimum at speeds between fifty and seventy five miles per hour. Although obviously the severity of accidents is greater at higher speeds, the study revealed that considering accident frequency rates and severity, the number of injuries per vehicle miles traveled is at its minimum [up to six times lower]. The law embodies an invincible rationale: 'He had an accident; therefore he violated the law.' No distinction is made between responsibility for the accident and responsibility for the injury due to unsafe vehicle design or construction. Manslaughter charges are filed routinely against drivers; there is yet to be recorded any similar charges against the manufacturers for vehicle defects. A typical police traffic accident report has a list of 'contributing circumstances' which the officer is to check off: 'Speed too fast; failed to yield right of way; drove left of center; improper overtaking; passed stop sign; ran traffic signal; improper lights; had been drinking; and other improper driving.' Thus the driver is heir to all the dangers created by the automobile designers, not only in terms of bodily injury but also in terms of legal exposure. The result of this drastic imbalance in the law is the very poor quality of accident investigation in this country. Consequently, enforcement of the law brings no pressure on the car makers to increase the safety of their vehicles."
-Ralph Nader, attorney at law and presidential candidate, from "Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile", quoting David Soloman in "Accidents on Main Rural Highways Related to Speed, Driver and Vehicle," FHwA (1964). Nader forced GM and VW to start using CV joints, anti-sway bars and proper independent suspensions that don't roll over at 20 mph.

"One hundred forty years ago, the Royal Society in England warned against the railroads, claiming that at speeds over 30 miles per hour, the air supply to the passenger compartment would be cut off and people would die from asphyxiation. And the college of physicians in Munich, for its part, warned that at 30 mph, travelers would suffer headaches, vertigo and possible lose their sight because of a blurring effect. Over 30 mph great catastrophies were predicted, because everyone knew that even a twig would shatter the wheels."
-Jules Burgman, ABC News, NASA Langley Research Center, The Impact of Science on Society, NASA SP-482, NASA Scientific and Technical Information Branch, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1985

The illegal speed limit on the Dragon is 30 mph... The reason it's illegal to set low speed limits is they put drivers to sleep, causing a 600% increase in crashes according to USDOT. The only legal speed limit is set by measuring the 85th-Percentile Speed, based on the average speed of traffic, during daylight, without rain or fog, at the end of a straight, not counting trucks or slow vehicles, without a police presence. This is literal democracy in a republic.

However, not setting any speed limits at all is even safer, according to USDOT, since that forces drivers to pay maximum attention. Driving 212 mph on the curvy German Autobahn at night in the rain in 130 mph commuter traffic is safer than 55 mph on a straight interstate in USA. Seems Mother Nature's DNA survival instinct is more powerful than a Police State, and the Constitutionsal right to travel is more powerful than the Communist Manifesto.

"Government control of communications and transportation."
-Communist Manifesto, 6th Plank

THE DRAGONATER WINS IN TRAFFIC COURT AT DEALS GAP, RAISES SPEED LIMIT TO 65 MPH ON THE DRAGON - NOLLE PROSEQUI BY BLOUNT COUNTY ATTORNEY GENERAL. NO TESTIMONY, HEARING NOR TRIAL WHATSOEVER. 60 MPH SPEEDING TICKET DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, COSTS PAID BY THE STATE, IN BLOUNT COUNTY GENERAL SESSIONS COURT WITH JUDGE BREWER. THP TROOPER RANDALL HUCKEBY ADMITTED ON VIDEOTAPE DURING TRAFFIC STOP THAT ALL SPEEDING TICKETS NORTHBOUND ON US129 AT MILE MARKER 0.5 ARE FEDERAL JURISDICTION, NOT STATE JURISDICTION (VIDEO BY THE DRAGONATER). HUCKEBY WAS ALSO CAUGHT ON VIDEO SPEEDING AT 60 MPH ON THE DRAGON, WITHOUT THE MANDATORY EMERGENCY LIGHTS AND SIREN REQUIRED FOR IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION (VIDEO BY THE DRAGONATER). TDOT ADMITTED IN WRITING THAT THE MANDATORY TRAFFIC ENGINEERING SURVEY SPEED AUDIT WAS NEVER PERFORMED, IN VIOLATION OF TN CODE, THUS THE POSTED 30 MPH SPEED LIMIT ON THE DRAGON REVERTS TO THE DEFAULT 65 MPH IN TN CODE. THE DRAGONATER ALSO MADE VIDEO OF TROOPER HUCKEBY SPEEDING UP TO 60 MPH ON THE DRAGON IN A 30 MPH ZONE, WITHOUT MANDATORY EMERGENCY LIGHTS NOR SIREN, IN VIOLATION OF TN CODE, AND PERJURY IN HIS PERSONNEL FILE, WHICH SHOWED HIS $100,000+ SALARY. 2007 TDOT SAFETY AUDIT REPORT CONFESSED THAT THP'S JOB IS TO BAN ALL COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES ON THE DRAGON, SO THP TICKETS INCREASED 11,400% IN BLOUNT COUNTY. THP'S STALKER RADAR OPERATOR MANUAL CONFESSED THAT RADAR CANNOT MEASURE THE SPEED OF VEHICLES WITHIN 18 MPH OF ACTUAL SPEED. WATCH THIS SPACE FOR FULL EVIDENCE FILE. UPDATE 7 MARCH 2011

