state trooper warning
#1
state trooper warning
well the rumor of this came out at the begining of this year and i quess they are actually enforcing it.i was planning on going to BOTD this year, but now i dont know if i want to go.
CHECK THE TAIL WEBSITE. www.tailofthedragon.com
UPDATE TUESDAY AUGUST 7, 2007: Monday saw the Troopers pull-back, but we expect them to return in spite of the negative publicity the state is receiving. Just to let you know the negatives are running about 50 to 1. From emails sent to us the state of Tennessee has lost more than a million dollars in revenue from people changing their reservations to North Carolina, Kentucky or Virginia. Several major businesses have vowed to cancel all deals with Tennessee amounting to millions more. Thanks for being heard .... now the rest of you speak up.
On another note we also hear that THP is saturating another favorite motorcyle destination on the past two week-ends, the Shady Valley area known as The Snake US421. Got additional info? EMAIL US THE DETAILS.
AND THE HOG RALLY IS SCHEDULED FOR KNOXVILLE AUGUST 24-26 LOOKS LIKE LOTS OF MONEY NOT COMING INTO THE AREA IF THESE TACTICS PERSIST.
CLICK HERE TO COUNT THE TROOPERS ON ONE PASS IN THIS VIDEO FILMED AUGUST 4, 2007
NEW TENNESSEE MOTTO ... YOU'ALL DON'T COME BACK NOW.
NEWEST TENNESSEE TOLL ROAD - US 129
TENNESSEE GOVERNOR SAYS RIDE NORTH CAROLINA
TENNESSEE'S NEW SAFETY PLAN - KEEP TOURISTS OUT
TENNESSEE HIGHWAY PATROL HAS VIRTUALLY SHUT DOWN ELEVEN MILES OF A FEDERAL HIGHWAY WITH 14 OR MORE TROOPERS HARASSING ALL TRAVELERS. WHERE ARE THE FEDS WHEN YOU NEED THEM?
CLICK FOR COMPLETE STORY AND WHO TO COMPLAIN TO
HASSLED BY THE LEOs ??? EMAIL US THE DETAILS
Some Emails
Rider ticketed for standing-up on pegs at 25 mph to stretch.
Car driver pulled over for "appearing to be traveling at high rate of speed". Car was behind a pick-up towing a boat at 25 mph. Trooper then said he had illegal tinted windshield and exhaust even though car was stock from factory and had passed emmission test in TN. Trooper then harassed driver for DRIVING WITH ONE HAND ON
STEERING WHEEL. Driver asked how he was supposed to shift gears. Trooper then rudely said, "GET LOST".
Rider harassed and threatened with arrest for not having proof of shatterproof glasses.
Cars pulled over for 35 ... threatened with arrest .
Bikers ticketed for passing on the double yellow even when the car ahead pulled over and stopped. Troopers said the car had to be COMPLETELY OFF THE ROAD before moving around it.
Ticket for bike with license plate verticlal. Custom bike was purchased from a Knoxville Police Officer.
Ticket for failing to have proof of insurance.
Ticket for no mirrors.
Cruiser pulled over doing 30 mph and asked for all documentation, blinkers/headlight and plate checked. Harrassed for no reason at all.
Trooper tailgating female motorcyclist who pulled off road she was so nervous. Her son was then tailgated until he had to pull over.
Trooper with stopped bike saw another bike almost crash when seeing the Trooper ..... Trooper laughed.
Out of state car ticketed for having temporary tag and no registration in spite of producing bill of sale. Registration had not yet been sent.
Trooper with car over double yellow on several occasions.
Troopers making u-turns in dangersous curves.
GOT A BUSINESS IN TENNESSEE ? - BETTER GET THINGS STRAIGHT WITH THE GOVERNOR BEFORE THE TOURISTS TOTALLY GIVE UP ON THE STATE.
EMAIL FROM TENNESSEE HIGHWAY PATROL:
As you have noticed, the THP has started an enforcement program in the Deals Gaps Area of Hwy. 129. Some people are very upset with this effort and some people applaud it as long overdue. We are receivingemails on both sides of the issue. I can tell you in the past year, wereceived calls and emails every few days that ask us to do "something"in this area. The overwhelming majority of people describe this area as "total chaos and lawlessness." When you combine these type of descriptions and the statistical information on crashes and fatalities (three fatalities in one weekend two weeks ago), we felt like we had to do something as a public safety organization. You may not agree with our program but it is aimed at protecting the public who frequent that area and ride in a safe manner. It has nothing to do with "quotas" and
driving tourism from Tennessee. Anyone who rides in that area and does so safely is always welcome and will not have any problem with the THP. We will continue to conduct our enforcement program for the near future in an effort to make Deals Gap a safe place for recreational motorcycle activity.
