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"Highway Patrol conducting Operation Dragon
Graham Sentinel Newspaper – May 3, 2006
Graham County , North Carolina
The North Carolina Highway Patrol will conduct "Operation Dragon 2006" in an attempt to reduce speed related collisions on Western North Carolina involving motorcycles. Speed remains the leading cause of traffic collisions and fatalities in the state and motorcycle collisions in the five most Western North Carolina counties have increased 56 percent from 2004. Locations in this area of North Carolina and in bordering Tennessee have become some of the leading motorcycle, destinations in America . "Operation Dragon 2006" is a joint initiative with North Carolina and Tennessee Highway Patrol that addresses these concerns.
The campaign will be conducted on Saturday, 13 May 2006 . During this period, Troopers from both states will create a highly visible presence aimed at targeting speeding, along with all other state violations and regulations.
Troopers will be assigned to work Deals Gap (US-129) and the Cherohala Skyway area (NC-143) where we have experienced numerous problems with the reckless operation of high performance motorcycles. Troopers have been instructed to aggressively enforce the speed limit laws in addition to other violations such as tailgating, improper lane changes, and other traffic law violations to ensure the safety of motorists on our highways and to reduce collisions.
The Highway Patrol will utilize special marked, unmarked vehicles, motorcycles and aircraft to combat speeding in these areas.
This is the way I see it, Ants. It's actually a good idea to have the LEOs on the Dragon because they have radios/phones that actually work in the mountains. When there's an accident, it's good to have them close by to handle contacting emergency medical personnel. They had a presence last weekend on the Dragon, but basically were sitting at each state border as a reminder to drive the road properly and safely.
And to reiterate, the fatalities on the Dragon have all been motorcyclists, not car or truck drivers. Crossing the yellow line is a killer.
