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Showing results for tags 'truck'.
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Ok I need help from all the motor heads.. I am at my wits end...I have a 2004 f 150 ford heritage , 6 cylinder 4x4 with a 5 speed in it (117,000 MILES ON IT)....my temperature gauge reads normal for a while(20,30 miles) then will go to cold, then back to normal, then will fluctuate back and forth about every 8 miles from normal to cold....I DO NOT lose any heat and the truck seems to run normal...I had a new thermostat installed about 2 weeks ago and all seemed well until today when it started doing it again.... I drive 30 miles to work. It did it once or twice today on the way to work but on the way home it did it about 10 times....I don't know enough about these things and an a little nervous driving it.. is there a sensor I should be looking for?.. Is it safe to drive? will I damage something driving it back and forth to work? Thank you for the help in advance....
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Nina (my wife) was stopped at an intersection, waiting for the light to turn green. She was heading West. It turned green. Before she had a chance to go, two vehicles collided in the intersection, one of which plowed into our truck. What happened is, a person travelling south was stopped at their green waiting to turn left. They were not out in the intersection but still at the crosswalk. The light changed and they proceeded to make the left turn. Totally illegal ... they should not have moved but rather, stayed at the crosswalk. At the same time, another driver was heading north failed to stop for the red light and plowed into the left turning vehicle. The impact caused one of the vehicles to careen into our truck... my wife... who had not even moved yet. Point being I guess is, sometimes there isn't a damned thing you can do to avoid being hit. So, y'all be careful out there at those interestions. http://gl1800riders.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=73085&stc=1
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Thought I'd pass along a helpful product that I came across. I just bought a Dodge Ram 2500 truck. Needless to say the ride is on the rough side. I had a few friends who put these different spring shackles on the back of their heavy duty trucks. The name of the rubber spring/shackles is called Sulastic. I put about 100 miles on the new truck, and it really chattered on less than perfect roads. After putting them on, I drove another 50 miles down some rough snowpacked roads. There is a very noticeable improvement. It says on their website that it wont affect warranties, and or load/towing capacities either. I dont work for the company etc. Just thought I'd pass along something that appears to be a good deal. I think I paid about 380 bucks for the set, plus about 100 to have em installed. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Heres a link https://www.sulastic.com/
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Has anyone tried one of these "knock off" stebel or bad boy looking horn that are on e-bay? I had a tire blow out on my truck and when it did it took the inner fenderwell with it and my air horns. So I needed a horn and saw these on e-bay for around $28 each shipped. Comes with a relay & harness. I got 2, one for truck and the second to add to my stebel thats already on the bike. http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Horn-Air-Horn-Kit-car-vehicle-yacht-boat-motorcycle-bike-RV-Airhorn-Black-/00/s/NTAwWDUwMA==/$(KGrHqZ,!jgE6lm2KJ5WBO16h9,JVw~~60_35.JPGhttp://mydlady.com/eBay_images/horn/airhornblack_j.jpg
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Today was a beautiful day, clear, sunshine, not even a sniff of a possibility of rain in the forecast. In general a great day for a bike ride, and there ain't many good days left till the salt trucks come out to play. So I go out to the shed to start getting the bike out and I get this weird feeling that says I should take the truck to work today. So I finally give in to my feelings and take the truck to work, about a half mile from home I see red and blue flashing lights up ahead. So I am pretty much paying attention to what is going on up ahead when WHAM I hit something that I never saw. Of course I stop immediately to figure out what happened and hear banging on the bottom of the truck. So I shut off the engine fearing that I just ran over some kid I never saw. This happened about 2 blocks past the school right in the middle of town. I jumped out of the truck to see what is under me and there is a deer kicking and squirming like crazy. Well that was a big relief to know it was not some kid. At which point my brain immediately switched gears into thinking of fresh venison steak for dinner tonight. But before I could do much else the deer wiggled out from under the truck and took off running full blast right down the middle of the road. The stupid deer took all of my fresh venison steak with it. The deer did not appear to be injured and there was no damage to my truck other than a clean spot where the deer rubbed off some of the dirt that was carefully placed over the last year. When I was thinking it was a kid under there I think I was to scared to need new shorts, so no damage there either. But had I been on the bike right there and then this might be a very different story. Sometimes it pays to listen to that little voice in the back of your head. It is the silly season for deer. They are coming into the rut and will be running everywhere like crazy. Keep your eyes open for them at ALL times of the day and night. Those bucks only get lucky once a year and they will not let you or anything else get in their way.
