There is an amazing section of US129 on the TN/NC mountains border in Deals Gap nicknamed "Tail of the Dragon" due to having 318 curves in 11 miles.

This is where the awesomeness of Zdayz happens. If you haven't ever heard of this road, check it out @ tailofthedragon.com (or google it) & then come to Zdayz next year :thumbup:

The road is simply awesome, 318 curves that will let you know your alive. It is shared by motorcycle and automobile enthusiasts alike... Unfortunately the road is also shared with tractor trailers which quite simply do not fit in many of the series of curves, thus ending up in your lane, or they run off the road, sometimes crashing and closing the road for hours or days.



Plenty more photos showing the dangers that the big rigs pose:
http://www.tailofthedragon.com/dragon_trucks.html

I experienced it first hand during Zdayz and it is a change your pants moment when you come around a blind corner and the entire road is taken up with a big rig. There is simply no room for a semi w/trailer on that road with the crazy amount of turns. There's also nothing telling them to not go that route though and by the time they start there is no turning around.

Sadly a few weeks ago a seasoned rider lost his life to one of these tractor trailers:
There has been a cry from motorcycle and automobile enthusiasts for years to do something about it and now, in Ike's name, there is a petition to restrict the trucks.


Please go here to read up on the issue and then sign the "Ike's Law" petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/ikes...rcial-vehicles

Also feel free to post the link to other forums you visit as well (I've posted on g35driver and my350z). It could have just as easily been one of us in our cars...


Thanks.

 

Thats why the speed limit there is as low as it is. People drive that road specifically to push their cars/motorcycles. Why should we restrict the trucks that bring EVERYTHING into our grocery stores, retail stores, restaurants etc? People just need to start doing the speed limit.

 

Iunderstand that everything is tranferred by trucks but the road is simply not safe for tractor trailers. There are all types of road restrictions throughout the US for trucks because of certain circumstances that make it unsafe (usually due to size restraints). If it is physically impossible for them to remain in their lane due to their length then it is a danger, period. With blind corner after blind corner, even if traffic in both directions are not speeding, when someone crosses the line it becomes a game of chicken. At the very least the trucks should have a flagger a certain distance ahead to warn oncoming traffic. Some do, and usually fellow drivers will warn oncoming traffic/escort the trucks but that is clearly not enough. It should be mandatory, such as a wide load is on other roads where they know there is a possibility of crossing the double yellow.

Have you traveled the road? Or at least seen it. Watch any 1st person video of the dragon and imagine going around a corner to find a 2 lane wide wreck waiting to happen coming @ you with the same speed. Not fun. Not safe.

 

Is there another usable route that isn't hundreds of miles out of the way? I feel like if there was one, trucks would not be on a road that they don't fit on. They would be on the alternate route.

 

i agree trucks need the road as well, BUT if the truck is too large for a little road it should not be permitted to travel on it.. If there is an alternative route for the truck why not take it.. it might be 10 or 15 minutes out of the truckers why, but it could be saving the life of someone..

I want to drive the road, but if trucks take up most of the road I would have seconds thought about driving it..

 

From the pics I saw, trucks have no business being on that road, if it means 400 more miles then oh well, that road should be 100% restricted for semi's

 

I agree. I respect what they do but it's not safe for them or other people on the road.

 

........Is this tude because your Buick can't reach 20 MPH on curves? In CA. we're smart enough to make it illegal for trucks to drive on specific roads, when they did so illegally recently the killed 3 people due to brake failure. The driver was charged with manslaughter, and rightfully so!
Gary

 

One road that you west coast guys would love to drive on... minus the trucks of course

 

I'm very familiar with the dragon. Very. Born and raised in NC and was stationed in VA for 7 years total. Been there many, many times.

If people drive the speed limit they will have no issue with any vehicles on the road. The problem is very, very few people drive the speed limit and it's become a playground of sorts in recent years. On the weekends in peak season it's almost unridable - both due to idiots thinking it's a racetrack in their cars, or the combination of motorcycles having track day or cruise day simulataneously.

A breakdown of actual deaths from their website:

Many people confuse deaths from as far away as 100 miles as being "on the Dragon". The Tail of the Dragon is only 11 miles long and the following facts pertain only to those 11 miles. There are more motorcycle deaths on other roads in Blount County Tennessee than there are on the Dragon each year.


2010 - One death as of September 1: August 28 south bound sportbike rider off road and hit tree. Another death at Wheelie Hell in August technically not on Dragon.

2009 - Five deaths: HD rider from Miami went off road, reason unknown (possible heart attack). Friends and LEOs searched several hour before finding body. A female HD rider died at mm 5.0 when she went off the road. Another female died a month later in the same area. A 66 year old Goldwing rider died near mm 8. A 49 year old died two months after crashing at the Hump.

2008 - Four deaths: One sportbike went off road and hit tree near Thunder Road Bend. One cruiser went off road in Ron's Run with rider suffering heart attack. One trike went off road and struck tree. One sportbike death in head-on near Parsons Branch.

2007 - Three deaths: One low side at Guadrail Cliff. Trike versus a vehicle near the Wall claimed the lives of an older rider and his passenger. Both accidents in July.

2006 - Two deaths: One rider went off road and hit tree another low sided into an oncoming vehicle.

2005 - Three deaths: All three deaths involved failing to negociate corners - two went off the mountain and one slid into an oncoming vehicle.