Biker facing prison for GoPro video of traffic cops

Herr Joseph D Uhler, Maryland State Police Badge #3316TFC, Work Location (2008) Golden Ring Barrack, (410) 866-3867, 8114 Philadelphia Rd, Rosedale, MD 21237-2849?

Al Jazeera: Sgt Anthony Graber facing five years prison for embarassing US police during traffic stop



More detailed legal analysis of this 'wiretapping' case.

VIDEO: The Dragonator facing arrest for videotaping police on the Dragon US129 at Deals Gap, since 'every crash is a crime scene'.

Military Spy Satellite Used on U.S. Citizens for Building Codes Enforcement Tax, ‘All Americans Should have Great Pride’:

The Truth about redlight traffic cameras They don't want you to know about

Knoxville Journal: Accused camera shooter says cops did it

98% of redlight camera tickets are for stopping then turning right on red, as allowed by TN Code.

90% of redlight camera ticket revenue is exported to corporations in foreign nations, such as Communist China, illegally bypassing US cops, US courts and US governments. Under US Code, the punishment for treason is death.

The following facts of law were censored this week by Knoxville News Sentinel and Chattanooga Times 'Free' Press, both from their 'news' stories and from Comments, as required by their propaganda contracts with Communist Big Brother's Fascist Police State:

"It is extremely easy to beat this type of ticket in court. Your easiest defense is to simply throw the ticket away. If it does not come with a return receipt that requires a signature, there is no proof that you actually got the ticket and they cannot prosecute you on that."
-Norman G. Fernandez, attorney at law, and Jes Beard, attorney at law in Chattanooga TN, free ebook: How to Beat a Speeding Ticket - Photo RADAR

"The city judge shall issue process on the complaint. He shall try no case until process has been regularly sued out, served and returned."
-Knoxville Code, Section 8-1, Issuance of process

Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure - Rule 4.03. Summons; Return — (1) The person serving the summons shall promptly make proof of service to the court and shall identify the person served and shall describe the manner of service. If a summons is not served within 90 days after its issuance, it shall be returned stating the reasons for failure to serve. The plaintiff may obtain new summonses from time to time, as provided in Rule 3, if any prior summons has been returned unserved or if any prior summons has not been served within 90 days of issuance. (2)When process is served by mail, the original summons, endorsed as below; an affidavit of the person making service setting forth the person's compliance with the requirements of this rule; and, the return receipt shall be sent to and filed by the clerk. The person making service shall endorse over his or her signature on the original summons the date of mailing a certified copy of the summons and a copy of the complaint to the defendant and the date of receipt of return receipt from the defendant. If the return receipt is signed by the defendant, or by person designated by Rule 4.04 or by statute, service on the defendant shall be complete. If not, service by mail may be attempted again or other methods authorized by these rules or by statute may be used.

