i was wondering how long that would take before they started to bust ass over there. just out of curiosity, what is the percentage of deadly wrecks on that road? and isnt that a big money maker for the area, so why would they do that?
I believe a couple a year is normal. However this is probably needed. Having been there on Saturday people are WAY out of hand. The whole confiscation and jail bit is over the top in my opinion though (want to bet that they damage what they take by force then say tough?) I avoided the area though so it is not a big impact other than it is likely to disperse the idiots to other areas
Oh and if my memory is correct this is not the first time a crack down has occurred.
If everything tastes like chicken..... what does chicken taste like
they cant sieze your vehical in nc unless you are over 15 over the speed limit, then it still gets iffy. they can issue a wreckless driving ticket for 15 over and sieze your license on the spot. i will call my friend today about the whole sizure thing. i think they can tow it to impound and make you have someone pick you and the bike up, but they cant keep it unless you are running.
I am not post whoring, I am providing an abundance of useless opinion.
50MPH would be 20 over. However I find the unequal enforcement the issue. Does TN impound every vehicle at 20 over and take the operator to jail? If so then I am fine if not this is exchanging irresponsible and dangerous behaviour by the public for unconstitutional behaviour (unequal protection under the law) by the police.
I appreciate the need to settle people down and agree that the time to do so is now, however that does not mean the police should disregard the law either.
I do wonder if the state police have a new head that hates motorcycles or if they are correctly looking at this as a single issue that needs resolution. I plan on investigating some and starting a boycott of TN if it is blind hatred.
If everything tastes like chicken..... what does chicken taste like
i had a run in with the law man and i was over the limit, and i was just issued a speeding ticket. ultimately its up to the leo on revoking your privilage on the spot, so to me it sounds like it is out of hatered
I am not post whoring, I am providing an abundance of useless opinion.
Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap and Cherohala Skyway, Graham Co, NC BULLETIN: We have received numerous emails concerning the recent posting on the Internet by a supposed Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper warning of dire consequences on the Dragon this coming year for speeders. We do not post rumors on this site so we contacted Captain Ray Fletcher of the Knoxville Division Tennessee Highway Patrol. He confirmed as we had believed that some of the details in the post are completely false, such as the immediate arrest and impoundment of vehicles for speeding over 50 mph on the Dragon.
Captain Fletcher was not able to comment on whether or not the post was made by a Trooper, but some of the language, unusual statements and obvious errors as stated above make us believe the post was by someone other than who supposedly signed their name and position to it. Obviously a real Trooper would not jeopardize his job by signing such a post.
Captain Fletcher stated that the laws will be enforced on the Dragon as they are on all Tennessee roadways. Tail of the Dragon advises riders to obey the laws and they will have no trouble with the Tennessee Highway Patrol or Blount County Sheriff Deputies.
We will post relevant news as it occurs in the coming year. Watch for continuous updates.
It's all about balance. You'll see rampant idiocy in that area almost every day, but that's far from the norm. I think one of the reasons enforcement has increased is just due to the sheer numbers of people flocking to the area now. If they didn't try to put a stop to blatant squidliness, the area would be even worse now. But they also don't want to go with a heavy handed approach, as that will drive people away.
i dont see why they would run people away due to the profit from all of the tourist
They get a lot of other tourist too ... they ones you see getting passed in double yellow situations in all the squid videos. This people stay at the hotels, rent expensive trailer space at the state parks, and have a propensity to complain when their peaceful drive through the country (on a road that probably scares them to death to drive) is disrupted by all the bikes seeing who has the biggest cajones.
As evl_twn said, it is all about balance. And of course the LEO would say that as long as you obey the laws you have nothing to worry about ... I could swear the speed limit was 45 when I was last there, but that has been some time ago.
What would tick me off is if they are using the Cherahola to go in the other way, I like that road better
Last edited by gt702; 02-09-2007 at 11:10 AM.
Reason: fixed reference
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
Albert Einstein
Very cool and great news. Glad to hear the TN state patrol is not going off the deep end and will continue to operate in a productive manner
If they want to do occasional dragnets and settle folks it is probably a good idea (as long as they do not get draconian). When sanity leaves me and I go there I usually see some folks that DESERVE a reckless ticket (think cross the stripe, go back across into the ditch, then airborne, back into the opposite lane, barely miss a rock wall, type of manuevers). The last time I got to witness an airlift out of the Cherohala unfortunately.
However I see a lot more just enjoying the ride at a safe pace (some above 35 ) and in a safe manner. I don't think the second group should suffer for the first groups idiocy.
EDIT: no worries GT702 if they come in the Cherohala the majority is on the NC side and flashing lights on a TN cruiser would likely not go over well
If everything tastes like chicken..... what does chicken taste like
I just wish they'd keep all the enforcement over at the gap. Lately, there's been a lot more enforcement on the Cherohala, but mostly on the NC side. This past year, I did see more enforcement on the TN side, too. I can still remember the first year I went down there (1999) there was little if any enforcement everywhere we rode. And call me a squid, but the Chero is my all time favorite road that I have EVER been on (TN side, anyway) and it's hard keeping the bike anywhere close to the speed limit.
