Petition to restrict commerical traffic on Hwy 129 - The Tail of the Dragon

[ducatiz]

if ever there was a stretch of road that ought to be closed to large vehicles -- it's this one

[cokey]

We have highways that don't allow commercial traffic of any kind.. don't see why they can't do the same here.. its obviously a problem and a danger..  need supplies, have a box truck bring it..

[Slide Panda]

As noted there are smaller commercial vehicles, like box trucks, that are able to navigate that road without issue. I agree that 'commercial' does not equal bad. As I said before, it would be more sensible to me to look at vehicle length for any sort of restriction

[elvenhome21]

with all of those pics you posted, with the exception of the ofs truck none of those guys took the corners the way they needed to.

Point #2 in response to a smaller truck can bring it, yes thats true but its not just deliveries that big trucks need access to. Its more of the lack of roads i can take to get from place to place. Us441 i think is restricted, so if i have a load that picks up in franklin nc and delivers to maryville tn (94 miles). 129 is my only option unless i go north to I 40 (140mi) or west to us 74 and us411 (170mi). Now remember trucks are only paid by the mile of the shortest distance possible, which would be us129 at 94 miles. everything over 94 miles im working for free and burning more fuel that im not getting paid to burn. so thats a minimum of $50 extra out of my pocket. so thats where the issue comes in. 

[cokey]

Ah I see.. that sucks..

Side note; I just drove from ny to az and back, do truckers normaly have rad detectors?  And why do they tailgate so much (some)

[corey]

with all of those pics you posted, with the exception of the ofs truck none of those guys took the corners the way they needed to.

Point #2 in response to a smaller truck can bring it, yes thats true but its not just deliveries that big trucks need access to. Its more of the lack of roads i can take to get from place to place. Us441 i think is restricted, so if i have a load that picks up in franklin nc and delivers to maryville tn (94 miles). 129 is my only option unless i go north to I 40 (140mi) or west to us 74 and us411 (170mi). Now remember trucks are only paid by the mile of the shortest distance possible, which would be us129 at 94 miles. everything over 94 miles im working for free and burning more fuel that im not getting paid to burn. so thats a minimum of $50 extra out of my pocket. so thats where the issue comes in. 

remember, i'm not advocating this petition personally, but my question to this response is.. is $50 out of your pocket cheaper than totaling a cab and possibly ruining/destroying your entire load?

[ducatiz]

remember, i'm not advocating this petition personally, but my question to this response is.. is $50 out of your pocket cheaper than totaling a cab and possibly ruining/destroying your entire load?

[elvenhome21]

remember, i'm not advocating this petition personally, but my question to this response is.. is $50 out of your pocket cheaper than totaling a cab and possibly ruining/destroying your entire load?

look at it this way. Would you want to spend $50 every other day out of your pocket that your not getting paid for but your "job" requires you spend it without getting reimbursed for it? not to mention having to "work" an extra hour for free. So not only did you lose 2.5 hours pay you have to work at least an extra hour without getting paid. See how this all adds up very quickly, and this happens multiple times a week.

[elvenhome21]

everyone of those pictures you can clearly see the driver didnt take the corner properly. Almost all of those trailers in the ditch are from driver impatience and improper lane positioning to make the turn. For most of them turns you must be completely on the opposite side of the road before you start the turn. The way it looks is they either had a car coming that they pinched the turn off or werent paying attention and didnt swing it completely.

Again, im not saying that i would ever take it in a sleeper semi and 53 ft trailer, but to flat out BAN everything i will not agree with. There are circumstances for everything. And its bad enough Virgina restricts just about every road around Roanoke area making it at least a 100 mile detour to get from big island VA to ohio. And those roads are nothing compared to the dragon, or even the skyway.

[ducatiz]

my point is that it seems a LOT of those truckers have "driver impatience and improper lane positioning to make the turn. "

and of the ones that don't run off the road, they have to cross the double yellow so much that it impedes traffic.

plenty of roads have passage to large trucks banned.  it's not a major highway, it's a small, two lane highway that was put down when trucks were nowhere near as big.

There's no reason passage for semis couldn't be banned unless it is schedule and accompanied.  There are simply too many stories and photos of trucks falling off or blocking traffic for it to be "occasional driver error."

[Drjones]

Don't need new laws they just need to enforce the one's already on the books.  "Long" vehicles can't maintain their lane on roads like that, which is a moving violation.  Also start billing them for the rescue services required to unstick their vehicles.  Do those two and that type of traffic will reduce significantly.

[Triple J]

Point #2 in response to a smaller truck can bring it, yes thats true but its not just deliveries that big trucks need access to. Its more of the lack of roads i can take to get from place to place. Us441 i think is restricted, so if i have a load that picks up in franklin nc and delivers to maryville tn (94 miles). 129 is my only option unless i go north to I 40 (140mi) or west to us 74 and us411 (170mi). Now remember trucks are only paid by the mile of the shortest distance possible, which would be us129 at 94 miles. everything over 94 miles im working for free and burning more fuel that im not getting paid to burn. so thats a minimum of $50 extra out of my pocket. so thats where the issue comes in. 

Wouldn't 140 miles on a better road(s) take less time and use less fuel than 94 miles of a super tight twisty road? I mean, I can drive to the airport through the city in an hour and getting 13 mpg...or I can take I-5 and be there in 20 minutes and get 18 mpg. 

[Artful]

I spent the week before last at the Gap with a buddy that happens to be a Class A trucker. This was a common topic on the trip, especially since Ike was killed the first day we got there.

What Elven has posted is true, and I won't hold his perspective against him. A cab with a 53' trailer CAN get through the Gap when properly piloted. However it CANNOT be done with the truck in its travel lane, crossing is required to make the trek. On a mountain road with literally hundreds of blind corners, that isn't acceptable.

The amount of mileage saved is quickly absorbed by the extra time, fuel, headache, and risk spent taking 129. 411 is glass smooth asphalt with no sharp turns, 40 is an interstate, and I have never been on 74. I watched a trailer take an hour and a half to get through the Gap, plenty of extra time to make the trip on 411.

Taking that out of the debate, what is the price of the lives that are at risk every time a truck rolls through 129? The trucker, cars, motorcyclists, everyone involved is at an exponentially higher risk just being on the road with trucks present.

I am not a ban-o-phile. I hate when things are just written off as 'inconvenient to some' and people immediately start whining that there should be a law to make things convenient for them again. Something has to be done about this though. The long and short of our conversation ended with the idea of a permit system to go through the area. Truckers would purchase a permit to use the road, of which the revenue generated would pay the operating costs for a dedicated escort. The escort would lead the truck through the area, instruct the drivers for proper lane placement, and warn oncoming traffic of the presence of the semi. The operating costs of such a service would be nominal, especially considering the short mileage would allow the use of an electric vehicle. The low speeds involved would allow for the use of one of the golf cart style runabouts you see employed at amusement parks and stadiums.

That is of course far too logical of a solution, so I'm sure it will never happen, but a boy can dream.

[Punx Clever]

Seems to me that if a ban on vehicles over such and such length was put in place, then the shortest distance a truck driver could legally take could not be over deals gap.  Thus, trucker would get the miles for going around the road that is obviously unsuitable for such a vehicle.

I figure a good way to go about it would be for the two states to agree to restrict traffic with trailers over a certain length and traffic without trailers over a certain length from using the road.

[Artful]

One of the factors to keep in consideration is that the reason that road exists in the first place in the condition that it is in is the dam system. The TVA three dam system in the area needs the ability to bring large trucks through when needed. Another reason why an outright ban isn't necessarily the best choice.