Hell of a road block
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2008/03/04/8382_gold-coast-news.html
Sarah Vogler
04Mar08
ABOUT 500 members and associates of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang have thumbed their nose at authority by riding from their clubhouse at Browns Plains to Yatala and back in a massive show of force. ABOUT 500 members and associates of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang have thumbed their nose at authority by riding from their clubhouse at Browns Plains to Yatala and back in a massive show of force.
Members from as far away as New Zealand and Sydney are believed to have joined the large convoy of hundreds of bikies who thundered down the M1 during what was the club's 16th annual 'Good as Gold' poker run at the weekend.
The Gold Coast Bulletin watched the gang's clubhouse in Tradelink Road at Hillcrest and again during the ride after viewing a poster advertising the run, which promised thousands of dollars in cash giveaways and prizes for participants along with a 'free feed'.
Supporters and police lined the streets as the mass of bikies left the clubhouse for destinations including Redland Bay and a tavern at Yatala before returning home.
Several members were spotted doing burnouts and riding on the wrong side of the road during the run while motorists just tried to stay out of their way.
The poker run is traditionally used by motorcycle gangs to raise money and to recruit new members.
But bikie sources said they believed the run was also designed to be a show of force to other clubs such as their rivals, the Finks, whose numbers on the street have been depleted after a string of arrests landed several members behind bars.
In 2006, five people were wounded after a gunfight between the Finks and Hells Angels at the Royal Pines Resort ballroom.
More than 1800 people were at the venue when bikies used guns, knives and fists, as well as throwing chairs during the riot.
The Hells Angels found themselves on the receiving end of even more bad publicity after a man believed to be at the centre of the gunfight, Christopher Hudson, allegedly shot three people in the centre of Melbourne last year, killing one.
Mr Hudson allegedly went on the run and is believed to have visited Hells Angels members to have his tattoo 'removed' before eventually handing himself in.
Mr Hudson was a member of the Gold Coast chapter of the Finks before he defected to the Hells Angels in late 2005.
The move infuriated Finks members, leading to the violent clash at Royal Pines, when more than 40 Finks stormed past outmuscled security guards before Mr Hudson was shot.
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The American Motorcyclist Association
www.amadirectlink.com/news/2008/NYC.asp
Posted March 3, 2008 |
New York City Transportation Department thumbs nose at federal law In one of the most outrageous acts the American Motorcyclist Association has seen in years, the New York City Transportation Department defiantly refuses to change its rules so that they comply with federal law to allow motorcycles to use high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lanes. The department states that it won't change its rules to comply with federal law because the New York City Police Department opposes the change. But transportation officials refuse to explain the police opposition despite numerous attempts by the American Motorcyclist Association to get an explanation. The Police Department opposition was supposed to have been recorded, but wasn't, in a public forum--a city Transportation Department hearing that was held Sept. 12, 2007 to change department rules related to motorcycle use of HOV lanes to comply with federal law. The rule change was to go into effect within 60 days of that hearing. "New York City’s public servants are intentionally ignoring a law passed by the American people's elected representatives in the U.S. Congress," says Imre Szauter, AMA legislative affairs specialist, who has been trying to get answers from New York City transportation officials on the HOV-motorcycle issue. "Because the New York City Transportation Department refuses to change its rules, every American motorcyclist faces tickets and fines when riding in New York City HOV lanes," Szauter continues. "This is outrageous and totally unacceptable. Karen Perrine of Staten Island, New York, suffered through a two-and-a-half-year nightmare because of a ticket she got on Oct. 26, 2005 while riding her Yamaha FZ1 motorcycle in a New York City HOV lane" (see sidebar). In recent years, motorcyclists in Phoenix and Pittsburgh also were ticketed for riding in HOV lanes. But those tickets were dismissed when the ticketed motorcyclists and the American Motorcyclist Association pointed out that federal law allows motorcycles in HOV lanes. In fact, Pittsburgh even put up signs allowing motorcycles in HOV lanes after officials there were informed of the federal law. The U.S. Code governing HOV lanes--Title 23, Section 166 (23USC166)--states agencies that govern HOV lanes must allow motorcycles to use the lanes unless they prove motorcycles pose a safety hazard on the lanes, and that proof is accepted by the U.S. Transportation Secretary following a Federal Register notice and public comment period on the ban. © 2008, American Motorcyclist Association
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