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Went to walmart today on the bike. I go in the same way every time I go to walmart, I'm going down my side of the road & see a pickup CUTTING across the parking lot heading toward me, I'm thinking yea he is going to cut me off he keeps coming i sit down on the horn and almost have to stop I continue to blow the horn all the way down to where he parks. I stop & stare at him and move to my parking spot in front of the IDIOT. I get off the bike and sit there waiting on the idiot to get out and come by me to get in the store ( only 1 entrance in our store) ... he sits in the truck & sends his small child in the store. I wanted to go to his truck but figured I'd end up in jail...he saw me I know he did cause his small son screamed at him and then when he got in front of me he looked in his mirror... I guess i should have gone ahead & stomped his ass to keep him from running over some1 else...IDIOTS ... I swear if u ever hear of a road rage in a small town Alabama then u can say yeap ole midnight lost his cool.....
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Friday afternoon I had just started working on the 1st gen in great hopes that I would finish it up by happy hour. Five minutes in, My neighbor pulls up with a problem. She needs someone to ride up to Chattanooga with her to retrieve her husbands truck. Her husband evidently took a road trip by himself against all advice since he has been sick and near death for past year and ended up getting taken to the hospital by ambulance up there for some reason that she was not exactly to clear on. I figured what the hey, two hours up and two hours back is the least I could do to help a friend/neighbor in distress. Four hours investment would give me plenty of time to get back, get some sleep and make an 8:00 AM four hour class and exam in Marietta, Ga to get my EPA Certification in refrigerants I was schedule for. Or so I thought. Silly me. So, we gas up and start heading to I75N which is the closest route to Chattanooga from here. About the time we get close to I75N she gets a call that he is in a hospital in Sevierville, TN not Chattanooga! Turns out he had been in Gattlinburg not Chattanooga. Factual details are pretty sketchy since evidently he isn't giving her very clear information due to his condition and she is naturally a little bit ditsy and confused anyway. Well, it's closer to go up I85N to Gattlinburg so we turn around on I285 to head toward I85N. By this time we are right in the middle of Atlanta rush hour traffic, on I285, on a Friday afternoon. If your familiar, bumper to bumper/Grid lock is an understatement. :bang head:Two hours later we get to I85N which is no better than I285. :bang head:Then she gets another phone call that he is being transferred to a hospital in Knoxville. The keys to the truck are with him and the truck is in Gattlinburg. So Knoxville is now our destination. We should have just continued up 75 had I known at the time, :doh:but at this point I85 seems to be gridlocked all the way to the horizon and there's noway I'm getting back on 285 so I turn north to head to Knoxville, due north across country. Another hour and half later we finally get out of traffic just south of Dahlonega. Now, Ga. 60N out of Dahlonega is a great motorcycle road :7_6_3[1]:as many of you know but in her ragged out 4 cylinder, straight shift, Ford Ranger after sunset, no so much. Four hours of twisty mountain back roads through rural north Georgia and Tennessee double clutching the whole way we finally reach the Knoxville area. Now I'm relying on the GPS for directions since her sense of direction and coherent information seems to be non-existent:confused24::confused24:. She also does not understand why the GPS can't process input such as a Hospital somewhere in Knoxville. :confused24: He is unaware or incapable of giving a name of the hospital or street address:confused24: and evidently calling a nurse to the phone for specific information is too much to ask. Forty five minutes later I finally get a street address to plug into the GPS. We reach the hospital, undergo interrogation and a background check with hospital security to get after hour passes to visit him in his room:doh:. It then took 30 minutes for them figure out and tell us what room he was in. Then we roam the maze of hallways and elevators in the hospital to find his room since the rest of all of the hospital staff were evidently on break and not available to give us directions to his room.:doh: We finally find the room, visit for awhile, get the keys and head off for Gattlinburg to retrieve the truck. We reach Gattlinburg to find out that she does not know, can't remember and can not make heads or tails of her scribbled unintelligible notes on the back of an crumpled envelope that she had written down the name of the motel where the truck was parked. :doh:So, after another series of phone calls back and forth with him to find out what hotel the truck is parked at we finally locate the motel and truck sometime around 2:30 am. At the motel I do a Google map search from Gattlinburg to Marietta, Ga and determine I had time for a 30 minute nap to make it to the class in time and take the exam. So now I'm on a forced drive through the Smoky Mountains in the middle of the night pinching myself, slapping my face and hanging my head out the window to stay awake. Did I mention the pea soup can't-see-the headlights fog that lasted the whole way. I did successfully make the