Ok, so I finish my update, upload to the server and I am about to go on with life. I decide to check my email and here is one from Verne about the Deals Gap situation. I am really hoping it makes no sense at all, because most of the emails I get make no sense and then I don’t have to continue updating the site, but Verne makes sense so I have to go back to work again. Here are his thoughts:
Was looking over your site and reading the over the Dragon Crack down by Tennessee Highway Patrol.I am both for and against this. I know we have done it to our selves but it is out of hand up there. Not saying everyone is acting stupid but you have seen it too.This is what I have put together. This really started after the deaths in June. One way to look at it is Blount county/TN side cover the majority of the Dragon. If there is a accident odds are it is on their side and they have to respond to it. Yet most of the tax revenue is on the NC/Graham County side. Yes there is some tax revenue and money staying in TN but if someone is staying locally and buying stuff they are in NC. I have not been able to find solid proof but have been told that Blount County TN has one of the highest per capita Emergency management budgets in the State due to them having to have to respond to the Gap. If this is true I can see why the politicians of Blount County asked for help. If you are not making that much money off of the area but are having to pay to clean up the mess a couple times a day every weekend when it happens I can see the strain on the system.I have not been up there since the crack down but have had several friends who have. They have seen an increased enforcement but not any of these BS tickets or anything construed as harassment. Everything I’m hearing on the net I’m taking with a grain of salt do to both sides not being happy about it.
Would like to hear your take on this.
Thanks,
Verne
Verne makes a lot of good points that I don’t hear many other people mentioning.
The stupidity level was amazingly high in the spring. The problem is that everyone has a different definition of stupidity. The THP definition of riding stupid is over 30mph, crossing the yellow, standing while riding, improper license plate mounting, illegal passing, no helmet, no insurance and so on. The problem is that everyone has a different definition of stupid.
Here is my idea of stupid. Riding above you or your bikes ability. Passing in blind turns. Riding without a helmet. I see people all the time riding above their ability but below 30mph. I occasionally see people riding above 80mph in complete control. I have had many more slow riders scare me than fast ones. There are a lot of riders who just should not be riding a motorcycle at all, let alone on a road like Deals Gap. Lowering the speed limit will not help these people. I think very few people support those I see as the problem, but there are probably many who think I am one of the stupid ones. How many people have I passed this year and maybe the person I passed thought there should be more police?
The point about the emergency management budget is also a good one. TN spends all the money cleaning up the mess we make and NC gets most of our dollars. I don’t have one bad thing to say about these responders because from what I can see they are a great bunch of dedicated people. Perhaps a good thing to do once a year would be some type of an event to raise money for these agencies to help offset these costs.
You know anything you read anywhere must be taken with a grain of salt. Everyone has bias. I try to be as honest and unbiased as possible, but it is just human nature to see things the way you want to see them.