Lt. Colonel Tracy G. Trott
Tennessee Highway Patrol
TAIL OF THE DRAGON ANSWERS:
Lt. Colonel Trott:
Why can't governmental agencies take intelligent approaches to problems? Your "enforcement program" is actually a shut-down and will be viewed by many law abiding visitors to your state as harassment. In the end it will result in reduced revenue, many complaints from tourists and affected businesses where a more logical approach could have satisfied everyone.
Tail of the Dragon has pleaded with Blount County Sheriff's Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol for years to provide routine enforcement on US129 in order to keep the "chaos and lawlessness" as you describe to a minimum. There had not been a death on the Dragon for eleven months prior to the increase in enforcement which was begun by Blount County Sheriff's Office on July 1. The three deaths you mentioned all occurred after this "safety program" was implemented. Two of the deaths were a couple in their 70s on a trike .... so much for the "total chaos and lawlessness" crowd.
Over this past weekend there were two traffic fatalities within 65 miles of the Dragon. If you had not saturated this 11 miles of US129 with Troopers perhaps these other accidents could have been avoided.
Your program will continue to be presented on our TailoftheDragon.com website for what it is. Perhaps someone in power will see the ridiculous extremes presented by your governmental bureaucracy and take action.
Sincerely,
Ron and Nancy Johnson
The State of Tennessee has allocated funds to assist Blount County Sheriff and Tennessee Highway Patrol in patrolling the Dragon according to a BCSO spokesperson. Riders can expect daily patrols with increased activities during the weekends. TALK ABOUT AN UNDERSTATEMENT !!! Sheriff Berong needs to retrain his spokesperson.
August 3-5: The Governor has dispatched some 14 Tennessee Highway Patrol units to "clean-up" the Dragon. His new campaign slogan could be "We don't need these damn tourists anyway." We advise that you ride/drive in North Carolina until Tennessee comes to its senses. Venture onto the Dragon and risk severe harassment. Tell it to the Gov CLICK HERE
See our tour of southern Kentucky CLICK HERE
TN HP WELCOME TO TENNESSEE scowling at riders. Nice welcome guys. Want to let the Governor know how you feel?
CHECK THE TAIL WEBSITE. www.tailofthedragon.com
UPDATE TUESDAY AUGUST 7, 2007: Monday saw the Troopers pull-back, but we expect them to return in spite of the negative publicity the state is receiving. Just to let you know the negatives are running about 50 to 1. From emails sent to us the state of Tennessee has lost more than a million dollars in revenue from people changing their reservations to North Carolina, Kentucky or Virginia. Several major businesses have vowed to cancel all deals with Tennessee amounting to millions more. Thanks for being heard .... now the rest of you speak up.
On another note we also hear that THP is saturating another favorite motorcyle destination on the past two week-ends, the Shady Valley area known as The Snake US421. Got additional info? EMAIL US THE DETAILS.
AND THE HOG RALLY IS SCHEDULED FOR KNOXVILLE AUGUST 24-26 LOOKS LIKE LOTS OF MONEY NOT COMING INTO THE AREA IF THESE TACTICS PERSIST.
CLICK HERE TO COUNT THE TROOPERS ON ONE PASS IN THIS VIDEO FILMED AUGUST 4, 2007
NEW TENNESSEE MOTTO ... YOU'ALL DON'T COME BACK NOW.
NEWEST TENNESSEE TOLL ROAD - US 129
TENNESSEE GOVERNOR SAYS RIDE NORTH CAROLINA
TENNESSEE'S NEW SAFETY PLAN - KEEP TOURISTS OUT
TENNESSEE HIGHWAY PATROL HAS VIRTUALLY SHUT DOWN ELEVEN MILES OF A FEDERAL HIGHWAY WITH 14 OR MORE TROOPERS HARASSING ALL TRAVELERS. WHERE ARE THE FEDS WHEN YOU NEED THEM?
CLICK FOR COMPLETE STORY AND WHO TO COMPLAIN TO
HASSLED BY THE LEOs ??? EMAIL US THE DETAILS
Some Emails
Rider ticketed for standing-up on pegs at 25 mph to stretch.
Car driver pulled over for "appearing to be traveling at high rate of speed". Car was behind a pick-up towing a boat at 25 mph. Trooper then said he had illegal tinted windshield and exhaust even though car was stock from factory and had passed emmission test in TN. Trooper then harassed driver for DRIVING WITH ONE HAND ON
STEERING WHEEL. Driver asked how he was supposed to shift gears. Trooper then rudely said, "GET LOST".
Rider harassed and threatened with arrest for not having proof of shatterproof glasses.
Cars pulled over for 35 ... threatened with arrest .
Bikers ticketed for passing on the double yellow even when the car ahead pulled over and stopped. Troopers said the car had to be COMPLETELY OFF THE ROAD before moving around it.