2004 - Two deaths: Both deaths apparently caused by speed and then overbraking.

2003 - No deaths: There were several deaths in the surrounding area of the Dragon, but none that we know of on the 11 miles of the Dragon itself.

2002 - Two deaths: On June 16 a 29 year-old Dale Bently a Valkyrie rider from Michigan died on the Dragon. The rider was passing a car near the Horns of the Dragon when he wrecked and suffered fatal head injuries. The second death occurred on Sunday August 4 when Lendry R. Obanna Jr., 24, of Jacksonville, Florida, lost control of his 2000 Yamaha R6.

2001 - Two deaths: The entire Blount County (home of the Dragon) saw a total of four motorycle fatalities in 2001. The total includes the deaths of a 27-year-old Knoxville man who died March 10 in a collision on Old Knoxville Highway in Rockford, the May 5th death on the Dragon, the July 5th death of a 43-year-old Maryville man in an accident on Happy Valley Road, and the October 27th death on the Dragon.

2000 - One death: Blount County had four motorcycle deaths in 2000 including one fatality on the Dragon.

1999 - One death: Only one motorcycle death in 1999.

1998 - No deaths: No fatal motorcycle crashes in 1998.

1997 - One death: A single motorcycle fatality is listed in 1997.

1996 - One death: A single motorcycle fatality in 1996.

1995 - Two deaths: In 1995, two men died in separate July 3 motorcycle crashes on the Dragon during the July 4 holiday weekend.

The real bottom line is this:

If you're scared of the road conditions or think it's unsafe, go somewhere else. There is very little to be seen out there except this road and unfortunately it's a main avenue for some commerce in that area. Any detour will increase the cost of transportation and will have a ripple effect - either the price of the goods will increase to cover the cost, or it will no longer be available.

Top speed on the dragon is 40MPH - only 30MPH on the NC side. That makes it ultra safe if you follow the rules. You can't safely negotiate many of the turns at that speed anyway (although many try) so if there happens to be a truck out there you should have plenty of time to see it and adjust if you happen to be paying attention.

Most accidents and deaths on the Dragon are due to riders overestimating their skill or underestimating the road. It's a motherfvcker your first time through and takes a long time to become 'good' on it. If you think you're going to go up for the weekend and challenge the record, you're a fool.

Anyway. The road is safe if driven as designed. Period.

 

I love this quote:

When they say more traffic - they mean idiots in their cars and on their bikes using the road for other than its intended purpose.

There are signs everywhere and everyone up there knows the trucks (not to mention all the cars crossing into your lane which is MUCH LARGER PROBLEM than the trucks) are there. It's not like they can 'quickly pop out' and get you unless you're hauling a$$. And most are trying to haul a$$, and thus the problem.

I'll say it again - douchebags in their cars and on the sportbikes are the biggest hazard on the Dragon. Period.

Love this one too:

 

i going to z days this year.

 

I'm a Trucker and just from looking at that pic can say I'd have no problem negotiating that curve while staying in my lane, no reason to be cutting a blind corner. That being said most accidents between a Semi and other vehicle are caused by the other vehicle. The petition should be for restricting trailer size if there is a problem with negotiating a 53' trailer on this Route and not Trucks outright. Some mention these trucks taking a different way and so what if it's a few hundred miles and a lot of hrs more for the driver. I hope you'll put your money where your mouth is when the price of whatever that truck is hauling goes up to cover the extra costs.

 

Like MyG'n'Me said, an alternate route could cause a whole lot more problems than most people see. It can easily increase the cost of whatever the driver is hauling (bulk diesel is at about $3.71/gal, trucks get about 6miles/gal, and drivers make at least $0.30 a mile; you do the math). Not to mention it can cause shipments to be delayed due to drivers being limited to 11 hours of drive time. I think the only solution would be to prohibit 53 footers on the Tail of the Dragon. 40 and 20 footers shouldn't be a problem for any good driver.

On a side note, I'd love to drive on that road one of these days since I only live about 3 hours away. I wouldn't push my car nearly as hard as most people probably do unless the road was closed.

 

Accidents, injuries, deaths have occurred because there is not room for trucks. Period. Bringing up the the facts that; not a lot of people have been killed (seriously? Life not important to you, & you cant argue against 100's of accidents, many with injuries), the other reasons for accidents (thats topic for another discussion), the fact that it is a known road that people speed (all the more reason it makes no sense to block the route around a blind corner with a multi-ton wall of steel on wheels), "Im a truck driver and I could have made that curve" (congrats, your 1 of 10 @ best, obviously the ones in the photos running over cars/bikes & off both sides of the road had trouble. Keep in mind those 3 curves in the picture are 3 of over 300 in 11 miles).

I agree w/rdeverett, its the 53 footers that are the big problem. The shorter ones fall back on the driver, the long ones end up running out of space on quite a few series of curves, becoming an obvioua hazard.

There are other routes that are not much different in length and are completely safe for 53'+ trailers. Regardless of the cost per mile & any extra time it could take (although the slightly longer route has a higher speed limit, less stop & go, less accidents, so it would take less time), unsafe is unsafe & something should be done. At the very least a 53' should have a mandatory lead flagger since it WILL cross a double yellow line (no matter how good the truck driver is) thus turning it essentially into a hazardous wide load.