class in time with 5 minutes to spare. The four hours of class which amounted to a very intense detailed scientific dissertation on the nature, chemistry, usage and regulatory laws concerning air conditioning and refrigeration refrigerants. Now, I'm sure that for some, like the instructor, Refrigerants is the most interesting and captivating subject matter obtainable. For me with no sleep for the past 24 hours, not so much.... in fact not at all. My biggest fear at this point is not failing the test but cracking my head open on the over head projector in front of me when I lapse into a coma from sleep deprivation and mind numbing boredom. In fact several times during the first two hours, it was everything I could do to not get up and walk out blowing off the class and the exam. Had it not been for the $130.00 I had paid in advance for the privilege of being there I would have. Instead, because of the kinda-of-guy I am, and the money, I stuck it out doing my utter best to stay awake and pay attention to the instructor:detective:...... With the help of all the strongest, blackest, most horrible burnt tasting coffee I had ever had and could swallow. I'm glad I did, because when it was time to take the exam, it was 100 multiple choice questions which all seemed incredibly easy and I'm pretty sure I aced the test. Leaving, I had an incredible sense of relief and accomplishment :dancefool:as I got into the truck, heading home via I285. I was thinking of nothing but my warm, safe comfortable bed at home that was calling me as I entered the ramp on to I285E toward home. Right into the middle of grid lock/bumper-to-bumper traffic on 285 :bang head::bang head:with no chance of avoiding due to a resurfacing project which has been never ending ever since they built that damn road. Two and a half hours later I did finally make it home and collapsed in bed safe and sound asleep. Just in time to be awoken, Several times, by my friend sobbing tears of joy and gratitude for me helping her and all that it meant to her and her husband. Which she promised she was eternally grateful and in my debt for. Of course I said, and did sincerely mean, "don't mention it, It was my pleasure, I'm glad to be able to help." Before I rolled over and went back to sleep. So, the moral of this story is what? (A) Consider all factors and possible consequences before volunteering (B) Endeavor to persevere at you weakest moment because quitters never prosper © When in Atlanta avoid I285 at all cost (D) No good deed goes unpunished but, usually is well worth the effort. (E) All of the above Since, you volunteered to read my rant and dissertation and persevered I will give you the answer. ................. the answer is (E) All of the above Thanks for letting me share
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I was riding back home after having lunch with a couple friends today and came as close as possible to hitting a Cement Mixer truck broad side at 60 mph. I was riding along enjoying the ride when I came upon a crossroads, traffic from the left and right had a stop sign. As I approached the intersection the truck evidently didn't see me and started across the road. I had no time to stop and I hit the horn and stayed as far right as I could and was getting ready to take it off the road. I just squeezed by with maybe a foot to spare. If I had been riding in the left track of my lane instead of the right track I would not be here to type this post. Scared the you know what out of me. As I rode on home I got to thinking about how close I was to never seeing my wife and daughter again. Man that really scared me then. I decided right then that I had better get things in order at the house so if it does happen my wife knows where the investments are and who to contact and where the life insurance is and all the other things we take for granted that we have time to cover. Ride careful.
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So we stop for brunch in Hope, BC. This is a major cross-roads from the Vancouver Lower Mainland to the interior and all points north and east. It is a favourite stop for bikers, and there must have been forty bikes in the Home Restaurant parking lot. I was parked in a spot with three other bikes. While finishing the meal, one of the Coast Riders members who was outside rushed in and called to me. A Numpty in a truck had reversed into my bike. "I didn’t see the bike", he said. 40 bikes in the parking lot! Four bikes in the parking spot, and he hit the biggest! He didn't look! He must have walked past the bikes on his way to get into his truck. His tow bar engaged with the front fender, bending it onto the tire. He moved the bike back a foot (you could see the gouge in the pavement), and bent the kick stand, but the bike stayed up, and did not hit any of the others in the spot. We ended up removing the fender, and beat it into some sort of shape so that I could continue the ride. Thanks to another Biker in a truck who had the tools and experience to do that job! I am waiting to hear back from my insurance company, and get the bike FULLY checked out by the dealer... in case he bent something else. He did bend the wind deflector a bit, and scratched the right fork (quarter inch chip in the chrome. Looks minor, but I am concerned. The bike felt fine on the ride, but I am wondering whether there is anything else specific I should be looking for? Here's a [ame=http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150963511021784]video[/ame]!
