| Author | Message | ||
     Prof_stack |
Here in WA state some squids were bragging on Craigslist about stuntin' on the way to Mt. Rainier, on Hwy 7. They said the highway is rarely patrolled. Cops read it and had a helicopter filming some guys standing on their bikes and other stuff. It made the 5:00 news yesterday. | ||
| Bigdaddy |
Hey Glitch, It's all good. Hot, really fricking hot, but good  | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Glitch - Got a date for Biketoberfest? Place? Thanks | ||
| Glitch |
Why do you think this is happening? Squids mostly. Motorcycle accidents. They are targeting motorcyclists because why? Squids mostly. Motorcycle accidents. It's happening here as well, just not to that extreme. The most I've seen lately has been more police visibility, a road block or two checking for proper motorcycle endorsement. That to me is enough to curb motorcycle related violations, and keeps the squids at bay. What I would be upset about in TN is the harassment, and 10+ officers in a 12 mile stretch. I mean come on! What else have they tried? What was the last straw for them to go this far? I'd be willing to bet one officer parked beside Killboy for a third of the day, at the CROT for a third of the day, and a third at the dam, would get the same message out. | ||
| Rubberdown |
Dave, I'm with you. I just got back from unlimited, unsupervised, unmolested riding in the New Mexico and Colorado back country and for pavement thrills I'm headed to Barber for two track days next week. I saw the writing on the wall when I was at Suches and the Dragon in March. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Here's an idea. Why not just buy the road, privatize it as it were, and turn it into a "motor park"? "Dragon International Motorsports Park", something like that. Races on weekends, trackdays during the week. Wait - aren't they doing that already? Oh well. Most of the locals are afraid to use the road any way, and I don't blame them: it's a real zoo out there, except of course when Bad Webbers are on the road. Nothing like an 18 wheeler coming one way, and a school of squids heading the other.  | ||
| Glitch |
GJ, Here's the link to Buelltoberfest It's a thing we started for the 3%ers to ride without having to run an event. It's everyone for themselves. A lot of folks are sharing cabins. The C3 Crew may still have some space. I remember back in the day when The Dragon was still called Deals Gap, and not so many people knew about it. I think in the mid to late 80s you could get a Dragon patch for you jacket, but that was about it as far a tourism. But as with every great secret, word gets out, and as the local folks saw an opportunity, they responded with a tourist trap. It's just now a days, a lot of our rights are taken for granted, take advantage of, and as I see so often, no one wants to take responsibility for their actions. So, as what happens so many times, the irresponsible few kill it for the rest of us. IMHO though THP is going a bit overboard. This is without me knowing what they've done in the past to curb the problem... | ||
| Rainman |
For me the problem is basic: If you can't trust the police to enforce the laws fairly and to the letter, meaning stopping motorcycles only for infractions and not for general harassment as appears to be the case, how can you trust the police to not take more intrusive steps to eradicate a problem class of citizen (motorcyclists) How about busting a tailight and citing you for defective equipment? How about roadside searches with the dashboard camera off and planting a bit of weed in a saddlebag? Once the trust is gone, the trust is gone. I'll stay in Virginia where there are great roads, decent cops and fewer idiots running off the road trying to pass motorhomes over a double yellow. | ||
| Chainsaw |
Half the guys running the Dragon have helmet cams and such. Let them roll film (perfectly legal to film cops in public performing their duties). If the enforcement starts to look unfair and unconstitutional, upload the video to YouTube and send it to the local media. That will change the enforcement. | ||
| Mm128 |
Be carefull to NOT classify ALL COPS into a NEGATIVE category. I strive EVERY DAY to be the MOST honest/professional officer that I can be. In MOST cases I WONT even write a citation or DID NOT.. (Now I am in Investigations). There ARE some VERY BAD APPLES... But EVERY profession has them. IT is VERY unfortunate that some OFFICERS have decided to move AWAY from their oath of serving/ protecting and upholding the constitution. For those that HAVE been harrassed and unfairly stopped by a officer, I DO appologize and PRAY that you DO report it to the IMMEDIATE supervisor of that officer and UP the Chain of Command UNTIL the problem is RESOLVED. Matt (LEO SOUTH GA.) | ||
