Big Rigs Banned On The Dragon

With 318 curves in 11 miles that run along the western edge of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park, the mountainous section of U.S. 129 in North Carolina and Tennessee known as The Dragon is an exhilarating and dangerous road, and arguably the the most famous riding road in the country.

Earlier this week, the Tennessee Department of Transportation announced that trucks of more than 30 feet will henceforth be banned from it. Signs are expected to go up in mid-January. North Carolina put such a restriction in place two years ago.

“From 2010 to 2012, there were 204 crashes … with six of those involving fatalities,” the state said. “This is considered a critical number of crashes based on the type of road and number of vehicles per day on this facility.” The result will be that The Dragon, which has a 30 mph speed limit, will now be a bit safer.

Photos are courtesy of Killboy.com.