dot announces installation of nearly 100 new speed reducers on us 129 in 2008

Sources tell us that The Tennessee Department of Transportation today announced that will install 99 speed reducers (speed bumps) on US 129 (Known as “The Dragon” by local motorcycle enthusiasts in 2008, including 35
new reducers at “priority areas” identified as trouble spots.
Speed reducers have been shown to be among the most effective of all
traffic calming devices at reducing vehicle speeds, and since 2004 DOT has installed
more than 200 of them in the vicinity of schools in and they proved to be a effective deterrent
“Speed reducers are one of a number of tools we’re using to encourage
drivers to slow down and take a little extra time to navigate the dangerous curves on this stretch of road “Keeping our citizens safe on their way to and from the resort areas in North Carolina.
Repeated calls to the North Carolina DOT asking if they would follow Tennessee’s lead in installing speed deterrents on the North Carolina portion of the road have not been returned.

wbir wrote:

Sources tell us that The Tennessee Department of Transportation today announced that will install 99 speed reducers (speed bumps) on US 129 (Known as “The Dragon” by local motorcycle enthusiasts in 2008, including 35
new reducers at “priority areas” identified as trouble spots.
Speed reducers have been shown to be among the most effective of all
traffic calming devices at reducing vehicle speeds, and since 2004 DOT has installed
more than 200 of them in the vicinity of schools in and they proved to be a effective deterrent
“Speed reducers are one of a number of tools we’re using to encourage
drivers to slow down and take a little extra time to navigate the dangerous curves on this stretch of road “Keeping our citizens safe on their way to and from the resort areas in North Carolina.
Repeated calls to the North Carolina DOT asking if they would follow Tennessee’s lead in installing speed deterrents on the North Carolina portion of the road have not been returned.

Say it ain't so Joe. Say it ain't so!

I'm curious who the "sources" are and where the quote came from.
Sensationalism at work, folks!

Smart move on their part. The first time a bike doing the speed limit gets upset and runs off the road up there, they will sue the state back to the stone ages.

Wow. Just wow.

Next thing you know they will be handing out sippy-cups to eveyone and a banky for us to sleep with. I can hear the wrenches turning right now with people setting up thier rally suspension to take on the the speed bumps!

No mention of this on the TDOT site... hmmmmm

Can't wait to bid on those speedbumps on ebay..lol.. I am sure they won';t last long..

Chris wrote:

Smart move on their part. The first time a bike doing the speed limit gets upset and runs off the road up there, they will sue the state back to the stone ages.

You are not too bright are you?
If a suicide rider gets upset over some speed bumps and he decides to veer off the side of the mountain; who is he or his loved ones going to sue and on what grounds? People can not sue anyone because THEY make a bad choice themselves. Maybe I'll sue you because you are not too bright, makes about as much sense as what you stated.

To get back on topic; I would rather ride the dragon with the speed bumps than traffic cops posted every other turn.

Old School wrote:

<quoted text>
You are not too bright are you?
If a suicide rider gets upset over some speed bumps and he decides to veer off the side of the mountain; who is he or his loved ones going to sue and on what grounds? People can not sue anyone because THEY make a bad choice themselves. Maybe I'll sue you because you are not too bright, makes about as much sense as what you stated.
To get back on topic; I would rather ride the dragon with the speed bumps than traffic cops posted every other turn.

You must have your head in the sand. In this day and age, anybody can sue for anything and win. It does not have to be a motorcycle. Anyone whos vehicle runs off the road is going to blame it on the rumble strips and win big in court. In all my travels, I have never seen one of those in a curve. It's a sure winner in court.

the "wbir" who originated this story is not even a registered user...

This story lacks credibility and is the idea itself is generally implausible.

I call BS!

Just out of curiousity how do you put a speed bump in a 25mph zone and call it a 25mph zone?? Wouldn't it be a 5mph zone??

You trust craigslist for your news? Your parents are related, right?

Speedbumps will never happen, it's a federal highway with way too many curves. Don't be so gullible people.

It's the cruisers who will have problems navigating those. I've seen several cruiser riders that can't go 15 miles on that road and stay where they're supposed to be. With the exception of a few newbies, the sportbikers have enough skill to deal with it. It's moron's like you that have no clue that has caused a reaction like this.

Ha Ha wrote:

It appears to be true.
Look at the Rants and Raves section of Knoxville craigslist.
Wonder if they would let me volunteer to help install them.
I would love to see those sport bikers up there crying.

Diver wrote:

It's the cruisers who will have problems navigating those. I've seen several cruiser riders that can't go 15 miles on that road and stay where they're supposed to be. With the exception of a few newbies, the sportbikers have enough skill to deal with it. It's moron's like you that have no clue that has caused a reaction like this.
<quoted text>

Check out these guys on Goldwings. Seems they're having a great time.

http://youtube.com/watch...

I think it will add a new challenge, bring it on!

Rick "Yellow Wolf" is the exception most definitely. He can outride a lot of folks. I have watched several cruisers completely in the other lane for no reason at all. Sportbikers are not exempt from this but sit up there and watch, it's insane how many cruisers almost die out of laziness and have a problem manuevering this. Take a couple of days and go watch and you will see what I've seen.

Arrest Reporter wrote:

<quoted text>
Check out these guys on Goldwings. Seems they're having a great time.
http://youtube.com/watch...

I'd like to see a cop chase a bike with "speed bump's"

This has been mentioned before in the past and is nothing more than a rumor. As mentioned above, this is a federal highway, with curves and elevation changes on average every 80something feet. Speed bumps would be more of a hazard to all traffic than it would be worth. Imagine one of the Semi-trucks comeing through and having a load shift while going over a speed bump. Then we'll have a repeat of last week when the trailer turned over shutting the road down and causing massive damage to a section costing around 100grand to repair. Speed bumps are not a likely thing in the future of Deals Gap

Its never going to happen. Something like this gets posted up every year that TN DOT will do something like this. Its just a rumor and nothing us Motorcyclists need to worry about.

Well, this one's already been debunked...

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