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No Trucks on Dragon

5K views 14 replies 15 participants last post by  z006 
#1 ·
#2 ·
Makes sense. There are a few switchbacks that could be very ugly.
 
#4 ·
About time. Nothing like getting halfway across and getting stopped because some big rig can't negotiate one of the turns. At one time there was no other way for the trucks to get across. That's no longer the case.
 
#5 ·
North Carolina already bans them. I think the only reason trucks use it from the TN side is that their GPS's tell them it's the fastest route and aren't programmed for big rigs.
 
#6 ·
We encountered a big rig on the dragon in the early 2000's. He was hung up on a hairpin coming opposite way than us. We saw him as soon as we came around a hairpin, so it wasn't close. We ended up helping guide him back up a few times to make the turn. He was highly pissed off because his map didn't indicate how tight it was. He was REALLY pissed when we told him he hadn't gotten to the tight parts yet. :mad We were jackin' with him, he was close to the NC end.
 
#7 ·
I posted this on another bike forum and it caused quite a hissy fit with one member until he realized how tight it was on the dragon. Once we got the point across with video then he changed his mind and agreed. I for one am thankful and will now plan a trip to go there next time I head home.
 
#11 ·
It's about time they made it "official". Maybe companies such as Google, Navteq,... (GIS Mapping Data Companies) can get this updated and pushed out the their clients so the GPS and mapping devices will get the update in a timely manner. I am willing to bet that no trucker worth his weight would travel it twice.

Personally I have ridden the Dragon and not that impressed with it, but that may be because it is in my back yard (figuratively speaking) I live in the Southwest Corner of Virginia. But there are plenty of other local roads worth the trip. Ride the dragon to mark it off your list, get the shirt/sticker/... and enjoy the rest of the day. Oh and for you folks who haven't. Due it during the week, not as many power rangers trying to set there personal best "there and back" times on the weekends.
 
#13 ·
I was told that the big rigs were never legally allowed on the Dragon but that the Tennessee cops just looked the other way. The same cops who were writing tickets to anyone on a motorcycle who crossed the center line on at turn totally ignored semi-trucks who took up both lanes while trying to make a turn.

It sounds like there was some local bribery going on.

Pete

 
#14 ·
Not local bribery - but tax revenue for the state of Tennessee. Trucking industry pays a lot of highway taxes. Tennessee does not have a state income tax, and auto tags are still cheap. Revenue is important. I have seen a couple of "parkways" built in the state that did not allow trucks, but that was overturned by the trucking industry - after all, they probably paid for the road.

Just sayin....
 
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