Tennessee Outlaws Long Trucks on the Dragon

This was long over due, IMO. North Carolina already had this in place from some time ago.

I've seen the stupidity from truckers on this road first hand. Good to read this.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2014/12/03/trucks-banned-the-dragon/19825155/

I didn't read the whole Tennesean article; did it say what the penalty was?

We had a Cisco shorty come thru when I was there. When I saw it coming on me, I had about 1/2 a second to shit my pants and get way over. Luckily it was a short TT.

They need a BIG SIGN with flashing lights on it to ward off the Semi's. Also, a turn around (large enough) and it would have to be on both the TN and NC sides. Some State(s) dollas at werk?

"I didn't read the whole Tennesean article; did it say what the penalty was?"

No... just that signs will be installed in mid January to notify truckers.

Signs = useless. I applaud the thought and agree with banning big trucks but unless there is some kind of active restriction or enforcement not much may change. Boston has several low bridges with signs, with picture signs, with bars that clang the top of the trailer if it is too high and still there are trucks that get stuck under the bridges or have the tops sheared off many times a year. Stupidity is one of the Strong Forces of nature.

You gotta start with the signage. You can't issue any tickets without it.

How about a sign "NO SQUIDS" for starters.

That would drop the accident rate by 90%

Where's that photo of Bug wheeling his Wing???

hmmmmmmm.....

How about "No vehicles with more than 4 wheels"?

How about "two wheels only"....

ZOOOMM AGAIN said:

How about "two wheels only"....

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...and no V-Twins, as long as we're askin'.

Good news indeed. I've had one close call on that road involving an oncoming semi; anything that makes that stretch of road safer is welcome news for me.

wheatonFJR said:

ZOOOMM AGAIN said:

How about "two wheels only"....

Click to expand...

...and no V-Twins, as long as we're askin'.

Click to expand...

The desmo crowd may not appreciate that sentiment.

lonerider said:

Good news indeed. I've had one close call on that road involving an oncoming semi; anything that makes that stretch of road safer is welcome news for me.

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Be careful what you ask for. The way to make that road the safest would be to straighten out all the curves.

wheatonFJR said:

ZOOOMM AGAIN said:

How about "two wheels only"....

Click to expand...

...and no V-Twins, as long as we're askin'.

Click to expand...

Hey Liston Sonny, Not all V Twins are slugs...

Just one of many reasons that I have no interest in this road. Between Valentino Rossi wanabee's, squids who bought their bikes last Saturday and middle aged cruiser riders who cannot stay in their own lane, and the above, I cannot imagine a good time here. Plenty of other excellent curvy roads with very little traffic to get your rhythm and pulse going. Just my opinion.

Hey, I'm willing to lump other v-twins in with HD if need be. Easier to enforce...and fairer. Anyways, it's all about me anyways...if I'm gonna ask. Cry in your beer.

Bugnatr said:

How about a sign "NO SQUIDS" for starters.
That would drop the accident rate by 90%

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Like Fred said, "Be careful dorks." The way to make that road the safest is to prohibit all vehicles with more than two axles and less than 4 wheels. Sometimes what you want isn't really what you want.

Bugnatr said:

How about a sign "NO SQUIDS" for starters.
That would drop the accident rate by 90%

Click to expand...

You mean like the "No guns" signs reduce bank robberies?

But I get your point. I've ridden it a few times, and saw some passes that just took my breath away. I was there on a Saturday a few years back and saw more ambulances in route than I ever saw on a race track.

I followed an elderly couple riding a Bergman through there, and as they approached a right-hand hairpin, a flat-bed 18-wheeler came through from the other direction. The trailer took their entire lane and the outside wheels were in the ditch. They had absolutely nowhere to go. He just got on the brakes hard and stayed right, and a space just barely opened in time for them to go through. Many people would have taken the ditch, but he held it together long enough to make it.

The 2014 Rand McNally " Motor Carriers Road Atlas " Tennesee page shows 129 as a truck route all the way to the North Carolina line. The North Carolina page shows it's portion as a non-truck highway. As many, if not most, truckers use this as a trip planning guide, it is easy to see why trucks coming from the north stumble into the Dragon.

I haven't seen the 2015 edition of the atlas, but if the announcement to ban large trucks came out in the fourth quarter of 2014, it is doubtful that the new edition will be updated, and we may continue to see southbound trucks on the Dragon for a bit longer.

This is still great news and a big step in the right direction !