Ticket for bike with license plate verticlal. Custom bike was purchased from a Knoxville Police Officer.
Ticket for failing to have proof of insurance.
Ticket for no mirrors.
Cruiser pulled over doing 30 mph and asked for all documentation, blinkers/headlight and plate checked. Harrassed for no reason at all.
Trooper tailgating female motorcyclist who pulled off road she was so nervous. Her son was then tailgated until he had to pull over.
Trooper with stopped bike saw another bike almost crash when seeing the Trooper ..... Trooper laughed.
Out of state car ticketed for having temporary tag and no registration in spite of producing bill of sale. Registration had not yet been sent.
Trooper with car over double yellow on several occasions.
Troopers making u-turns in dangersous curves.
GOT A BUSINESS IN TENNESSEE ? - BETTER GET THINGS STRAIGHT WITH THE GOVERNOR BEFORE THE TOURISTS TOTALLY GIVE UP ON THE STATE.
EMAIL FROM TENNESSEE HIGHWAY PATROL:
As you have noticed, the THP has started an enforcement program in the Deals Gaps Area of Hwy. 129. Some people are very upset with this effort and some people applaud it as long overdue. We are receivingemails on both sides of the issue. I can tell you in the past year, wereceived calls and emails every few days that ask us to do "something"in this area. The overwhelming majority of people describe this area as "total chaos and lawlessness." When you combine these type of descriptions and the statistical information on crashes and fatalities (three fatalities in one weekend two weeks ago), we felt like we had to do something as a public safety organization. You may not agree with our program but it is aimed at protecting the public who frequent that area and ride in a safe manner. It has nothing to do with "quotas" and
driving tourism from Tennessee. Anyone who rides in that area and does so safely is always welcome and will not have any problem with the THP. We will continue to conduct our enforcement program for the near future in an effort to make Deals Gap a safe place for recreational motorcycle activity.
Lt. Colonel Tracy G. Trott
Tennessee Highway Patrol
TAIL OF THE DRAGON ANSWERS:
Lt. Colonel Trott:
Why can't governmental agencies take intelligent approaches to problems? Your "enforcement program" is actually a shut-down and will be viewed by many law abiding visitors to your state as harassment. In the end it will result in reduced revenue, many complaints from tourists and affected businesses where a more logical approach could have satisfied everyone.
Tail of the Dragon has pleaded with Blount County Sheriff's Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol for years to provide routine enforcement on US129 in order to keep the "chaos and lawlessness" as you describe to a minimum. There had not been a death on the Dragon for eleven months prior to the increase in enforcement which was begun by Blount County Sheriff's Office on July 1. The three deaths you mentioned all occurred after this "safety program" was implemented. Two of the deaths were a couple in their 70s on a trike .... so much for the "total chaos and lawlessness" crowd.
Over this past weekend there were two traffic fatalities within 65 miles of the Dragon. If you had not saturated this 11 miles of US129 with Troopers perhaps these other accidents could have been avoided.
Your program will continue to be presented on our TailoftheDragon.com website for what it is. Perhaps someone in power will see the ridiculous extremes presented by your governmental bureaucracy and take action.
Sincerely,
Ron and Nancy Johnson
The State of Tennessee has allocated funds to assist Blount County Sheriff and Tennessee Highway Patrol in patrolling the Dragon according to a BCSO spokesperson. Riders can expect daily patrols with increased activities during the weekends. TALK ABOUT AN UNDERSTATEMENT !!! Sheriff Berong needs to retrain his spokesperson.
August 3-5: The Governor has dispatched some 14 Tennessee Highway Patrol units to "clean-up" the Dragon. His new campaign slogan could be "We don't need these damn tourists anyway." We advise that you ride/drive in North Carolina until Tennessee comes to its senses. Venture onto the Dragon and risk severe harassment. Tell it to the Gov CLICK HERE
See our tour of southern Kentucky CLICK HERE
TN HP WELCOME TO TENNESSEE scowling at riders. Nice welcome guys. Want to let the Governor know how you feel?
#4
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The BOTD is still on. It might be partly about the road, but its mostly about the people and the great times had by all while we are there! Many many parts of the roads up there are just as good as the Dragon!
#5
With all the Police action - would have been nice to get some local track time if there was such a thing.
That way you go as fast as you dare without the risk of getting fined.
Only the risk of your skill, or lack of.
That way you go as fast as you dare without the risk of getting fined.
Only the risk of your skill, or lack of.
#6
Obsessive Paint Polisher
Plenty of roads on the N.Carolina side that will raise your arm hairs! And as BlueGrim says, every year becomes more enjoyable just because of the people.
I'm there!
I'm there!
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pdxhak
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09-22-2015 07:39 AM