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 636 Turns in every 22 Mile Lap Tame The Dragon on US 129 between Deals Gap NC and Chilhowee TN - If You Dare
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Trucks gone wild on US129. Contact Tennessee state REP DOUG OVERBEY (District 20) to demand a ban on commercial trucks on the Dragon just like currently banned on Foothills Parkway which has no sharp turns, or at least require a flag vehicle - Contact Tennessee state REP JOE "TON TEN" MCCORD (District 8) and state SENATOR RAYMOND FINNEY (District 8) to demand repeal of Interstate I-140 named for convicted hit-and-run killer of sportbiker Terry Barnard. The Senator Carl "Coca" Koella Memorial Highway is named for the alcoholic drunk driver and crack cocaine kingpin of Blount county, resulting in the current Million Man Boycott by the American Motorcyclist Association |
Censored FWD Design Defect of THROTTLE-OFF UNDERSTEER SAVE A LIFE AND PUT THIS STICKER ON YOUR KID'S BIKE - Censored US Govt HURT REPORT on COUNTERSTEERING  How to drag a knee
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 How to drag a knee SCOOTER COPS TERRORIZE SIDEWALK PATRONS - Police patrolling crowded downtown Nashville are upgrading from bicycles to motorized scooters to cover more ground while still avoiding traffic jams. Sgt. Bill York said the officers who ride the 50cc scooters are getting some strange looks and comments from downtown pedestrians. "It takes a minute for them to figure out what it is," York said. "Most people make a comment about their smallness. They want to know if we did something with the big motorcycles. Are we downsizing?" Four downtown officers and one in Hermitage are trained to ride the scooters. York said the officers like the new scooters because they are just as maneuverable but faster than their old bicycles He said the scooters can be driven on sidewalks and are very quiet compared with regular motorcycles. "Of course everyone is always glad to see us on the streets and sidewalks, and being out there where they can see us and address us," York said. "Suing bogus parking tickets, stealing cars and extortion shakedown rackets have never been so much fun!" |
This genius drove her SUV in front of 4 sportbikers, killing 2 and putting 2 more in hospital, thanks to Police State Death Squad hunting sportbikers for alleged breach of civil driver license contract, extorted under duress in violation of God given Constitutionally protected Natural Right to travel. Neither bitch nor copsters were arrested and convicted for murder. Faux News blamed the murder victims without interviewing them nor their families, while alleging the murderer was the real "victim". Faux News is owned by Australian citizen Sir Rupert Murdock Knight of the British Empire, whose wife is a citizen of Communist China. Australia is a member of the 53-nation British Commonwealth owned by the German Queen of England Elizabeth Sax Coberg Gotha. In Tennessee the Knoxville Police Dept was replaced by Robocop Scameras from Australia. With the Security and Prosperity Partnership contract, President George Bush Jr overthrew USA and merged it with Mexico and Canada, which is also a member of the British Commonwealth, with the Queen of England's mugshot on its money. The new Amerodollar will replace the US dollar, and will have the Queen of England's mugshot instead of portraits of US presidents. The Communist Manifesto was written in London England, and its 6th Plank if "Govt Control of Transportation" ACLU I.D. papers - For use during traffic stops by Police State Death Squads in USA. Note that The Law never requires anyone to speak to police, but identification of name and address is required to avoid immediate arrest. A "driver license" contract is never required "I.D.". Tennessee "driver licenses" are not recognized for identification in many other states, because THP sold "driver licenses" and "ID cards" to over 250,000 criminal aliens with forged I.D.
