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'Deals Gap' is a small unincorporated community and motorcycle resort situated in a gap in Swain County, North Carolina, United States. It is located along U.S. Highway 129 at the Tennessee state line. The community has an unoffcial population of 6, which is posted on a welcoming sign[1]. The community's approximate elevation is 1760 feet above sea level.

Contents

Tail of the Dragon

Filmings at Deals Gap

External links

Tail of the Dragon

Deals Gap is a popular and internationally famous destination for driving enthusiasts (of motorcycles and sportscars), as it is located along a stretch of two-lane road known as the 'Tail of the Dragon' (or 'The Dragon'). The stretch, which is largely in Tennessee, is roughly 11 miles in length and contains 318 curves, making it one of the curviest roads in the nation. Some of the Dragon's sharpest curves have names like Copperhead Corner, Hog Pen Bend, Wheelie Hell, Killboy (formerly Shade Tree) Corner, Mud Corner, Sunset Corner, Gravity Cavity, Beginner's End and Brake or Bust Bend. The road segment earned its name from its curves resembling the back or the tail of a dragon. The stretch bears the street name "Tapoco Road" in North Carolina and "Calderwood Highway" in Tennessee and is signed entirely by U.S. Highway 129. State Route 115 is included on maps, and is the name used by Tennessee Department of Transportation for highway contracts.
Since part of the road is also the southwestern border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there is very little development on the stretch, and it mostly travels through forested area. Along the route, there are a few scenic overlooks and pulloff points. The speed limit on the Dragon was 55 mph prior to 1992; however, in the 1990s and early 2000s, the limit was reduced a number of times until 2005 when a speed limit of 30 mph was signed along the entire stretch. Radar enforcement of the speed limit is widespread.
From 1995 to August 2006 there have been seventeen deaths on the stretch of road, all were motorcycle incidents [4]. On July 12 and 13, 2007 three motorcyclists were killed in two separate accidents [5]. Three of these fatalities were 3-wheeled trikes, indicating a disproportionate risk for a tricycle design on the Dragon. Many fatalities and serious injuries involve riders without full armored gear.
A lack of road markings at Calderwood Corner was remedied by Tennessee Department of Transportation in 2007, after a Road Safety Audit Review. Local rider input identified the cause of a fatal crash, and several lesser crashes, cured by painting a white line through 129's intersection with Tapoco Resort Road. TDOT failed to correct a defective guardrail at Guardrail Corner, site of many tractor truck crashes costing up to $50,000 each in highway repairs [6], and cause of one motorcycle fatality shortly after this safety review.
Failure to countersteer is a common cause of crashes and fatalities for motorcyclists on the Dragon. Countersteering is turning the handlebars in the opposite direction of the turn [7]. Countersteering is the only way to ride a bike, and is taught by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation in its RiderCourse schools [8]. Failure to countersteer is a proximate cause of over 90% of all motorcycle crashes [9]. Countersteering is not a question on motorcycle license tests in Tennessee [10]. The average speed of motorcycle crashes is 21 mph, according to the Hurt Report.
Starting July 1, 2007, the state of Tennessee stepped up "Radar" and traffic enforcement on the Dragon [11]. This resulted in the "Police State" waging a "War on Tourists", according to Brad Steinberg, manager of the Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort [12]. Up to 18 law enforcement officers have been counted on the Dragon during this Surge [13]. Tickets and related expenses can total more than $800 per person [14]. Nearly 150 tickets are sued per three-day weekend [15]. It is questionable whether Radar can actually get a lock on the Dragon, since troopers refuse to show the alleged Radar speed display to defendants. At least one THP trooper has been sanctioned for perjury regarding false testimony on Radar in Blount County courts [16].
Annual traffic citations by Tennessee Highway Patrol total over 470,000, with over 35,000 crash investigations. Annual profits by THP total over $360-million. [17]

Both THP and Blount County Sheriff Office [18] were paid overtime grants of $60,000 each on the Dragon, to meet quotas of 3 "contacts" per hour for 60 days. By suing nearly 50 tickets per day on the Dragon [19], both THP and BCSO won a six-month extension on their contracts, at all taxpayers' expense [20]. Certain Tennessee state employees are paid up to $100,000 per person in overtime, more than tripling their base salary [21].