| Djkaplan |
I hung out with some cool cats at the last March Badness, and one of the coolest, believe me, was a cop down for the event. | ||
| New12r |
I hung out with some cool cats at the last March Badness, and one of the coolest, believe me, was a cop down for the event. I do believe I was with you! I must agree, the Leo's that attended MBIV were top notch guys and if they wrote me a citation....well I would smile like always and say have a nice day. | ||
| Slaughter |
Squids mostly. Motorcycle accidents. 'ZACTLY! We have the exact same problem in the routes favored by "street racers" and in the areas which are also shared more with cars/other traffic, people are organizing letter-writing campaigns, newspapers and local TV is picking it up. We're bringing this down on our own heads and then bitching about it. After these things happen, our only reaction is to make vague statements about our "rights" - and of course, no probably cause is a problem (no argument there) - but the police DO respond to local political pressure and as sportbike riders, what are we going to do? Write to our congressmen and say we MUST be allowed to have no speed limits, the double yellows should not apply? Come on, we have to bring some control into our own riding - be able to ride within limits to reduce the bloodiness of canyon riding. We're outnumbered by the rest of the taxpayers. More squids on faster bikes. It'll get worse every year. In our double fine zones, a double yellow, speeding and reckless ticket can cost over $2000 in fines. Get used to it. | ||
| Djkaplan |
I do believe I was with you! Yeah... you were there  | ||
| Hammer71 |
I hate cops. | ||
| New12r |
I hate cops.  | ||
| Damnut |
I hate cops.  me too...... they do nothing for me......... | ||
| Jimidan |
I hope those officers enjoy the next week down there in their long pants... I hear the temps will be over 100 degrees. | ||
| Blake |
Excellent point Slaughter. Rather than heavy-handed patrolling, stopping and ticketing, what would you do to address the problem of excessive reckless driving by motorcyclists on a stretch of road in your neighborhood? If I were in charge of the area, I'd put giant yellow street signs at each spot where someone crashed and got hurt or worse describing on them in gory detail the trauma suffered by the accident victim and the monetary damages too. I'd post the total stats on giant signs, one at every mile marker of the route. Having that kind of information put in your face tends to have an effect even on the worst squidly types. Been there. Done that. As I was laying on my back, immobile, coughing up blood, waiting for an ambulance, the officer was telling my riding buddies that "most guys who run off at this turn don't make it", meaning they died. I was lucky to just spend a week in the hospital and suffer some major thoracic skeletal reconfiguration. Last cold front that blew through, I considered for a brief instant that I might've been having a heart attack, then I remembered the punctured lung, seven broken ribs, and shattered clavicle. I was darn fortunate to escape my stupidity largely intact. So many have not been as lucky.  Carcass Skeleto Impacto | ||
| Hammer71 |
Damnut, you got head from a cop right? | ||
| Djkaplan |
"If I were in charge of the area, I'd put giant yellow street signs at each spot where someone crashed and got hurt or worse..." There are warning signs there already... skid marks going off the road. The thing is, you can only see them when it's almost too late. | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
I don't believe there is a fix for deals gap. If 1% of the people going down there act like jackasses that is still a 50-100 people on a given weekend day. And if 1% of those get in a serious wrecks that means 5-10 accidents. So who pays for the ems service? Locals? I image they get pretty sick of scrapping out of towner's off of the local landscape. Think about the dragon next time you see a new guy asking about a great motorcycle road in your area. | ||
| Damnut |
Yup and it couldn't of happened at a better time. | ||
| Jlnance |