ACLU Bust Card: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters - Be a card-carrying nonmember of the ACLU. For use during traffic stops by Police State Death Squads in USA
ACLU Bust Card: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters - Be a card-carrying nonmember of the ACLU. For use during traffic stops by Police State Death Squads in USA
ACLU sues police state, er, state police, but only to protect illegal alien invasion - The Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union yesterday filed a federal lawsuit against the state police, alleging racial profiling and violation of the constitutional rights of 14 Guatemalan nationals during a July traffic stop that led to their detention by immigration officials. According to the lawsuit, Chabot pulled over a van operated by Carlos A. Tamup because Tamup had failed to use his turn signal when changing lanes. The lawsuit alleges that Chabot first confirmed that Tamup’s license and registration were valid and that he had no criminal record. “Chabot nonetheless proceeded to open the doors of the vehicle, and by utilizing Tamup as a translator, requested all the passengers to also provide identification,” according to an ACLU synopsis of the case. When some failed to do so, Chabot then asked them to produce documents “demonstrating their U.S. citizenship.” When none of the 14 were able to do so, Chabot advised them that they would all be escorted to the federal Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Providence. As a US citizen, try calling ACLU to defend your next traffic ticket or towtheft, and see what happens... I'm not kidding
WARNING: Man passes breathalyzer with 0.00% score, arrested for DUI - When Russell Errett went out to play a game of pickup basketball with friends April 19, he didn’t expect it to cost him thousands of dollars and end up in a court case. But that’s exactly where it is headed.
Errett, 50, was charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and weaving outside lanes of traffic. “It makes no sense to me,” said Errett’s attorney, James Linehan. “He cooperated with police, took the breathalyzer test and scored zeros, and yet he was still cited for OVI (Operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated). Clearly he wasn’t intoxicated.”
City Prosecutor Terre Vandervoort said her office had started reviewing the case on Wednesday. “We are talking to the officers who were present, reviewing any video tape,” Vandervoort said. “There could be a number of reasons why someone could not score on breathalyzer and still be cited. We are certain he was driving in a way that was putting other people in risk. We are in the process of reviewing everything.” Errett had gone out earlier on that Thursday with friends, according to police reports. He had told the officer who had pulled him over he had a beer earlier in the day, but that was all. “He was the designated driver for his friends,” Linehan said. “They were drinking but he wasn’t. He was taking them home when he got pulled over. Lancaster police patrolman J.D. Devereaux stopped Errett’s Lincoln LS sedan at 12:47 a.m. A review of the police reports and the supplementary investigation report say Errett was polite, but failed the field sobriety test. Errett was then read his Miranda rights and arrested; his car was impounded. Errett readily agreed to take the breathalyzer test, maintaining his innocence. He told the officer he had been confused and nervous when taking the field sobriety test. When he took the test, the result came back with all zeros. He had no alcohol in his system. “The legislature, the courts and law enforcement officers all want people to take a breath test when requested by law enforcement. Fair enough,” Linehan said. “But why take the test if being completely innocent is no defense against being arrested for a crime you didn’t commit? If I get a call from a potential client at 3 a.m. don’t I have to tell him, ‘Yeah you could take the test, but even if you test .000, you will still be arrested?’” Errett was given the ticket, had to put up a $1,000 bond, pay to get his car out of the impound lot and hire an attorney with his trial scheduled for later this month. “Coming on the heals of the sanctions against Prosecutor Attorney Mike Nifong in the Duke rape case, it is my hope that we have reached a point where it is no longer acceptable for the state to continue to prosecute innocent people. There should be some sanction for arresting someone the officer should reasonably know to be innocent,” Linehan said. “In this case the officer had a scientific test, a scientific test which officers ask juries to believe everyday, which told the officer that my client was innocent,” Linehan said. “And even with the knowledge that my client was innocent, he was still charged. The state should be held accountable for that. My client has been unfairly embarrassed and has had to expend attorney fees for a crime he didn’t commit. At an absolute minimum he is owed an apology and the community is owed an explanation as to why our officers are arresting people they know to be innocent.” Vandervoort said after they have reviewed the case, it may still go to trial, or the charges may be dropped or altered.
The Tennessee Dragon US-129 had a 55mph speed limit in Orwell's 1984, but 30mph speed limit in Bushes' 2006. All speed limits, driver licenses, vehicle registration and traffic citation taxes are outlawed by the US Constitutionally guaranteed God-given Natural Right to travel. Horses are more deadly than motor vehicles, as proved by Superman Christopher Reeves, yet horse riders and horse-drawn carrige drivers were never extorted to pay taxes for rider/driver licenses nor threatened by speed limits for 1,000s of years. Today horse riders are allowed to ride at maximum speed on the Dragon US-129, without a license, and are no longer required to pay the Hangman at Toll Booth Corner How to Behave During a Traffic Stop - Tasered for speeding. Cops hate it when citizens post videos on Youtube of psychotic copsters run amok. Police State death squads use "non lethal" Tasers to murder 300 US citizens every year.