75% of AZ Drivers Refuse to Pay Photo Traffic Tickets

85% of TX Drivers Refuse to Pay Photo Traffic Tickets

Australian Photo Ticket Firm Redflex Approaches Zero Profit - Citizens refuse to pay bogus tickets to foreign corporation, Redflex fired by Knoxville for suspected bribery and contract fraud. Redflex announces propaganda counterattack -- "managed media interface" -- via paid bloggers posing as 'grassroots' citizens (astroturf), and 'news reporters' and their 'news' corporations on the payrole of scamera companies.

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Cleveland TN sitting on $113,000 in unpaid traffic light tickets

The amount of money in unpaid traffic light camera tickets owed to Cleveland is about 10 times the amount the city made from the cameras when they were operational.

A little more than $113,000 from 985 unpaid tickets is owed to the city, records indicate. The city took in between $12,000 and $13,000 during the program’s 18-month life, city Finance Director Mike Keith said.

“Our plan is to evaluate what is the best route to go on collecting (the unpaid tickets), and whether we collect those in-house or whether we do turn them over to some sort of (collections agency),” Keith said.

He said there hasn’t been a meeting to discuss the unpaid tickets, and there isn’t one scheduled.

“It is one of the things we do need to work on,” Keith said.

Traffipax, a Maryland-based traffic camera company, began operating the cameras at five of Cleveland’s intersections in late 2008 and ceased its upkeep of the devices on April 1 because of revenue shortfalls.

The company collected a little less than $257,000 from the cameras, records indicate. But that’s less than the $275,000 the company billed Cleveland to operate the cameras, so Traffipax offered to run the cameras for free in their last two months of operation, Keith said.

Traffipax continued processing tickets until June 15, then handed all unpaid tickets over to Cleveland, records show.

Messages left with Traffipax were not returned.

Now that Traffipax is completely out of the picture, any revenue from the unpaid tickets will go directly to the city, Keith said.

All tickets were originally written for $50, he said, but late penalties raised the cost to $154.75 for 626 unpaid tickets that reached their intended addresses.

Legally, the city would be able to collect on the delivered tickets without being contested since the alleged offenders didn’t show up for their scheduled court dates, said Marty Kooperman, a Nashville-based trial attorney.

One of the people Cleveland may ask to pay up is Glenwood, Minn., resident Brandy Warnock. Records show that Warnock’s vehicle passed through a red light on Paul Huff Parkway on March 27, 2009.

Warnock said the driver was her ex-husband’s brother, a Cleveland resident who borrowed Warnock’s vehicle.

“I told [Traffipax] it’s impossible for me to have gotten that ticket because I haven’t been to Tennessee in 14 years,” she said.

So Warnock decided not to pay the $50 ticket.

“I just hope if I ever visit Tennessee they don’t have a warrant out for me,” she said.

The city also has 359 tickets that came back as “undeliverable,” meaning the address that correlated with the vehicle’s license plate number wasn’t correct. These tickets are still valued at $50, records show.

“There would have to be some work done to collect those,” Keith said, adding that the cost of collection may be too high to justify.

Camera debate

Across the nation, the debate over traffic light cameras seems to show no signs of stopping.

Critics say the cameras infringe on motorists in a “Big Brother” manner, skip due process of law and are installed mostly to generate revenue.

Proponents claim they improve safety at intersections and allow patrol officers to concentrate on more pressing crimes.

In Dalton, Ga., the City Council voted unanimously in 2008 to deactivate cameras at five of the city’s intersections.

“I’ve never seen proof that cameras make intersections safer,” Mayor David Pennington said before the vote.

For Tennessee, Kooperman said that, in accordance with a 2008 appellate court ruling, traffic light cameras and the process in which they’re handed out is legal, even if the vehicle owner wasn’t driving the vehicle.

In spite of the ruling, Kooperman said, there are still a lot gray areas concerning traffic camera laws, which is why a small percentage of those receiving tickets take their cases to trial.

Red Bank and Chattanooga, which started using cameras in 2006 and 2007 respectively, are each tied up in $10 million lawsuits over the devices. The plaintiffs argue that the cities began using the cameras before the 2008 appellate court ruling.