"It is illegal for law enforcement agencies to issue quotas for citations or arrests of individuals. The Fraternal Order of Police strongly disagrees with this illegal action and respectfully requests you rescind this action of supervisors at the Knoxville Police Department. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it's still a duck. It's a quota."

-C. Edward Daniel, attorney at law [22]

The previous speed limit on the Dragon was 55 mph [23]. The new speed limit is 30 mph, assessed without the mandatory traffic engineering survey, required to determine the 85th-Percentile speed for 85% of drivers [24]. The 85th-Percentile Speed is the safest speed [25], according to U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices [26]. Riders are now ticketed for "speeding" at 25 mph in curves, "because the posted 30 mph limit only applies on 'straights'", for which there are none on the Dragon [27].
Troopers and deputies have been photographed and videotaped violating numerous laws on the Dragon, including crossing the centerline [28], speeding, tailgating, illegal U-turns and obstructing traffic on a federal highway while parked [29]. According to Tennessee Code §55-8-108 [30], law enforcement officers are prohibited from violating any traffic laws, unless both their emergency lights and siren are turned on. One trooper was involved in a head-on collision with a motorcyclist on the Dragon, at the start of the Surge by police [31]. Numerous complaints have been filed against THP for crossing the centerline and running motorcyclists off the road, including a formal complaint by another highway patrolman vacationing on the Dragon [32].
Tennessee legislature passed a new law, Tennessee Code §55-9-105 [34], effective July 1, 2007, to ban all videocameras in Tennessee, when used in moving vehicles, with exception for videocameras and computer TV screens used by law enforcement agents. THP has sued one traffic ticket against the news media on the Dragon, using this new law [35].
Both THP, and BCSO have threatened arrest of pedestrian photojournalists on the Dragon, for recording videotape of truck crash scenes [36] [37].
Freelance photographers driving personal vehicles without "commercial" license plates are ticketed by THP [38]. Commercial license plates are only required for freight trucks or taxis, according to Tennessee Code §55-4-112-113 [39].
These laws and their application appear to violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." The constitutionality of these statutes has not yet been tested in the courts.
Also taking effect July 1, 2007, is an amendment to Tennessee's vague "reckless driving" statute, §55-10-205 [40], banning "wheelies". Motorcyclists can still legally wheelie in "parades" at speeds below 30 mph.
Tennessee Code §55-10-501 defines "drag racing" as, "The use of one (1) or more motor vehicles in an attempt to outgain, outdistance or to arrive at a given destination simultaneous with or prior to that of any other motor vehicle". Many motorcyclists have been charged with this statute on the Dragon, which BCSO interprets as only applying to motorcycles [41]. This definition has been struck down by Blount County courts as "overbroad" [42]. Winning in a lower court does not set legal precedent to strike down unconstitutional laws by the state legislature.
Tennessee Highway Patrol is attempting to rehabilitate its public relations by massive displays of force against the population. A THP trooper was fired in 2007, for recording video of himself engaged in a sex act with a female motorist during a traffic stop [43]. A Knoxville porn actress then posted the video of their encounter on her weblog, resulting in a worldwide media frenzy, becoming the top viral video for Associated Press [44]. Twenty-nine traffic citations were dismissed for failure to prosecute, when the ex-trooper failed to appear in court to testify [45]. Only 16 defendants were able to travel to court in Lebanon, as required to sign a contract to grant the magistrate jurisdiction to decide the case [46]. The ex-trooper did not appear in court, and is reportedly under criminal investigation for suspected sex acts with dozens of other female motorists during traffic stops [47].
