Got this from a friend on the ST forum.....fwiw....
From: "Jim Park"
To: "'chuck'" ,"Jim Park \(Home\)"
Subject: Deal's Gap Notice
Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 06:56:22 -0400
May 11, 2006
Tennessee and North Carolina state troopers aren't looking to slay the
Dragon, but they do want to keep its fire under control with Operation
Dragon 2006.
The joint effort will combine the forces of Tennessee and North Carolina
highway patrols to make the Dragon and nearby roadways safer.
Troopers from both agencies will provide a highly visible presence in the
areas frequented by motorcyclists and sports car enthusiasts. The first
coordinated operation is scheduled Saturday and others are planned during
the summer and fall.
Troopers in both states will conduct their own intensive enforcement efforts
at other times during the season.
THP Sgt. Danny Thomas, who oversees highway patrol activities in Blount and
Monroe counties, said the enforcement activities are all focused on safety.
``We welcome everyone who visits the Dragon and the areas around it, as long
as they obey the law,'' Thomas said. ``We're doing intensive enforcement in
an effort to make the roadways safe for everyone on two, four or even 18
wheels.''
The Dragon sports 318 curves on an 11.1-mile stretch of U.S. 129, running
from Deal's Gap at the North Carolina line to Tabcat Bridge alongside
Chilhowee Lake -- a 1,085-foot change in elevation. It is one of the
nation's favorite rides for motorcycles and sports cars. The run has been
touted in several national magazines as well as on several Internet sites.
The often heavy traffic on the narrow highway includes riders and drivers
from across the country, some from other continents.
Unfortunately, the festive atmosphere is too often clouded by accidents,
some of them fatal.
In 2005, there were three deaths on the Dragon -- all of them motorcyclists.
Thomas said that in 2005 troopers investigated 47 accidents on the Dragon,
41 of them involving motorcycles. He said the number of accidents on the
Dragon was down from 57 investigated by THP in 2004 -- 51 of those involved
motorcycles and two were fatalities.
So far in 2006, Tennessee troopers have investigated only nine wrecks on the
Dragon. Eight were motorcycle accidents. However, troopers have responded to
reports of accidents on the Dragon 27 times in 2006.
Eighteen times so far this year, the troopers and often Rural/Metro
Ambulance Service have rushed to the area only to find a motorcyclist's
friends have picked up the rider and bike and the reported accident has
vanished.
``It's hard to estimate the manpower and expense involved in responding to
these disappearing accidents,'' Thomas said. Statistics were not available
regarding the number of accidents in North Carolina related to the area near
the Dragon. However, the five counties in Western North Carolina in the area
near the Dragon have had a 56 percent increase in motorcycle accidents from
2004.
North Carolina troopers will be assigned to the Deals Gap area near the top
of the Dragon and to the Cherohalla Skyway, where some say the probability
of motorcycle accidents is even greater than on the Dragon. The Cherohalla
Skyway linking Robbinsville, N.C., to Tellico Plains includes 15 miles in
North Carolina and 21 in Tennessee.
Tennessee troopers will focus on the Dragon, but others will be active on
the Tennessee end of the Cherohalla. Marked and unmarked cars, motorcycles
and aircraft will be used on both sides of the state line in the effort to
curb accidents and, according to Thomas, ``improve driving habits.''
``We're not anti-motorcycle. I've got one of my own and take it up and over
the Cherohalla into Tellico Plains whenever I get a chance. That's a really
beautiful ride.
``But, I can't enjoy it as much as I'd like when I have somebody on a sports
bike or sports car zipping around me on a curve and making me think I'm
going to find them smashed up around the next curve. ``Speeding and reckless
driving are what we're trying to stop,'' Thomas said. ``That way, everybody
can enjoy themselves without getting hurt."
Jim Park
Cliff's Trucking, Inc.