The ruling notes that, before 2008, Tennessee Code said any traffic citation from a camera would only be for “a nonmoving traffic violation.” In July 2008, Tennessee law was amended to say all violations caught on camera are considered “nonmoving traffic violation(s).”

A hearing for the suits against Red Bank and Chattanooga is scheduled for Sept. 20 in Hamilton County Chancery Court.

Overall, though, people taking their traffic-camera tickets to trial is rare because they don’t count as points on traffic records and contesting them can get quite pricey, Kooperman said.

“You’re not going to get an attorney to come in for [the cost of a traffic ticket],” he said. “People will say, ‘But it’s a matter of principle.’ I often tell people, ‘Principle’s fine, but principle can also be expensive.’”

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KNS Letters love the Police State: Red-light cameras local, not fed issue

Knoxville red-light camera citation database of paid tickets - Looks like only 10% are dumb enough to not throw the tickets in the trash, with 7,500 paid tickets per year out of 75,000 annual redlight camera tickets


Knox County deputy sheriff reported that a Knox County deputy confessed to shooting a redlight camera in Knoxville, Australian Redflex fired for suspected bribery and contract fraud, thanks to The Dragonator

Cops dressed as anarchists burn cop cars

Peaceful Protesters Attacked, Arrested While Cop-Car Arsonists Left Alone

An eyebrow-raising photograph of one of the anarchists who set fire to a Toronto police car during anti-G20 protests this past weekend shows him wearing Nike clothing, a potential indication that provocateurs dressed up as black-bloc “anarchists” were again employed by authorities to cause mayhem in order to justify a brutal police crackdown and crush free speech, as peaceful protesters were attacked and arrested while the anarchists who torched the cars were left alone.

The picture shows the two culprits who set fire to the police car congratulating each other and looking remarkably relaxed about potentially being caught by police considering what they had just done. One of the men is wearing Nike pants – the distinctive logo of the company can be seen above his left pocket.

Why would a hardcore anarchists so dedicated to his cause that he is willing to torch a police car be wearing clothing made by a company that anarchists universally abhor, and one that has routinely been targeted by anarchists for well over a decade?

The authorities certainly wasted no time in responding to the mayhem the anarchists helpfully generated for them with brute force. After anarchists torched four police cars, reporters and other peaceful protesters were targeted with rubber bullets, with another Guardian journalist being repeatedly punched and elbowed by cops.

“A newspaper photographer was shot with a plastic bullet in the backside, while another had an officer point a gun in his face despite identifying himself as a member of the media,” reported the Canadian Press news agency.

Journalist Steve Paikin of public broadcaster TV Ontario described the brutal beating of the Guardian reporter.

“As I was escorted away from the demonstration, I saw two officers hold a journalist. The journalist identified himself as working for ‘the Guardian.’ He talked too much and pissed the police off. Two officers held him a third punched him in the stomach. Totally unnecessary. The man collapsed. Then the third officer drove his elbow into the man’s back. No cameras recorded the assault. And it was an assault.”

Paikin noted how middle class, peaceful demonstrators were being attacked and arrested by police, while the anarchists who provided them with the pretext to do so were nowhere to be seen.

“The police just started arresting people. I stress, this was a peaceful, middle class, diverse crowd. No anarchists. Literally more than 100 officers with guns pointing at the crowd. Rubber bullets and smoke bombs ready to be fired. Rubber bullets fired.”

“I have lived in Toronto for 32 years. Have never seen a day like this. Shame on the vandals and shame on those that ordered peaceful protesters attacked and arrested,” added Paikin

Could the two men in the picture be cops dressed up as anarchists? It wouldn’t be the first time that cops had posed as protesters and deliberately staged violence in an effort to justify a heavy-handed police response.

We have documented numerous different occasions where the black bloc anarchists were completely infiltrated by the authorities to provide a pretext for a police state crackdown.

A recent example occurred at last year’s Pittsburgh G20 summit, where footage showed three burly older men who look completely out of place with black bandanas over their face walking alongside young protesters during a march against police brutality in a You Tube clip entitled “G20 Epic Undercover Police Fail”.

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See also: Operation Northwoods

Warning to cops: Don't fuck with old folks

'If something isn’t done, there’s going to be bloodshed'