Blount County Sheriff Office is also attempting to rehabilitate its public relations. A truck operated by BCSO Dive Team rolled over while attempting to respond to an abandoned canoe on the Dragon in 2007 [49]. The deputy had already crashed twice in the previous 30 minutes, before crashing a third time, without reaching the Dragon. According to a state audit in 2007, BCSO failed to locate 48 vehicles in the sheriff's inventory [50].
The 3 motorcyclist deaths on the Dragon in 2007 occurred during the police Surge, with contributory negligence, due to lack of proper warning signs by Tennessee Department of Transporation [51], a defectively installed guardrail at Guardrail Corner by Tennessee Guardrail Corporation [52], and a contract that allows Rural Metro Corporation an unlimited response time for ambulance crews in Blount County.
Rural Metro charges approximately $1,000 for each trip to the Dragon. LIFESTAR helicopter flights are billed at over $5,000 per trip, with up to four flights per week on the Dragon. Fixing a broken leg at University of Tennessee Medical Center typically costs $50,000 per limb. [53]
In 12 months, Rural Metro has already paid over $300,000 in fines to Knox County Municipal Corporation for slow response time [54]. Rural Metro's contract requires a 10-minute response time for 90% of 911 calls in Knox County, Tennessee [55]. Rather than hire more crews, which would adversely affect investor relations, Rural Metro requires its crews to drive faster, resulting in a crash caused by a Rural Metro ambulance running a redlight [56]. When the director of 911 Dispatch in Blount County was asked how many Rural Metro crews are on duty at any given time, the dispatcher responded that he had no idea [57], since Rural Metro operates its own private dispatch [58].
For reasons of safety, a ban on commercial tractor trailer trucks has been proposed by resolutions approved by both the Blount County Commission [60] in Tennessee, and the Graham County Commission [61] in North Carolina. Commercial vehicles are already banned on highways in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, including Foothills Parkway, which junctions with U.S. 129, and U.S. Route 441 [62], between Gatlinburg and Cherokee, North Carolina. According to Tennessee state represenative Doug Overbey [63] in 2007 , TDOT [64] claims that Tennessee does not have jurisdiction on the Dragon for regulating motor vehicles. During the current police Surge on the Dragon, three tractor trucks have crashed, including one rollover. Tractor trailers have been involved in several collisions with automobiles on the Dragon [65]. At least one motorcyclist crashed on the Dragon to avoid a headon collision with a tractor trailer in his lane [66], in a hit-and-run. At least one fatality of a motorcyclist was caused by collision with a tractor trailer on the Dragon.
There is also a question about jurisdiction on the Dragon. According to the assistant director of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in 2007 [67], the park boundary runs down the centerline of U.S. 129, beginning at the state line at Deals Gap [68]. This would mean that THP, BCSO and Tennessee state courts do not have jurisdiction to enforce state laws on the Dragon. In 2007, 10,000 acres on the Dragon were donated by Alcoa Corporation [69] to Tennessee Nature Conservancy [70], which donated the 10,000 acres to the United States Park Service and United States Forest Service, for incorporation into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and Cherokee National Forest [71]. Only federal park rangers and United States District Court have jurisdiction on federal property [72].
The American Motorcyclist Association has conducted an informal boycott of Blount County, Knox County and the State of Tennessee since 1999. This is in response to the state legislature and governor passing Senate Bill 923, renaming Interstate 140 to honor a convicted hit-and-run killer of a motorcycle tourist. Pellissippi Parkway is officially renamed the Senator Carl O. Koella Jr. Memorial Highway [74].

"I've seen a lot of outrageous things happen in politics since I've been working here, but this tops them all. It's the equivalent of issuing a series of O.J. Simpson autographed steak knives. And no, this isn't a joke. Here's the new rule: Kill a biker, get a highway named after you. As a tourist who has spent a lot of family vacation dollars in Sen. Clabough's district, if those signs go up, you'll never see another penny of mine in Knox or Blount counties."