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well i learned you should avoid bady shops like the plague because if you are pulling into one you probably cant drive in the first place. well 2 and a half months ago i was driving by one near my home when i noticed a truck stop in the oncoming lane with his blinker on i figured since he stopped he saw me. then as i was about to pass he decided to turn i locked up my R1 and managed to slow just enough to slam into the rear of his truck shattering the front of my bike and breaking my wrist
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Well so glad the past week is behind me- its been a very lonngg one. Settling into our new place in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Rented a 26 foot truck and had that packed full. And a car carrier pulling behind that with a car loaded too, made a very long ride. I drove that and wife followed me with my truck. Everything went really well, we just took our time and was close to a uneventfull ride down. Bike made it packed away in the truck and not a single box or anything fell on it thru our 931 mile drive. Wife pulled our motorcycle trailer behind the chevy and had a couple harley guys try to buy it somewhere along the way. I did have one incident, yesterday while moving stuff and getting things set up , I somehow (blaming this on just being very tired and sore) hit my foot with a very heavy appliance and ripped my big toe nail almost off. And boy did it hurt, it put me to my knees for a few minutes. Didnt go to doc today, I had so much to do and the internet/cable guy was here most of the day, but going in the morn as it looks like Ill have to have it removed. And Im not looking forward to that. So gonna take a couple asperin and hit the sack. I need some serious sleep lol ps HeLLo N.C.!! So excited to be here!
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You just can't make up some of the stuff I see while sitting on surveillance... I thought of BigTom when I saw this.... :ICwink: Of course the last picture just may have been BigTom looking for the Rescue truck...
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I wouldn't have any luck at all... With only 40 miles left to go, while hawling an excavator back to my Dad's, I managed to blow the torque converter seal. Luckily I made it to a wayside. Now it's hurry up and wait for a truck to come and hook up to the trailer I had to drop. Then it's back here again with the same truck and trailer to pick up my broken truck to get it back to the garage. Then I am going to have to make time to pull out this POS E4OD tranny and swap in something better. Which also means I am going to have to track down a new computer to bypass electronics for this transmission. D'OH!
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I know there are some truck drivers in our group and maybe some people that have been in my situation. Incident: Traveling south on I-77 in SC. Truck blow a tire on his truck not trailer. The tire was moving and I couldn't avoid from hitting it without hit other cars. Truck pulled over. SCHP showed up and did an incident report, but reported that I struck the tire in roadway so it sounds like it was just sitting there. Got back home called my insurance company they filed against the trucks insurance company. I got the adjusters contact info and contacted him. His response (truck drivers Ins Adjuster): We got the truck drivers records stating the tires was fairly new with only 2000 miles on it and his records that he checks his tires regularly. So we believe it was a faulty tire and it is not our liability. We will trace down the truck company that did the onside repair and see if they have the tire and you (me) can file a claim against Goodyear. My response: It is not my responsibility to file against goodyear that would be yours (truck ins) if you believe the tire is faulty. That they should pay for my claim and repair my motorcycle. Then they file against Goodyear to get their money back. What is everyone's thoughts and or experience with this?
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My son is thinking about trading his truck for another truck that a guy in Wauconda, Il. has. Are there any Ventureriders that live near by and willing to take it for a ride. My son has a low rider mini truck and is thinking of trading it for a low rider '98 Chevy dually. I'm hoping there is someone close to Wauconda that could get a look at it for us. We just want to be sure it is actually there and runs and drives ok.
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Well the Shiny One has a new owner, a local guy found it on ebay and get this , he bought it at my buy it now price and gave it to one of his employees for a job well done present. What a nice guy . Kelly was in tears as the guy explained what a great employee this guy has been. I followed the guy back to his shop as he rode my bike so I could give him a ride back to his truck at my house. You should of seen this guys face when the boss threw him the key. The best part is it will be local so I can keep an eye out for it.
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New Richmond Ohio, not many details as of yes, but with it being midf 60's here today lots of bikes out,, 4 riders riding on us 52 one crossed the center line in front of a concrete truck hit head on, truck was full severed and in doing os truck flips rolling into the other four bikes killing 2 and sending all,including the truck driver to the hospital. lets all please be super careful this yr and hopefully we never add to these statistics, and say a few kindwords/prayers for those in involved here, steve
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Just like the title says IS there a "safe" way to drive a bike through Chicago? I did read this thread http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50392 I have driven through Chicago in my truck many times, My truck is a full size, extended cab, 8' box with over sized cap, 4x4 Pickup painted bright red. On almost every trip through there, I nearly get hit at least one time by someone that either does not see me or just doesn't care. Now my bike with trailer is a whole lot smaller and a whole lot less intimidating. Heck even a Smart Car will win in an altercation with a bike. While I don't think there is a good time of day to go through Chicago, is there a less bad time? But seeing as I live near Milwaukee Wisconsin, anything that is south or east of me requires either a very long detour around Chicago, or taking the ferry (IF it is running and not broke down) for big . $294 round trip for me, the bike, and the trailer.
