![]() The campaign reminds drivers “to slow down, buckle up and be alert,” according to a press release from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.Īuthorities are encouraging motorcyclists to wear boots and jackets to prevent road rash, reflective gear so other drivers can see them, and helmets to lower the risk of death or traumatic brain injuries.Īccording to , helmets lower the risk of motorcyclists dying in a crash by 42%. ►Man killed in motorcycle wreck in Great Smoky Mountains National Park Their aim is to lower the number of crashes, injuries, and fatalities on the Tail of the Dragon, especially as Memorial Day weekend brings more travelers to the area. On May 27, six highway safety departments and local law enforcement agencies from Tennessee and North Carolina partnered for an educational campaign. Nobody died, but six of the 10 crashes were of motorcyclists. In North Carolina, there were 10 crashes in 2019 on the Tail of the Dragon. Four people died, three of whom were motorcyclists. Three of those motorcyclists died. The numbers for 2019 aren’t much better: 93 crashes, 67% involving motorcycle drivers. The area, known as the Tail of the Dragon, is full of natural beauty and attracts motorcycle riders from all over the country.Īccording to Tennessee’s Integrated Traffic Analysis Network, in 2018, there were 83 traffic crashes on the Tail of the Dragon, 75% of which involved a motorcycle. 129 winds and twists more than 300 times through the mountains of Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina. It wasn’t very well known, but we have screen shots of the road from the movie.For 11-miles, U.S. ![]() “It’s the story of two guys in a 1955 Chevy who drive across the country and challenge locals to drag races. “A lot of people don’t know this, but in 1971, James Taylor and Dennis Wilson filmed ‘Two-Lane Blacktop’ up here,” Ron says. The wall includes photos from “Deliverance,” the dam that Harrison Ford jumped off of in “The Fugitive,” Jodie Foster’s “Nell,” and Robert Redford’s “A Walk in the Woods.” Another wall features stills from movies and photos of actors who have experienced the Dragon. A large map of the Cherohala Skyway, another legendary drive, adorns one wall. The store sells T-shirts, helmets, beverages and snacks. When he closed his office we bought three acres and built our store in 2008.”Īn iconic metal dragon - about 12 feet tall and 22 feet long - stands out front. “We did that for about three years, then a developer built an office at the start of the road at Deal’s Gap to sell lots, so we put up a tin shack there. ![]() They also started selling Tail of the Dragon T-shirts under a tent at the Dragon’s scenic overlook. The couple got hooked on biking, riding the Dragon and other winding mountain roads in the area. I learned to handle that cruiser on the Dragon.” I didn’t know anything about motorcycles, so mine sat in our basement for three weeks before I finally took it out on the road. ![]() “Within two weeks, Nancy was online and found us bikes. “Then a biker friend told us about this amazing stretch of road near our house, and he came up to ride it,” he says. As a retired fireman, he was ready for a change of pace and a slower lifestyle. The posted speed limit is 30 miles per hour, but when the sports car clubs and bike rallies take the road, it’s anybody’s guess.įlorida native Ron and his wife, Nancy, weren’t bikers when they decided to move to his family’s Robbinsville vacation home full time in the early 1990s. With descriptive names like Copperhead Corner, Leo’s Lair, Little Whip, Radar Corner, The Hump aka Gravity Cavity and Guard Rail Cliff, the road defies common sense for adventurers who chase speed and thrills. “We’ve seen people come here from around the world - Australia, Asia, all over Europe - who have this ride on their bucket lists. “It’s one of the greatest motorcycle roads in the United States,” says Ron Johnson, who more than 20 years ago trademarked the name “Tail of the Dragon,” mapped and named all 318 curves, and now runs the Tail of the Dragon T-Shirt Shack store at the south end of the highway. ![]()
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