-Greg Harrison, Vice President of Communications for American Motorcyclist Association, American Motorcyclist magazine [75], "A Monumental Mistake", June 1999 [76]

“Please read the enclosure that presents the facts by someone involved in the investigation of this tragic accident. I grew up knowing Sen. Koella for the last 30 years. The bill has been passed and signed. There is NOTHING you can do to change that, and if you choose not to come to Tennessee, we will be better off without you.”

-Senator Bill Clabough, American Motorcyclist magazine, Greg Harrison Column: "Contemptible", September 1999 [77]

Up to 100,000 motorcycle tourists have boycotted Tennessee since the police Surge on the Dragon in 2007. Stephani McIntyre, Event Director for the Women's Sportbike Rally[78] summarized the feelings of many tourists, in her letter to Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen:

I always looked forward to stopping at the Food Lion in Maryville, Tennessee. Then dropping by The Wine & Spirits Cellar right next door for some libations to drink after the day is done.
See, when I reach that point it means I'm almost there; I'm almost officially on vacation. I buy all my rations for my four to five sometimes six day stay in the Smoky Mountains ready to have a great time with my friends. I don't go on luxury cruises or fly to exotic locations to sight see when I take time off work. I pack up my best friend, my 2002 Yamaha YZF600R that has hundreds of US129 miles on it, and head south from Columbus, Ohio to spend a few days in a beautiful location traversing beautiful roads. I have been visiting the region since 2003 and I become as giddy as a school-girl when I make that left off the 411/129 four lane road to head south on US129 out of Maryville to Deals Gap. I love it so much that I even had a major hand in starting a new and unique sportbike rally for the first time last year. One for women who love to ride sportbikes. I have spent months working on the second addition of this project, August 24-26 with an overall goal of raising as much money as I can for a Melanoma Foundation.
I'm so thankful that it's not too late for me to adjust my upcoming event in three weeks to cater to North Carolina rather than anything in Tennessee. I plan to inform all of my participants of what is going on and assure them we will have a blast even if we don't traverse the heavily guarded 11 miles of your precious federally funded road just because a few people are messing things up for a majority of the law abiding citizens who frequent the area such as myself. I planned to have a portion of my event take place at the biker friendly establishment called the Cherohala Market in Tellico Plains but because of the state of Tennessee I have to decline the wonderful support of Mr. Joe Burris who owns the store.
As for myself, I will be filling up my gas tank at the last stop in Kentucky and buying all my rations at the nearest grocery store in that state rather than spend any of my hard earned money in the wonderful town of Maryville. This will be the first time my routine for visiting the Smoky Mountains will change in four years of coming there. I'm so sorry that you could not have found a better solution to your supposed problem but I will not pay taxes in your state to support your mission to harass those who share in the same legal recreation that I love!
I'm not worried about me or my event...I'm worried for the Dragon's future. I love it there...hope to live there someday. Not because I'm a speed freak but for how visiting Deals Gap makes me feel. It's love and having that taken away or destroyed by ignorance is unfair and sad.
Have a great day!

Filmings at Deals Gap

★ Thunder Road (1958)

★ Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

★ The Fugitive (1993)

★ In Dreams (1999)

★ Rat Raid on the Dragon [80], Corbin's Ride On, Speed TV (2004)

★ Deals Gap / McCoy Motorsports, Superbikes! [81], Speed TV (2006) [82]

★ Seven commercials have been filmed at Deals Gap

★ Tail of the Dragon documentaries (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007)

★ Bit by the Dragon documentary (2006) [83]

★ Tennessee Highway Patrol

★ Blount County Sheriff Department [84]

External links

★ Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap - Info Page

★ Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort - Info Page

★ Photos and Highlights from Deals Gap - Info Page