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My brother-in-law is a contractor for the TVA and drives the Dragon every day to and from work. He says there have been a lot of County and State police on the Dragon lately. Remember that a pretty good portion of it is 30 MPH, so it doesn't take much to get a ticket! My advise is to have your fun when line-of-site is clear! Go around a blind turn too fast and you may find yourself having a polite conversation with a local constable!
I've been wondering if it was going to be like that again this year. Thanks for the heads up.
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GROMIT 2005 HO/B MCc Premium, Sport, Cold Weather, CVT, Black/Chrome Stripes, Driving Lights, Ian's Auto Up, Way Motor Works Cooper Intake, MinSpeed Exhaust
I ran it Sat afternoon and from TN to NC and found 5 cops in the 1st miles Then ran the next 10 without a single one Guess it's just about being in the right/wrong place at the right/wrong time.
I also ran the Skyway back to TN and didn't see any cops on that road.
Good to know. We'll see if it dies down before this week. Otherwise looks like we're sharing the road with a few other groups, maybe they'll be decoys for us
__________________ "Tell me tell me what you're after; I just want to get there faster" Ordered 6/9/2008 :: In Production 6/10/2008 :: Born 6/19/2008 :: Shipped 6/26/2008 :: Arrived at Port: 7/7/2008 :: Delivered 7/18/2008
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My best friend's son-in-law lives in Maryville and the word in TN/NC is that the local lawmakers are going to try to cut down on the "road course" atmosphere at the Dragon by being more "visible". I guess that means that, without saying, fines are imminent.
Oh you know they are having meetings even as we speak about what groups are going to be there and at what times. I'm sure they have already assembled a "MINI Cooper Task Force." Everybody just has to be careful out there. Thanks for the heads up.
__________________ ~Lilith~ 2005 MINI Cooper S **Enjoy Your New Home**
The road to ruin on the Dragon started last year, and is clearly here to stay for the forseeable future. Even the tactic of early-morning-weekday doesn't work anymore. I have seen them there at 7:00 AM on a Wednesday. The best bet, unfortunately, is to avoid the Dragon and drive the other good area roads, like the Cherohola Skyway.
I have found that they tend to be consistent in where they set up, and they sit there a while, so I stop at the store and question a few folks pulling in where they saw cops. Get a map of the road with mile markers and popular curve names and have locals point out the worst spots.
By the way, don't ask the bikers, especially the Harley crowd. Some don't like cars on "their" road, and may intentionally give you bad info.
Are radar detectors effective? I have an old Passport I was going to bring.
Not as much as you'd like. The terrain just isn't friendly to the high frequencies that radar covers. You may or may not get a reflection before hand but you should definitely treat every alert as a true threat.
This is also one of those situations where someone being slower than you or following a group can save your skin.
__________________ "Tell me tell me what you're after; I just want to get there faster" Ordered 6/9/2008 :: In Production 6/10/2008 :: Born 6/19/2008 :: Shipped 6/26/2008 :: Arrived at Port: 7/7/2008 :: Delivered 7/18/2008
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Considering all there is for law enforcement to do these days...putting on the hat of tax collector should be the least of their worries......
Just hope the state's constiuents paying their salaries are just as satisfied with their skills in preventing and solving property and violent crimes....
Otherwise these guys should get a life......
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2003 R53 - DS - 135K + Miles
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You wanna see if you can stay away from Dustin's "JustACooper" on the dragon?
__________________ "Tell me tell me what you're after; I just want to get there faster" Ordered 6/9/2008 :: In Production 6/10/2008 :: Born 6/19/2008 :: Shipped 6/26/2008 :: Arrived at Port: 7/7/2008 :: Delivered 7/18/2008
27% Carbon tint, Interior Blue LED kit, DDM RIS, Focal Speaker Upgrade Upstate MINIs - "No, not upstate New York" - Free to join, free to enjoy!
drove in yesterday..on the Dragon itself, I saw one LEO. There was one sitting in the parking lot at Deale's Gap.
My guess is, they'll be out there so be careful, and not just on the Dragon itself.
And don't forget that most of the tickets written last year were tickets to appear. One guy got one last year and he even consulted a lawyer up there trying to get out of the appearance because he lived so far away, and the LEOs didn't care. So he had to drive back over there like a month later.
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Thanks for the heads up. It doesn't help that it is also the end of the month. The cops must get the ticket quotas by months end. My wife and I leave first thing Wednesday morning. Should be there after lunch. See everyone there.
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Wbarnhill is right. Radar detectors don't really work up there, mostly because the turns are tight and blind, with virtually no straightaways. By the time you get your first "beep", you are hosed. However, like he said, if you get even one stray beep, get on the binders. There is nothing out there to produce a false signal, so it probably is the real thing.
Also keep in mind that speeding isn't all they will cite you for. Put one tire an inch over the center line in their sight--get a ticket (which you should not do anyway--about 75% of the fatalities on the Dragon occur because someone was forced across the center line from going too fast, and collided with oncoming traffic).
They also have a history of ticketing people with video cameras. (If you want to see some of the crap they have pulled, go to tailofthedragon.com and browse).
Ironically, the cops do nothing about the most dangerous thing you will see on the Dragon, which is semis illegally using the road as a cut-through. The reason they are not allowed is that they can't negotiate the turns without cutting the corners and weaving across both lanes. If you see a semi in front of you, GET OFF THE ROAD! They DO NOT yield, and you do not want to play chicken with 20 tons of steel!
It is common courtesy for a local to pull in front and "escort" the truck through by driving ahead with flashers and alerting oncoming traffic, but don't count on that.
Actually I have the Valentine 1 and it saved me more than a few times last year!! You cannot see around the turns, but the radar detector will pick up the transmission from the cop sitting there..!!
However.. make sure the device is out of site if you do get pulled!! They look at it as you are evading the law by using a detector!! Go figure..lol
Also dont forget.. MAX of 4 head lites on at one time!! NO 4 rally lights and your driving lites on at once ( total of 6) DONT have a movie camera in view when filming and driving.. the law is you can not be watching anything but the road!! HMMMmmm... GPS's??
Oh , and when you do get causght... Dont whinnnnne!! You know you are wrong!! And it is hard to make some of those turns at 30 MPH!! The "Yellow sign" that says 10 mph is JUST a suggested safe speed!!
Have fun... be aware!! And DONT CROSS THE YELLOW!!
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~Lilith~ 2005 MINI Cooper S **Enjoy Your New Home**
