Yesterday I was headed west on 24 out of Chattanooga, and was climbing over Monteagle, and as I approached the westbound rest area....right about where there is a sign (one of several) announcing that the truck speed on the "downgrade" is 45 MPH, I slow down from 55 MPH and go into the left curve before the downgrade, and lo and behold....Mr. Junior Billy Big-rig in a Lester Coggins Truck (LCT) decides no-one is the "boss of him"... Well, he passes me and hauls ass down the hill, and I would guesstimate that he was doing probably around 65 when he reached the first curve and uses his brakes....but apparently after making it through the curve he lit it up again....and I did not see him again until I reached the bottom of the mountain..... But, in the meantime...I see in my mirror a car coming down the hill like a NASCAR Drive on fire with flashing alternating headlights.....and at that same moment...an O/O with Trans AM is passing me....I'm still easing down the mountain at 45.....and another guy in a Buress truck (I think) is also passing me....well they see him too....and jump back in front of me...and they get passed by.....Yep, a Tennessee State Trooper.

Well, I get to the bottom of the mountain, and there is LCT on the side of the road with the Trooper behind him....disco lights a flashing.....WHOOOPS!!

Well, whats important to remember here is that the down mountain speed for trucks is 45 MPH!! And to top it all off, this FOOL went down the mountain speeding probably at 65 or better with these on the side of his 53 van:



Can't swear that was the exact placard....but they were red, and he even had one turned on its side 90 degrees out of place.....

Now....I wonder how many points he got in one fell swoop? I'd be willing to bet at least 6, and I can't help but wonder....was it a "Stuff and Cuff"..... Just happy I'm not him. Man that ticket is gonna hurt, and it'll be a real drag paying the fines....especially if he gets canned for pure stupidity. If I had the guy's name and address....I would send him a t-shirt with this on the front and back: :stupid:

People, there just isn't any excuse for that kind of stupid!! I'm really happy the idiot didn't roll the truck, which was highly possible, because I'd probably still be sitting on that mountain waiting for the fire to go out.

 

I want the truck that can do that!

 

Whoooops....brainfart.... Fixed it.....:lol:

 

that should have made me laugh, but it did..... HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

LCT ...Damn that's pretty much the bottom of the barrel ...Where does a driver go after being fired from the bottom . Gainey is part owner of LCT .

 

Monteagle can be very hazardous. There are a lot of drivers who under estimate the danger of that section of highway. If you are heavy and going a bit too fast down the mountain you could easily turn your truck over. Those posted speed limits are there for a reason. It is only a few miles and when you get to the bottom you can hammer down. At least you will get to your final destination if you slow down.

 

Maybe he was too busy texting to read the signs.

 

I live just a few short miles down from the bottom of Monteagle so i have been up and down that stretch of road regularly all of my life even before being a trucker and There is a very big ppol of drivers that just feel like they know that down grade like the back of their hand and will fly down it everytime, there are more that do that than you would believe. Whenever i would be headed for the house on the weekends I would come down right around the exact speed limit depending on how i was load and it would never fail that I would have a handfull of drivers pass me by before hitting the bottom......A lot of drivers fail to realize that west bound side has a pretty huge shoulder going down with a lot of hidden spots that the state troopers hide on and pick people off one by one on a lot of days. Drivers be crazy! :eek2: The east bound side is more dangerous and you see the same thing just as much going down that side coming out of the inspection stop.....I have never once been down that side without seeing some smoked out brakes puffing white clouds everywhere. People dont respect that little hill near enough.

 

If that was in the afternoon on the 25th then I was right behind you because I saw one THP halfway down and another one at the bottom with a capture. Another one of their favorite tricks is on the easbound side you will get drivers calling out if it is clear at the bottom and you will hear an answer(Sure driver come on down) and there he is just like in the old song The White Knight.

Oh yeah Rev. if you want 45mpg truck all you have to do is georgia overdrive and turn off engine going downhill, might be even better than 45mpg since you wont be burning any at all. haha

 

I went thru there on the 24th....but I have a feeling that after they nailed the LCT that day, maybe they decided to put some enforcement on the hill. Who knows, maybe TN is like most of the states...hurting for money, so they will probably work a little harder catching speeders. I know I have seen several different states working harder....and amazingly enough the majority of vehicles I have seen stopped are 4 wheelers...

All the same folks, I would take an extra measure of care and caution when operating a CMV.