How to Behave During a Traffic Stop - UHP (Utah Highway Patrol) tasers Jared Massey in front of pregnant wife and baby for asking why he was stopped for speeding on an interstate at 40 mph. More proof that traffic cops are psychopaths
How to Behave During a Traffic Stop - The attorney for a Detroit police sergeant who was Tasered three times by Farmington Hills police says his client did not try to flee police after a traffic violation. Sgt. David Marshall is charged with running a red light at 10 Mile and Inkster about 1:05 a.m. Dec. 13 after getting off work from the Detroit Police Department. The 12-year veteran, who was in uniform at the time of the incident, is also charged with interfering with police authority. Attorney Arnold Reed also said Marshall was unnecessarily stripped down to his underclothes at the police station after surrendering his police radio and ammunition. Reed added the police officers didn't activate their overhead lights until Marshall pulled into his Farmington Hills driveway. While still seated in his car getting mail from his mailbox, Marshall was asked to get out of his car and remove his weapon from its holster. Marshall requested that a superior officer be brought to the scene and his car was searched, Reed said. Officers used the Taser the first time on Marshall when he reached for his radio. He later placed his hand on his gun and the officer stunned him again. Reed said Marshall had put his hand on the weapon to secure it. A court date has been set for 2 p.m. Jan. 8, 2006 in 47th District Court. So this means anyone can make a citizens arrest of any uniformed cop for resisting arrest, and can use deadly force and justifiable homicide against any cop speeding 1mph over the speed limit or for any other alleged breach of civil driver license contract...
SEPARATED AT BIRTH? Christian biker, aerospace engineer and legal scholar John Quade don't need no stinkin Driver License contract in Every Which Way But Loose - Bug Buster General Randy Quaid don't need no stinkin pilot license contract in Independence Day |
First Amendment Freedom: US Drops to 53rd Place - The US dropped 9 places in the 2006 Index of Press Freedom by Reporters Without Borders. The US was outranked by most of the European counties, but also by such unlikely nations as Slovakia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Slav" is defined as "slave" in all dictionaries)
Suspenion setup - A top racing suspension company suggest that rear wheel rider sag should be around 30-40mm and rear static sag should be around 5-10mm. However this many vary depending on your bike and manufacturer. The more rider sag you have, the softer the bike suspension will be. I personally use 35mm for road and a few track days use. Therefore if your rider sag is less than 30 mm then your rear preload is too hard, if it is more than 40 mm, then it is a bit soft. Once you have set your rider sag as close as possible to 30-40 mm, next check your rear static sag. If you have more than 10mm then you may need stiffer springs. If however, if your static sag is less than 5mm or you have no static sag then your rear springs may be too hard for your weight. Wrap cable ties around the smooth part (stanchion) of front forks near the rubber seal to the forks. Ensure that it does not scratch the stanchion and it is not too tight as to damage the rubber seals. With the cable ties in place ride your bike as normal using as many riding conditions (corners, braking, accelerating, wheelies and stopples) that you are likely to meet. Then increase or decrease your front preload until the cable tie stops about 10 mm before “bottoming out”. By GoStar Racing [NOTE: bike rear suspension rises under accelleration like a dragster, not squat like a street car. Accelleration increases ground clearance front and rear, and decelleration decreases ground clearance front and rear, which is especially important on cruisers with limited ground clearance.]