Once the trust is gone, the trust is gone. I'll stay in Virginia where there are great roads, decent cops and fewer idiots running off the road trying to pass motorhomes over a double yellow. Did you miss the recent changes to your state law which makes a reckless driving citation more than a $1,000 fine? Failing to use your turn signal qualifies as reckless in VA, as does 20 mph over the speed limit or anything over 80 mph. Fortunately, as a citizen of NC, a reckless driving citation in VA will only cost me $350. I do love yall's roads. | ||
| Mortarmanmike120 |
I got ticketed this weekend coming home from training in NC. It was getting dark and I decided to forgoe the twisties and just rode HWY 19-74 from Bryson City to Cleveland. I was the only damn vehicle on a super clean 4 lane divided highway on a Sunday evening. I think the NC trooper was just bored. He clocked me at 70 in a 55 and ticketed me. I was polite it was my first time pulled over I figured I'd just get a warning. Yes, I was speeding but what a chickenshit ticket. It's almost embarrassing only to have been doing 70. Maybe I was going slow enough he thought he could catch me. All the cops I work with say I should go to court in NC. They say I'll probably just pay the ticket and get no points. Anybody from NC have insight? | ||
| Jlnance |
This sucks. I've been wanting to ride the Gap since I heard about it here about 5yrs ago. I finally had the opportunity to go this year but did not because of the rumors of things like this. Come ride the Dragon. Do it at the speed limit and enjoy the pictures on Killboy. Enjoy hanging out at the store and looking at all the bikes. If you want to ride w/o constant LEO supervision, there are hundreds of other good roads nearby. The only thing that makes the Dragon special is some people decided to popularize it. | ||
| Jlnance |
All the cops I work with say I should go to court in NC. They say I'll probably just pay the ticket and get no points. Anybody from NC have insight? If you lived in NC my advice would be to get a lawyer. They can usually make a ticket disappear. This keeps it off your insurance which is the thing. You still have to pay the lawyer and court costs. You can probably do this all over the phone. You shouldn't have to go to court with the lawyer. Since you aren't in NC, I don't know how an NC ticket would affect you. I think you get your license suppended in NC for a 15 mph over violation. I have no idea if an NC court can suppend a non-NC license. Another reason to consult a lawyer. | ||
| Paint_shaker |
While it is my opinion that THP is going to the extreme with 14 troopers in 11 miles, we can't forget this is a public road. There are a lot of non-motorcycle people who know nothing about this being a motorcycle detination and are only looking for a good route to get from point A to point B... Then there are the truckers... They are looking for the shortest route and probably have no idea about this stretch of road either... Plus the locals who have to use that road... Throw in the squids (cars and bikes) who have to act like they are on a race track and pass everything on the road... Then there are the wanna-bees who don't have the riding skills to ride in Florida (read flat and straight), let alone a road such as the Dragon. And let's not forget those that chose to bring no-street legal machines (read no tag, etc)... Now you have a recipe for a larger enforcement presence... But really, 14 troopers in an 11 mile stretch?????? I believe THP could easily accomplish their goal with 4-5 troopers in the area AND PROHIBITING ANY vehicle incapable of staying in it's own lane from even being on the Dragon. This would curb or prevent the use of non-street legal machines, 18 wheelers on the road and squidly type manuvers, providing for a safer roadway. | ||
| Mm128 |
YES !!!!!!!! If you recieve a TICKET in another JUISDICTION (STATE) and its NOT resolved, YOUR license CAN and WILL be SUSPENDED. It WILL flag as SUSPENDED by ANY agency inside the UNITED STATES, if its NOT resolved and cleared up. Matt (LEO SOUTH GA.) | ||
| Mortarmanmike120 |
Since you aren't in NC, I don't know how an NC ticket would affect you. I think you get your license suppended in NC for a 15 mph over violation. I have no idea if an NC court can suppend a non-NC license. Another reason to consult a lawyer. The officer said 20 over is a suspended license. 15 over is a $30 fine and $130 court cost. That's if I mail it in. Not sure if it's the same for actually appearing. The ticket is a little confusing. I'll have to look into this deeper. |
