Proof that some people..

[flyboy2610]

just aren't too smart.

If you drive a semi never, ever , EVER drive it on US129 between the North Carolina and Tennessee borders, near the eastern edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That route is NOT part of the national network, and with 318 curves in 11 miles, there's a darn good reason WHY it isn't!
During my trucking career, I was in some spots I wished I hadn't been in, like the time I took a wrong turn in St. Louis, Mo. I got that 53 footer out of there without hitting anything, but I darn sure never made THAT turn again!
But US129 is definitely no place for a semi!
Swift: See Why I Flunked Training.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebQP4SgFGgM

[oldsteamer4]

Years ago, I was employed in a field known as Non-destructive Examination. I worked mostly east of the Mississippi, north as far as Lac Bonnet, Manitoba, Canada, and as far south as Belleville, Illinois, with occasional forays off the beaten path to Salmita, NWT, (the first diamond mine in Canada). The hairiest experience I had on the road was on the New Jersey Turnpike, between Christmas and New Year's, headed for Secaucus, New Jersey. Apparently, folks in that area seldom got more than a dusting of snow all winter , due to the influence of the sea coast on local weather. Anyway, the morning I was headed to the jobsite found seven inches of snow on the road. I think it was the winter of '90 - 91. It soon became obvious that the commuters didn't have snow tires, because there were pick-ups, SUV's, compacts, you name it, spinning out all over the place. The only thought in my mind was that now I know what a pinball must feel like! How I came out of that situation without a ding or worse is a marvel to me, because at least 4 times, I swear I could have shook hands with a passenger as the vehicle went by doing donuts , finally being stopped by a guard rail. By the way, my area of NDE was in the electro-magnetic and ultra-sonic field. Most of my work was in mining and ski tows. The wire ropes hauling the conveyances up and down mineshafts and slopes, and hauling skiers have to be inspected , by law, as established by state or provincial government, usually every 3 or 4 months. I was in Secaucus to do a reel to reel test of a used wire rope for a bridge construction company.

[Reckers]

just aren't too smart.

If you drive a semi never, ever , EVER drive it on US129 between the North Carolina and Tennessee borders, near the eastern edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That route is NOT part of the national network, and with 318 curves in 11 miles, there's a darn good reason WHY it isn't!
During my trucking career, I was in some spots I wished I hadn't been in, like the time I took a wrong turn in St. Louis, Mo. I got that 53 footer out of there without hitting anything, but I darn sure never made THAT turn again!
But US129 is definitely no place for a semi!
Swift: See Why I Flunked Training.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebQP4SgFGgM

For 4-wheelers, I've found Tennessee to be tied with Ohio for giving out speeding tickets, too! The TN State Police deny having a quota system, but admit that their criteria for advancement and preferred posting have meeting levels of traffic stops and citations as determining factors.

[big ed]

Thats why they say Swift isn't to swift.:laugh:

That guy couldn't drive worth a _hit! I hope your kidding when you said that is you.

When I was hauling cars and Swift just started hauling cars I met one at a dealer. He had eight cars for drop off. All eight were locked with the keys in them.:appl:

I been down that roads like that in the Smokies they are a little hairy but that guy is lucky he didn't kill someone!

[Rob Snyder]

Hey Now. Don't rag on Swift too much. I used to drive for them. There are some good drivers among the bunch of idiots. I've heard all the Swift monikers out there. See What I @$%^ up Today was one of my favorites though. Although Swift gets a bad rap about their drivers, Schneider and J.B. Hunt aren't any better. Most of the bigger companies are getting pickier about who they hire now. Thankfully, I work for a small company and have pretty good job security right now. We got 2 Wreckers last week and I've been on the go quite a bit with them lately. These past rainstorms have really messed up I-80 and kept the wrecks higher than normal for summer months around here. I'm surprised that guy made it through there. Wonder he didn't get himself killed. Sadly I'll bet hundred to one, that's the way the Qualcomm told him to go. Swift's driver's are not all to blame. The trip planners don't know how to read a trucker's atlas because many times they attempted to send me down roads that a 53 footer should never be on. Always, Always, Always check the atlas before following the directions!!!!

[flyboy2610]

Hey, Rob! I'm not ragging on Swift. I used to drive a Weenie Wagon myself.

[Rob Snyder]

I rag on Swift too. Maybe a little too much at times. When I have to go clean up accidents involving student drivers that are with a "mentor" is when I get really upset. There is no excuse for that more experienced driver to not be up there in the front helping the other guy learn what to do in severe weather such as these nasty rain storms we've gotten lately. My mentor when I first started driving semi 8 yrs ago was only a year older than me but had alot more miles and experience than most of the guys driving out of the Harrisburg terminal at the time. I've been down US129 A.K.A. Tail of the dragon on my crotch rocket many times. I wouldn't want to even think of taking a semi down through there.

[tjcruiser]

Hey Flyboy,

What's up with your avatar logo ... Who / What is that??? Do tell ... do tell!

TJ

[big ed]

You got to rag on that driver in the video!
Like I said he's lucky he didn't kill someone.(shout)
I was waiting for the trailer to run off the road into the ditch.(clap)
I looked at the map, that's the road I used to take to get into the town of Robbinsville, NC when I was delivering the scenic RR stuff on the flatbed. I ran over-with and over length up to them. I thought it looked familiar. That was back in the 70's, Before cell phones, GPS, AND THE SO CALLED NATIONAL HIGHWAY NETWORKS. The road reminded me of the old route 40? (or 68) rolling through the Cumberland Mountains. Now a nice big bypass was built to get around it. (thumbsup)

There are a lot of good drivers for companies that were mentioned. But there are 5 bad ones for every good one. (laugh) As those companies will hire the new guy and give him a steering wheel and set him loose on the roads with very little training.

[spoil9]

As an avid sport bike rider, I'm really shocked to see that. I've been able to drive through the Dragons Tail in a 4dr Sedan, but have not been able to make it on the bike yet. So glad more bikes were not on the road when this truck came through.

What is with all the orange cones?

ETA:
Apparently this isn't an isolated incident.
http://www.tailofthedragon.com/dragon_trucks.html

[flyboy2610]

Hey Flyboy,

What's up with your avatar logo ... Who / What is that??? Do tell ... do tell!

TJ

That's Midgel, from 3-2-1 Penguins.
From the website:
http://www.qubo.com/channel/321-meet.asp
Midgel is the ship’s engineer and pilot. He’s honored to maintain and fly the galaxy’s only starship with a manual transmission and a chrome-spoked, leather-wrapped steering wheel. This penguin is as brave as they come and received high marks from The Penguin Space Academy (located somewhere in the Falkland Islands.)

(Yes. I have kids.)

[tjcruiser]

The envy of all tux-wearing flightless birds!