Sport Rider: Riding Skills Series
Sport Rider: Motorcycle Suspension Guide, Settings & Setup
MCN: How to set suspension sag
Superbike: Motorcycle Tire Test 2007
Sport Rider: Motorcycle Tire Tech Articles
Test for neutral steering — Find a curvy road where a fast rider could easily go through the curves at 50 mph, but 30 mph is easy and "normal" for the average rider. As you go through a turn, sort of lighten up on your hand pressure on the bars. As you lighten up, the bike should stay in the same line as before. If you feel that the bike wants to "fall over" or "go straight" then maybe you don't have neutral steering. As you feel your bike want to stay in the same curve, lighten up even more. If you can get to the point of having your hands completely off of the bars and the bike still stays in the same curve, then you definitely have neutral steering. You should discover that your airhead BMW will go through the turn without your hands even on the bars. One can even put it into the turn and pull it out without even touching the bars. It won't be done as quickly as with your hands on the bars, but it certainly can be done. I have ridden miles through many curves without even touching the bars, just by using my body to steer. Oversteer: This is where the bike seems to want to fall over into the turn, or turn tighter as you relax your pressure on the bars. Understeer:
This is where the bike doesn't even want to lean. It will try to stand up in the curve if you reduce pressure on the bars.
The shape of the tire profile greatly alters how a bike goes into corners. The old Dunlop K81 had a triangular profile and that caused it to give one a scare as it transitioned from straight ahead to medium cornering. After it was in the corner it really held well. Take a look at the profile and see if it has any irregular shape to it. Neutral steering makes it easier to ride long distances, go through curves with confidence and save your shoulder and back muscles.
Hanging off improves safety and control according to Motorcycle Safety Foundation Advanced Rider Course Textbook - Drag a knee in a parking lot at 10 mph no matter what kind of bike by tighting the radius of the turn SoundRider.com: Coming Unglued — Back in the “good old days”, road camber didn’t have as much effect, because those old round-profile motorcycle tires didn’t cause as much of a sideways shift in the position of the contact ring as the bike leaned over. Dunlop even designed a “Trigonic” front tire that had a triangular cross section more like a V than an O. The idea was to have maximum tire contact with the bike leaned over. But one result was that the contact ring remained close to the bike centerline right up to about 40 or 45-degree lean angles. And with the harder rubber compounds available in those days, riders had to be pretty nervy to lean the bike over that far. Those few riders who were adequately nervy discovered that when the tire suddenly made full contact on the flattish side of it’s tread, a bike could make some surprising changes of direction, or produce some scary wobbles. Shifting weight towards the inside of the curve (hanging off) allows the bike to hold the same line at less of a lean angle. The bike/rider combined CG is now in a slightly different position, but the bike can follow the same curve at the same speed at less of a lean angle.
It’s obvious that the bike will have more leanover clearance with the rider hanging off towards the inside. What’s not so obvious, but just as important, is that it moves the contact ring back towards the centerline of the tire, reducing that off-center tire drag, and therefore reducing steering effort. If the rider has to maintain a strong push on the low grip to keep the bike leaned over, that really means the bike wants to countersteer itself upright. In other words, the contact ring is too far from the centerline to allow the bike to stabilize itself at that particular speed or road camber. Hanging off doesn’t change the traction equation very much, which means you don’t increase the risks of a slideout by leaning your body to a different angle than the motorcycle. If your machine makes sparks too easily, or keeps bending the sidestand lever, or requires a lot of steering effort to hold your intended line, hanging off might give you better control. Even large touring and sport-touring bikes can benefit from hanging off. It’s important to feel what your bike is trying to tell you. As the bike leans over, the tire contact ring moves farther and farther from the centerline of the bike, so the drag on the tire has more torque to pull the wheel towards the turn. In other words, the tire’s drag steers the wheel more towards the turn as the bike is leaned over. Be aware that a two-wheeler balances by countersteering. To lean the bike right, you momentarily steer the front wheel left, which forces the motorcycle to lean (“roll”) towards the right. So, in a left turn, if the front tire steers itself more towards the left, the effect is that the motorcycle wants to roll itself upright, back into a straight line again. To keep the motorcycle leaned over and continuing around the turn, the rider must maintain [countersteer] pressure on the low grip. Letting up on that low grip at the curve exit allows the front wheel to steer itself a little tighter, rolling the bike back vertical again. But you may have noticed that sometimes the bike seems to hold a lean with very little pressure on the low grip, and sometimes you’ve got to push hard on the low grip, or even pull on the low grip to maintain the same lean angle. What’s going on? Why isn’t steering effort the same all the time? Part of the answer is road camber, the slant of the road in curves. Some roads slant toward the curve (positive camber), some slant away from the curve (“off-camber”) Consider a bike leaned over to the same angle in three different curves, one with positive camber, one with the pavement level, and one off-camber. Notice that the lean angle of the bikes is the same in all three turns. (Figure 3)
In the positive-camber turn, the contact ring will be close to the bike centerline, so side drag from the tire will be minimal, and steering should feel very neutral. In a level turn, there will be a moderate amount of offset drag, requiring more push on the low grip to maintain the same curving line. In the off-camber curve, the tire will drag much more towards the inside, requiring a much stronger push on the low grip to hold the same line.
