Another town to dump the cameras

Residents of Monroe, WA fought tooth and nail to put an end to this unconscionable assualt on liberty. And they won.

Hey, it's Unconstitutional!

Bluff City has responded to the class action lawsuit against it. It sounds like, while the plaintiffs made many arguments, they did not address the constitutionality of the fines in Bluff City. As I stated before (in much greater detail here), I believe there is a good argument to be made that their fine structure was unconstitutional under the Tennessee constitution. Article VI Section 15 of the Tennessee Constitution plainly states that "No fine shall be laid on any citizen of this state that shall exceed $50, unless it is assessed by a jury of his peers." The original Bluff City ordinance charged a $40 administrative fee on top of a $50 fine and that administrative fee was nothing but a fine by a different name. GO GET 'EM!!

Why no one in Bluff City stood up to the camera clowns

Well, the Bluff City speed cameras are about to be turned back on, the speed limit will be reduced and the length of the speed trap will be extended. The city "leaders" continue to maintain the incredulous position that the extension of the speed trap is for "traffic calming." In any event, some of my non-local readers might be interested in knowing why no one in Bluff City would bother showing up at the Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting to complain. It's simple, really.

1. Very few people actually live in the speed trap. It's in a commercial area.


2. Very few people live in Bluff City to begin with and, those that do, benefit greatly from it because nearly 100% of the violaters are from outside of Bluff City. Bluff City has a population of under 1,700 people, but yet they pull in millions from these two speed cameras. You do the math. It allows the citizens of Bluff City to have a much larger government than they otherwise would and they don't have the burden of having to pay for it.


3. The area of the speed trap is essentially strip-annexed into Bluff City. The center of mass of the population of Bluff City is well outside of the speed trap. Depending on the direction of travel, many residents of the area that has been historically known as Bluff City can partially or entirely avoid the speed trap, particularly if they are traveling toward Elizabethton or Bristol.

In other words, why should the citizens of Bluff City care? You're paying for it! It's the new American way - get others to pay for stuff that you want. Whenever one group gets all the benefits and pays little of the costs, what do we expect will happen? It's the same thing that we see happening when over half of the citizens of this country pay no income tax....but that's an issue for another rant.

The Bluff City Rip Off

Not surprisingly, Bluff City is moving to extend their speed trap "north to the Charlie Worlie Bridge." This is probably over two miles from the speed camera. So they have used the camera law as an excuse to extend their speed trap for an additional two miles. For the uninitiated, the Charlie Worlie Bridge is at the bottom of a rather large hill. Look for the police to set up at the bottom of the hill or at the pull-off next to the flea market.

As I predicted, they are using a "traffic study" as justification for this, one that is likely rigged. "[Interim City Manager Judy] Dulaney said a recently completed traffic study of the area showed that most vehicles, northbound and southbound in all lanes of travel, pass through at an average of 66 mph." This is in a 55 mph zone on a 4-lane divided highway in a generally non-congested area. The flea market brings in a fair amount of traffic on the weekend, but commuter traffic is less on Saturday so the net effect is probably de minimus. My guess is that they put their speed trailer on the hill going to the Charlie Worlie Bridge on the northbound side and near the other side of the hill on the southbound side so they would get a higher speed reading.

You people who elect this pathetic group of misfits called the Board of Mayor and Aldermen need to get on the phone and cut this off at the legs. Before this becomes effective, they have to have a second reading that that is scheduled for October 13. Let your voice be heard. You are allowing a government to grow out of control. In no circumstances should so much of any government's revenue be dependent on extracting money from motorists in a speed trap.

Of course, Delaney claims that the speed camera "isn't the primary reason for extending the 45 mph speed limit to the bridge." If you believe that, please contact me about a bridge that I have for sale that is a real money making opportunity. That is such a complete and obvious lie that I cannot believe any bureaucrat is dumb enough to actually say it.

Bluff City's Next Attempt at a Traffic Camera Scam

Here's a warning to folks who travel 11-E. In light of the recent shut-down of the speed camera in the southbound lane, the "city" of Bluff City wants to expand the ridiculous 45 mph speed zone further up the highway so they can keep their traffic scamera alive. As part of this process, it appears that they may be doing a traffic study, using the little trailer that records people's speeds and shows their speed on a sign board as they pass. Traffic studies are required for all new speed cameras under the new Tennessee law and it may be that they are doing this as part of their plan to extend the speed trap and "reinstall" (or re-activate) the speed camera.

Here's the trick - they have located the trailer just a few yards inside of the current 45 mph speed zone, but are measuring speed outside of the 45 mph zone. They basically placed their trailer right behind the sign where the speed limit changes. The sign on the trailer shows 45 mph and it is "inside" of the speed zone, but is set to measure cars that are clearly outside of the speed zone. That way, they can say "we set up a traffic study in the 45 mph zone and most people were exceeding the speed limit." They won't bother telling anyone that they were actually measuring speed in a 55 mph zone. THESE PEOPLE WILL STOP AT NOTHING WHEN IT COMES TO STEALING YOUR MONEY!

I note that this speed measuring trailer was turned off yesterday, but look for a rigged traffic study to go along with the expanded speed limit. This should be illegal. If that camera is turned on, anyone who gets a ticket should challenge the validity of the traffic study that may be being prepared with this speed measuring radar trailer.

Better yet, Bluff City should be disbanded and have its charter revoked. It is a dysfunctional government that seems to exist primarily to keep jobs for a few bureaucrats and few policemen.

Bluff City Candidates' Positions on Speed Cameras

Tricities.com has a story today about the candidates for Bluff City's board of mayor and aldermen. Only one of the candidates, Melvin Carrier, has the guts to publicly oppose the speed cameras in Piney Flats / Bluff City. I would encourage the few people who actually live in Bluff City to support him in his election.

Bluff City is a town that's government is in complete disarray. I don't think it currently has a mayor and they have had consistent problems with the board of mayor and aldermen for quite some time. Why does this town even exist? The population is only 1559 people, but yet they put up a speed camera to rip off revenue from thousands of non-residents. It seems to me that the only reason the town exists is to provide a few guvmint jobs for the locals, rip off passersby and run a few police cars. What would it take to force Bluff City to surrender its charter of incorporation? I mean, really, do the 1559 Sullivan County residents who reside in Bluff City need another layer of government?

It is clear that the speed cameras there put a disproportionate burden on non-residents of Bluff City - people who have no voice in the election of the leaders there or those who make decisions. This is truly a unique situation and should not be allowed to continue. The entire Tri-Cities area must pay the price in lost tourism and money being sent out of our economy to an out-of-state traffic camera company. Literally millions of dollars are leaving the local economy and the state, just so a few tyrants in a tiny town will have some $$$ to blow on their pet projects. Enough!

State Troopers Guard Against Speed Cameras

An interesting thing happened this morning while driving through Piney Flats (Bluff City). I followed a Tennessee Highway patrol vehicle, a large SUV, through the speed camera area. It was one of those times where a video camera would have been great.

For perspective, these speed cameras are placed at the bottom of a hill in an area with an artificially low speed limit. It is a divided highway that is rather rural, but has a few low-traffic businesses on the side of the road.

As the officer approached the speed camera, he (or she) jabs his brakes, gets past the camera and then speeds back up to a normal and safe road speed that just happens to be in excess of the posted (and artifically low) speed limit. This is essentially what a majority of people do when they pass this area.

So, in summary, Piney Flats, Tennessee is a speed trap. Avoid it at all costs. Take your business elsewhere. Do not patronize the businesses there.