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My son is out in Sasketewan just north of North Dakota I believe. They are somewhere near minus 40 out there. He says the truck he is driving ( 1993 Dodge Dakota oddly) is making a lot of creaks and growls when moving. I assume the suspention and maybe the tires, from what he has told me. We, and the truck, are used to wonderful west coast weather not freezing cold like they have out there.... that being said it is about 20 degrees F with a foot of snow on the ground here, the coldest we have seen in a decade or so. You guys out there think it is just the grease and joints on the old beast freezing up on her? Was there something I should have been doing to the beast before the kid took her out there? Lighter gear oils? Differant greases? Differental oils? It is a 4X4. I usualy have a good idea when it comes to automotive questions but the cold experiance is new to me. Thoughts? Will it eas up as it warms up? Thanks guys
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Yes ..... that title its correct. Just heard on the radio news that a motorcyclist was hit by a tree on the freeway. They said it fell out of a truck . I'll post the story once it is in written form.
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Robin and I took a ride in the truck today to look at a timeout camp trailer. Guess what climbed into the back of the truck? Yep a 2004 standard size trailer. Not to bad condition. Needs to be aired out, doing that now. Has a little mold on the carpet. going to air and dry it out for a couple days then give it a good cleaning. Can't post pic's cause it's in the garage at this time. I don't have enough head room in the garage to set it up.Can't wait till warm weather.
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Almost, but not quite! Yesterday my wife and I were on our way back from seeing her sister who lives about a 100 miles away. We were easing along at about 60 mph on a 4 lane highway in the left lane. Traffic was moving along at a good pace when we came up to pass a slower truck in the right lane. Now get this, the road had a right curve as we were about to pass the truck. Up ahead on the right shoulder of the road was a GA State Patrol car with his blue lights flashing. About 1/4 way through this turn, the truck in the right lane all of a sudden whips into my lane with me. I shut down on the horn as I'm just behind his door and try to keep him from hitting us by moving to the outside of the lane. As I looked back ahead I suddenly realized I wasn't going to make the turn. The pavement dropped out from under me and I thought, This it going to be bad!! I hollered to my wife to hold on. I didn't know what was in the bottom of the medium so I tried to hold it as close to the highway as I could. As luck would have it , there were no washouts in that section of shoulder and I was able to get stopped without losing it. I got stopped about 2 car lengths in front of the GSP on the opposite side of the road. MY wife and I sat there and just shook for a few minutes before trying to get back onto the highway. What did the GSP do???? NOTHING!!! He just sat in his car. I figured even if he didn't see what had happened he would have come over and given me a sobriety test!! The guy in the pickup slowed down but didn't stop. My wife said that was the scaredest she had ever been as long as we've been riding!! Jennie told me later that the pickup driver never stopped coming into our lane. It always happens when you least expect it!!!! I sure am thankful it didn't turn out like it could have!! This one took our breaths away!!!
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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVdMySWfAIQ&feature=player_embedded]You got to see this, Getting yelled at for the diesel truck I drive - YouTube[/ame] Some people are nuts!!
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On my way to work this morning driving the Company truck. A scooter passed me on the Interstate before daylight doing about 80. I barley seen him coming with the frosted mirrors on the truck. My outside temp guage said 32. What is the windchill running 80 at 32 outside. Must be one of those electric suits he was wearing.