Super Streetbike: Dial In Your Ride — Instead of worrying about which tire is stickier, you should concentrate on things like the tire profile. Are you the kind of rider who likes to slam your bike on its side and rail through corners at maximum lean? A more triangular profile, with its quicker steering and larger contact patch at full lean, will be more suited to you. If you're a rider who trail brakes into turns, hanging at the outside, waiting to see where the pavement goes before committing to your final line, you should look at rounder profiles that have a larger contact patch for braking while upright and allow for easier adjustment of lines mid-corner. According to Jeff Johnson from Metzeler/Pirelli, Pirelli's Diablo tires were designed for riders who spend about 30 percent of their time on the track and 70 percent on the street. The Diablo Corsa has someone who spends 70 percent of the time at the track and 30 percent on the street as its intended user. Rubber compounds have gotten that specific.
Motorcycle Tire Basics — Another aspect to this is of course the tire cross-sectional profile. The old Dunlop triangular racing tire, for example, was designed to put more rubber on the road when leant over, so even without tire distortion the contact patch area increased, simply by virtue of the lean angle.
Coming to Grips: Dunlop's new Qualifier street tires — The result of this two year process is a front tire with a more triangular profile (for quicker turn-in) that almost matches Dunlop's Sportmax GP race tire while the rear retains the profile of the D208ZR. The first sessions achieved Dunlop's goal. We were reminded that the D208 wasn't really a bad tire. However, it wasn't a great tire either. The primary marks against it were the front's rounded front profile and relatively heavy weight. Both of these conspired to make turn-in slower than it should be. The profile was also responsible for causing bikes to stand up when braking in a corner-not exactly the prescription for confidence when trail braking into a corner. Still, the D208 could rail through corners offering good grip all the way up to maximum lean. Once at maximum lean, the edge grip was not as confidence inspiring as I would have liked. On my first lap out with the Qualifier — before I'd even scrubbed in the tires — I was immediately able to notice a difference in the steering. Once I got up to speed, I was astounded with the change in the bike's steering and handling. Steering inputs were responded to with razor-sharp precision, and I began to alter my lines slightly to account for this new ability. When leaned all the way over on the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch track's two long sweepers (turns one and two), I was able to carry maximum lean much more comfortably. While the front tire's more triangular profile made steering more responsive, where the profile's change really shone was when braking while leaned over. Whether I was trail braking into a corner or beginning to apply the brakes while already cranked over, the Qualifiers never exhibited the tendency to stand up that the D208ZRs did. The Dunlop support crew lowered the air pressures from the street settings of 34 lbs. front and 36 lbs. rear to lower, more track oriented ones. The results were — if my intel can be trusted — more feedback from the front approaching the limit and more than twice the number of hard laps before the rear tire got greasy when compared to the D208ZR.