For all the times I've been there, I've only been stopped once though, and I completely deserved it. There was a group of 5 of us heading back to our rental house in Gatlinburg, on a Saturday, and it was our last day down there. We had been riding for several days, and everyone was pretty tired but still having some fun. We took the Little River Road through the GSMNP, and usually cars will use the pulloffs to allow you to go around. The guy who was leading checked out, and I tried to keep up for a little bit but finally settled to my own pace. We still passed a couple of cars over the double yellow, though. Once we got down toward the visitor's center, I was moving along at probably 45 in a 35, and came around a corner and saw a park ranger car sitting off to the left. I dropped to the speed limit, and sure enough he pulls out behind me as I pass. He flipped the lights on, and I pulled into the visitor's center parking lot. Took off the helmet and gloves, and prepared for what I knew was coming. A couple minutes pass. I figure he's looking up my tag. Then the other three guys that were behind me pull up the the stop sign, and he pulls out and goes after them. So, I waited about 10 minutes, put my gear back on, and headed back to the house. I rode right past them on the way out of the park, all three of them talking to the ranger. When they got back, they told me the reason the ranger left me alone, and pulled them over is that someone had called, reporting a group of bikes. Bottom line, DON'T excessively speed, and cross the double yellow in a national park on a Saturday.
My buddy got a ticket for crossing the double yellow through a state park around there (can't remember where we were exactly). We were behind a car that was going probably 10 mph BELOW the damn park speed limit, so he went ahead and passed on a long straight. You could see far enough ahead to make a safe pass, but it was still double yellow all through the park. Sure enough, a cop popped over the hill at the end of the straight just as he was going around.
Flashlight reveries caught in the headlights of a truck...
Two days and counting I just got the motard back together, and new shoes on the 45, so I think the bikes are good to go. I'm not so sure it's a good idea to break in the engine on the 'tard at the gap, but what the hell I'll be bringing the stuff I need to change the oil at least once while I'm there.
Sheep was asking in the other thread about ride plans, and where we were going to be Sunday. I'm not really sure, we don't have any set ride plans for any day that I'm aware of. For the most part, we try to meet up at the crossroads around 9-10am or so, and then try to throw something together. I try to stay away from 129 (and now the Cherrycola) on the weekends, but who knows? I'll be getting to the house mid-day Saturday, then probably just take a quick ride to the crossroads and back.
Well if you tested my alternate roads I did not see you Hopefully you had as great a day Evl_Twn. 550ish miles of pavement grazing goodness Got to see a FZR1000 and a guy on a Harley pulling a trials bike Good riding a bit of traffic and I did get clogged a couple of times. Heard a nasty rumor on the gap but likely it is another police myth (they are frequent). But no RC that wasn't a 51
If everything tastes like chicken..... what does chicken taste like
evl doesn't have internet access up there, but I was there Thurs/Friday and they have had great riding weather all week. Of course, it couldn't all be good; we had a few patches of rain on Friday, but it wasn't bad. The Mini Cooper event got started hard and heavy Friday, so the Gap was pretty useless that day, and we did the skyway instead.
evl had an "incident" that I'll let him elaborate on... They should be back home tomorrow night sometime.
evl's, girlfriend's, brother (Tom) trashed his ST1100 pretty bad earlier in the week, but he was fine.
Here's the only pic I took of our group; I'm sure he'll have a lot more from the rest of his trip also.
evl had an "incident" that I'll let him elaborate on... They should be back home tomorrow night sometime.
Here's the only pic I took of our group; I'm sure he'll have a lot more from the rest of his trip also.
Was that the "incident" with the Mini driver you're referring to? I'll post about that and the other incident on the skyway a bit later, we just pulled up and got the bikes unloaded.
The incident that was mentioned didn't involve anyone crashing, but it was a "discussion" I had with a Mini owner (there was a Mini gathering the second weekend we were there, about 500 of em) about proper lane usage. He pulled up right behind be at the crossroads, and proceeded to lay into my ass about passing him on the double yellow. OK, so I might have bent a traffic law, but I had been following this goober for a couple of miles, and he had at LEAST a dozen spots he could have pulled over to let me by.
Luckily, it was just some words. I don't think he would have liked the outcome if he had stepped out of his car. I still had full gear on, and was probably about twice his size. I just let him rant, then he drove off after I gave him my retort.
Edit: and this guy was not exactly following the local traffic laws anyway. I think the reason he was really pissed is he was working that Mini pretty damn hard, and was probably embarrassed that he got passed by a "dirtbike"
Should have told him we are even for his minikin that were passing each other using MY lane a while back. As your reward for making a minikin unhappy I have a 25th anniversary inteceptor pin you can have at Grattan if you want it.
Did you get a chance to sample the area I PM'ed to you?
If everything tastes like chicken..... what does chicken taste like
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) and in a safe manner. I don't think the second group should suffer for the first groups idiocy.
Hopefully you had as great a day Evl_Twn. 550ish miles of pavement grazing goodness 
Good riding a bit of traffic and I did get clogged a couple of times. Heard a nasty rumor on the gap but likely it is another police myth (they are frequent). But no RC that wasn't a 51
I'll post about that and the other incident on the skyway a bit later, we just pulled up and got the bikes unloaded.
minikin that were passing each other using MY lane a while back. As your reward for making a minikin unhappy I have a 25th anniversary inteceptor pin you can have at Grattan if you want it.
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