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The following is a cut and paste from a local article on the Dragon. I thought some might be interested in the article. RandyA Dragon's toll: 17 in 6 years By JOEL DAVIS The Daily Times (Maryville, Tenn.) Advertisement http://oascentral.hosted.ap.org/RealMedia/ads/adstream_lx.ads/hosted.ap.org/bottom/APress/winstar_pop_2011/Tracking_WinStar/1? http://analytics.apnewsregistry.com/analytics/v2/image.svc/AP/RWS/hosted.ap.org/MAI/tn0832-2011-10-23T0100Z/E/prod/AT/A MARYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- They had names. Call up the Tennessee Department of Safety, and they'll tell you that 17 motorcycle fatalities have occurred on "The Dragon," the storied stretch of U.S. 129 from Tabcat Creek to the North Carolina state line, during the past six years. But the numbers don't tell the whole story. They were people, after all. They had faces. They had friends. They are missed. Dwight R. Woodard, Michael Andrew Mercer, Tamara Fuller, Albert Green, Carlos Suarez, Kevin Austin Crigger, Kelly Brown, Stevie Ferrell are a few of those who drove willingly into The Dragon's maw and never went home again. Woodard, a 45-year-old Christiana man, was the latest casualty. On Aug. 3, the veteran rider was traveling The Dragon southbound. Unbeknownst to him, a northbound tractor-trailer had crossed into his lane as it negotiated the curve. He struck the left side of the empty flatbed trailer being pulled behind it. Lifestar was called to fly the severely injured man to University of Tennessee Medical Center, but Woodard did not survive. Touring the highways and byways on his Triumph Triple Speed motorcycle meant a great deal to Woodard, who had been looking forward to the August trip to Deal's Gap for months. In a video posted to YouTube in February, he talked about planning the trip for his motorcycle club. "It's an awesome ride experience. You can't get much better roads anywhere in the country than right there. It's very beautiful. The touring is good. The scenery is nice, and the people, too." Woodard died a year and a day after his friend, Michael J. "AmBush" Cupp, was killed in a single motorcycle accident at Deal's Gap on Aug. 2, 2010. The day before his death, Woodard and his friends held a memorial ride for Cupp. Timothy Moore, a member of Woodard's motorcycle club, said that "Ike," as Woodard's friends called him, was something special. "Ike was one of those people that once you came in contact with him, you knew that you'd never forget him," Moore said. "... He was just one of those people, if there were more out there like him, you know the world would be the better." A loving father, Woodward was also a very caring man, Moore said. "He was very compassionate. He was just one of those all-around good people who never did anything bad to anybody. He was always soft-spoken and had great demeanor." As soon as the story detailing Woodard's death hit The Daily Times website, expressions of grief and condolences began pouring in from friends and fellow riders. "You will never be forgotten, Dwight `Ike' Woodard," wrote Ashleigh Hill-Owen of Nashville in Facebook comments. "You touched so many lives and we will continue to carry those memories of happiness with us each and everyday. You were taken from us too soon and will be missed. One love! And our hearts go out to your family." --- Single truck fatality Although this has been the only motorcycle fatality involving a tractor-trailer in the past six years, the circumstances of Woodard's death have inspired a drive to ban commercial vehicles from The Dragon. It's a change that other members of the motorcycle community, such as Ron and Nancy Johnson, owners and webmasters of (http://Tailofthedragon.com ) , have been pushing for years. "Since we stared in 2000, we've been pushing to get trucks off," Ron Johnson said. "... You don't have much time to react when you see a truck on a curve. It's pretty hairy if you're caught just at the right moment." With its 318 curves in only 11.1 miles, The Dragon does not offer the most hospitable environment for a tractor-trailer. It physically impossible for them to travel The Dragon without crossing the lines on just about every single curve, said Lt. Randy Ailey of the Blount County Sheriff's Office. "There is no way to keep semi-trucks off of the road because of its federal designation, but we can write them (truck drivers) a ticket every time they cross the yellow line." Veteran motorcyclist Harold "Monk" Hood, 71, who has ridden The Dragon at least 100 times, said that the curves simply aren't designed to accommodate vehicles that large. "By rights, the cops could stay at one end of The Dragon and then give the trucks 318 tickets," he said. Under the circumstances, Woodward would not have had any real opportunity to avoid the accident, Ron Johnson said. "I went out and looked at where it happened. That motorcycle rider didn't have much of a chance. He saw the truck way too late and tried to put on the brakes and lay it down, but didn't get it done." --- Other roads worse While the Tennessee Department of Transportation has the authority to bar commercial traffic from that stretch of roadway, TDOT Chief Engineer Paul Degges said that an analysis of traffic accidents on The Dragon does not justify taking that step. "While any one fatality is bad, the data does not show that." Despite the publicity surrounding the various motorcycle fatalities that have occurred on The Dragon over the years, it remains far safer than the numbers might indicate, Johnson said. "There are more motorcyclists killed on other roads in Blount County than on The Dragon. Motorcycling is not a super safe way to get around. For the hundreds of thousands of motorcycles that ride it, I think we have a pretty good safety record."
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