East TN Riders: Thoughts on passing - Links for free advice on survival tips for the Dragon
East TN Riders: Tires, bike setup and you —
When you change tires (especially between manufacturers and/or models) there can be significant differences between mounted tire diameters. If the new tire is taller or shorter than the previous one it WILL affect the bike's "stance". ie a taller front tire will make the front of the bike ride higher and steer slower. Similarly for the rear of the bike, if the new tire raises the rear of the bike, then the bike will steer faster. The race tires have a taller profile than stock and have raised both ends of the bike BUT the net difference is that the bike sits 4.3 mm higher at the rear. (This is often why people go to a 180 rear from a 190). The bike will steer much faster, but if you've adjusted the bikes stance to get it to steer fast already then that extra 4.3 mm may make it really unstable or "twitchy". Don't overlook the potential effect a tire can have on bike setup, especially if you're changing brands. If you don't have a length adjustable rear shock, you would have to compensate for the tire changes by pulling up or pushing down the fork tubes through the triple clamps to lower or raise the front, respectively. Realizing the effect tires have on handling (beyond the "stick like glue) can be useful. Consider the case with a 120/70 front tire. If you have a non adjustable length shock and you're afraid of messing with the forks BUT you want to quicken the steering. You could go to a 120/65 section front tire to lower the front.
East TN Riders: Sportbike Modifications and Performance
East TN Riders: Sportbike Modifications Archive
Motorcycle Maintenence and Setup
Are streets without traffic signs conceivable? Seven cities and regions in Europe are giving it a try - with good results By Matthias Schulz
"We reject every form of legislation," the Russian aristocrat and "father of anarchism" Mikhail Bakunin once thundered. The czar banished him to Siberia. But now it seems his ideas are being rediscovered. European traffic planners are dreaming of streets free of rules and directives. They want drivers and pedestrians to interact in a free and humane way, as brethren -- by means of friendly gestures, nods of the head and eye contact, without the harassment of prohibitions, restrictions and warning signs. A project implemented by the European Union is currently seeing seven cities and regions clear-cutting their forest of traffic signs. Ejby, in Denmark, is participating in the experiment, as are Ipswich in England and the Belgian town of Ostende. The utopia has already become a reality in Makkinga, in the Dutch province of Western Frisia. A sign by the entrance to the small town (population 1,000) reads "Verkeersbordvrij" -- "free of traffic signs." Cars bumble unhurriedly over precision-trimmed granite cobblestones. Stop signs and direction signs are nowhere to be seen. There are neither parking meters nor stopping restrictions. There aren't even any lines painted on the streets. "The many rules strip us of the most important thing: the ability to be considerate. We're losing our capacity for socially responsible behavior," says Dutch traffic guru Hans Monderman, one of the project's co-founders. "The greater the number of prescriptions, the more people's sense of personal responsibility dwindles." Monderman could be on to something. Germany has 648 valid traffic symbols. The inner cities are crowded with a colorful thicket of metal signs. Don't park over here, watch out for passing deer over there, make sure you don't skid. The forest of signs is growing ever denser. Some 20 million traffic signs have already been set up all over the country. Psychologists have long revealed the senselessness of such exaggerated regulation. About 70 percent of traffic signs are ignored by drivers. What's more, the glut of prohibitions is tantamount to treating the driver like a child and it also foments resentment. He may stop in front of the crosswalk, but that only makes him feel justified in preventing pedestrians from crossing the street on every other occasion. Every traffic light baits him with the promise of making it over the crossing while the light is still yellow. "Unsafe is safe" The result is that drivers find themselves enclosed by a corset of prescriptions, so that they develop a kind of tunnel vision: They're constantly in search of their own advantage, and their good manners go out the window. The new traffic model's advocates believe the only way out of this vicious circle is to give drivers more liberty and encourage them to take responsibility for themselves. They demand streets like those during the Middle Ages, when horse-drawn chariots, handcarts and people scurried about in a completely unregulated fashion. The new model's proponents envision today's drivers and pedestrians blending into a colorful and peaceful traffic stream. It may sound like chaos, but it's only the lesson drawn from one of the insights of traffic psychology: Drivers will force the accelerator down ruthlessly only in situations where everything has been fully regulated. Where the situation is unclear, they're forced to drive more