All photos are available in Weekly Update - July 18, 2007
Well it was a very bad week, with one fatality Thursday, and two Friday...the first ones of the year. Our condolences go out to the friends and families of the riders, and to the passengers of vehicles involved. You all please be careful out there...life is so fragile.
5 comments:
Thoughts and prayers to them and the families. Life is to short
wow, that's so sad. i was just thinking about how great this year has gone down there so far. hopefully this will be the first and last cases of the year. RIP to all involved
Out of state tourists are at high risk on the Dragon, since TDOT fails to install the required warning signs for defects in the road. On that curve north of the Rock Wall at Old Overlook, a hill blocks visibility of the turn entry, which requires a warning sign. The trike had dual skidmarks (rear-wheels only), starting on the centerline to a little over 1-foot across the centerline. A trailer also had fresh dual skidmarks crossing the centerline in that corner, exactly where the boat trailer was before the crash. Was it the same as the crash trailer? Guaranteed that the truck & boat trialer were cutting corners, since that's the only way to drive on the Dragon without dropping tires in the ditch. Probably spooked the trike, and you steer where you're looking. With that left wheel sticking out from the trike, plus the left wheel sticking out from the trailer... The left wheel/axle of that boat trailer was clearly dented by the trike. Trike windscreen probably did most of the cutting injuries to the passengers, which is common in cruiser crashes. Not a high-speed crash, since the trike stopped within a few feet of the trailer, though the trialer must have absorbed some of the trike's speed. Boat was not strapped to the trailer. The truck/boat/trailer did not have a "flag" vehicle preceeding it, flashing lights to warn oncoming traffic, as required by law for all vehicles that cannot stay in one lane.
The lowspeed crash at Guardrail Corner would have been prevented buy extending the guardrail 10 or 20 feet. The Suzuki just rolled straight off the cliff without turning, after locking the rearwheel and failing to countersteer. TDOT's private contractor illegally installed that guardrail with only 1-foot depth for the posts, which are required to be 4-feet deep. So when the semi truck hit it, the posts pulled up completely. The entire post was only 4 feet long, with 3 feet sticking out of the ground for the armco to bolt to. Slow rescue was reportedly a factor in this fatility. Rural Metro Corporation only has 10 ambulances in Blount County, with no time limit for response time. Rural Metro was fined $100,000 that same week by Knox County Muni Corp, for failure to reach 90% of 911 calls within 10 minutes. It can take an hour to reach victims on the Dragon. Rural Metro is owned by a multi-trillion-dollar Global Healthcare Corp and other investors, so they care more about profit than saving lives. Police never provide first aid to crash victims, and carry no medical supplies. 10 cops on the Dragon in the current Surge does nothing for safety, and drives away the local sportbikers, who tend to keep everyone alert and paying attention. Apparently the TN cops figured this out, and moved to running RADAR below the Overlook on Sunday, using black undercover car and SUV, in addition to BCSO patrol cars at Tabcat. Too bad BCSO can't find their "missing" 48 sheriff dept vehicles. That would buy a lot of ambulances. Crash analysis and Police Surge photos at SmokyMountainRiders.com
"The lowspeed crash at Guardrail Corner would have been prevented buy extending the guardrail 10 or 20 feet. The Suzuki just rolled straight off the cliff without turning, after locking the rearwheel and failing to countersteer."
Were you there? Did you see the accident? I know the rider that went down as well as the one right behind him. First the bike is a Yamaha R1, secondly he either lowsided or tucked the front end and slide on him butt off the road.
Do the family a favor and get your facts straight before you open your mouth.
Pirate, nice job on the reporting. And, IMHO, you are EXACTLY right about Rural Metro. I am a Union Firefighter/Paramedic in Florida we hate those scabs. Rural Metro and also companies like AMR which provide emergency medical response do so with one thing in mind: money. Whereas, us government providers are interested in quality service at a cost-effective level. Condolences to the victims of course, but y'all up there who pay taxes should contact your elected officials and put together a 100% paid Fire-Rescue service to handle these things, preferrably at the Advanced Life Support level... Ride safe!
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