3100 Fairlane Farms Road
Wellington, FL 33414
Phone: 561-793-0322 Ext. 105
Fax: 561-753-3792
From: "Jim Park"
To: "'chuck'" ,"Jim Park \(Home\)"
Subject: Deal's Gap Notice
Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 06:56:22 -0400
May 11, 2006
Tennessee and North Carolina state troopers aren't looking to slay the
Dragon, but they do want to keep its fire under control with Operation
Dragon 2006.
The joint effort will combine the forces of Tennessee and North Carolina
highway patrols to make the Dragon and nearby roadways safer.
Troopers from both agencies will provide a highly visible presence in the
areas frequented by motorcyclists and sports car enthusiasts. The first
coordinated operation is scheduled Saturday and others are planned during
the summer and fall.
Troopers in both states will conduct their own intensive enforcement efforts
at other times during the season.
THP Sgt. Danny Thomas, who oversees highway patrol activities in Blount and
Monroe counties, said the enforcement activities are all focused on safety.
``We welcome everyone who visits the Dragon and the areas around it, as long
as they obey the law,'' Thomas said. ``We're doing intensive enforcement in
an effort to make the roadways safe for everyone on two, four or even 18
wheels.''
The Dragon sports 318 curves on an 11.1-mile stretch of U.S. 129, running
from Deal's Gap at the North Carolina line to Tabcat Bridge alongside
Chilhowee Lake -- a 1,085-foot change in elevation. It is one of the
nation's favorite rides for motorcycles and sports cars. The run has been
touted in several national magazines as well as on several Internet sites.
The often heavy traffic on the narrow highway includes riders and drivers
from across the country, some from other continents.
Unfortunately, the festive atmosphere is too often clouded by accidents,
some of them fatal.
In 2005, there were three deaths on the Dragon -- all of them motorcyclists.
Thomas said that in 2005 troopers investigated 47 accidents on the Dragon,
41 of them involving motorcycles. He said the number of accidents on the
Dragon was down from 57 investigated by THP in 2004 -- 51 of those involved
motorcycles and two were fatalities.
So far in 2006, Tennessee troopers have investigated only nine wrecks on the
Dragon. Eight were motorcycle accidents. However, troopers have responded to
reports of accidents on the Dragon 27 times in 2006.
Eighteen times so far this year, the troopers and often Rural/Metro
Ambulance Service have rushed to the area only to find a motorcyclist's
friends have picked up the rider and bike and the reported accident has
vanished.
``It's hard to estimate the manpower and expense involved in responding to
these disappearing accidents,'' Thomas said. Statistics were not available
regarding the number of accidents in North Carolina related to the area near
the Dragon. However, the five counties in Western North Carolina in the area
near the Dragon have had a 56 percent increase in motorcycle accidents from
2004.
North Carolina troopers will be assigned to the Deals Gap area near the top
of the Dragon and to the Cherohalla Skyway, where some say the probability
of motorcycle accidents is even greater than on the Dragon. The Cherohalla
Skyway linking Robbinsville, N.C., to Tellico Plains includes 15 miles in
North Carolina and 21 in Tennessee.
Tennessee troopers will focus on the Dragon, but others will be active on
the Tennessee end of the Cherohalla. Marked and unmarked cars, motorcycles
and aircraft will be used on both sides of the state line in the effort to
curb accidents and, according to Thomas, ``improve driving habits.''
``We're not anti-motorcycle. I've got one of my own and take it up and over
the Cherohalla into Tellico Plains whenever I get a chance. That's a really
beautiful ride.
``But, I can't enjoy it as much as I'd like when I have somebody on a sports
bike or sports car zipping around me on a curve and making me think I'm
going to find them smashed up around the next curve. ``Speeding and reckless
driving are what we're trying to stop,'' Thomas said. ``That way, everybody
can enjoy themselves without getting hurt."
Jim Park
Cliff's Trucking, Inc.
3100 Fairlane Farms Road
Wellington, FL 33414
Phone: 561-793-0322 Ext. 105
Fax: 561-753-3792