carefully and cautiously. Indeed, "Unsafe is safe" was the motto of a conference where proponents of the new roadside philosophy met in Frankfurt in mid-October. True, many of them aren't convinced of the new approach. "German drivers are used to rules," [especially the rule that forbids speed limits on the Autobahn] says Michael Schreckenberg of Duisburg University. If clear directives are abandoned, domestic rush-hour traffic will turn into an Oriental-style bazaar, he warns. He believes the new vision of drivers and pedestrians interacting in a cozy, relaxed way will work, at best, only for small towns. But one German borough is already daring to take the step into lawlessness. The town of Bohmte in Lower Saxony has 13,500 inhabitants. It's traversed by a country road and a main road. Cars approach speedily, delivery trucks stop to unload their cargo and pedestrians scurry by on elevated sidewalks. The road will be re-furbished in early 2007, using EU funds. "The sidewalks are going to go, and the asphalt too. Everything will be covered in cobblestones," Klaus Goedejohann, the mayor, explains. "We're getting rid of the division between cars and pedestrians." The plans derive inspiration and motivation from a large-scale experiment in the town of Drachten in the Netherlands, which has 45,000 inhabitants. There, cars have already been driving over red natural stone for years. Cyclists dutifully raise their arm when they want to make a turn, and drivers communicate by hand signs, nods and waving. "More than half of our signs have already been scrapped," says traffic planner Koop Kerkstra. "Only two out of our original 18 traffic light crossings are left, and we've converted them to roundabouts." Now traffic is regulated by only two rules in Drachten: "Yield to the right" and "Get in someone's way and you'll be towed." Strange as it may seem, the number of accidents has declined dramatically. Experts from Argentina and the United States have visited Drachten. Even London has expressed an interest in this new example of automobile anarchy. And the model is being tested in the British capital's Kensington neighborhood. 1,000s of blogs discussing this story Related news: The Traffic Guru - One traffic engineer did achieve a measure of global celebrity, known, if not exactly by name, then by his ideas. His name was Hans Monderman. The idea that made Monderman, who died of cancer in January at the age of 62, most famous is that traditional traffic safety infrastructure—warning signs, traffic lights, metal railings, curbs, painted lines, speed bumps, and so on—is not only often unnecessary, but can endanger those it is meant to protect. As I drove with Monderman through the northern Dutch province of Friesland several years ago, he repeatedly pointed out offending traffic signs. “Do you really think that no one would perceive there is a bridge over there?” he might ask, about a sign warning that a bridge was ahead. “Why explain it?” He would follow with a characteristic maxim: “When you treat people like idiots, they’ll behave like idiots.” Eventually he drove me to Makkinga, a small village at whose entrance stood a single sign. It welcomed visitors, noted a 30 kilometer-per-hour speed limit, then added: “Free of Traffic Signs.” This was Monderman humor at its finest: a traffic sign announcing the absence of traffic signs. Monderman installed a radical kind of roundabout (a “squareabout,” in his words, because it really seemed more a town square than a traditional roundabout), marked only by a raised circle of grass in the middle, several fountains, and some very discreet indicators of the direction of traffic, which were required by law. As I watched the intricate social ballet that occurred as cars and bikes slowed to enter the circle (pedestrians were meant to cross at crosswalks placed a bit before the intersection), Monderman performed a favorite trick. He walked, backward and with eyes closed, into the Laweiplein. The traffic made its way around him. No one honked, he wasn’t struck. Instead of a binary, mechanistic process—stop, go—the movement of traffic and pedestrians in the circle felt human and organic. A year after the change, the results of this “extreme makeover” were striking: Not only had congestion decreased in the intersection—buses spent less time waiting to get through, for example—but there were half as many accidents, even though total car traffic was up by a third.
No speed limit on German Autobahn results in lower death rate than 55mph speed limit in USA
Chicanes replace stopsigns and redlights in Knoxville, Tennessee Josh West
Click here to watch this video If you've driven through Old North Knoxville lately, then you might have noticed a change. Knoxville City Engineers have taken the first steps in installing "traffic circles" to try to slow down the many speeders who race through this up-and-coming, historic neighborhood near Downtown. Residents requested to be included in the city's traffic calming program after numerous near-accidents there.
"The traffic circle causes you to steer to go around the circle as you proceed through the intersection," says City Engineering Director Stephen J. King."The driver sees that, and you have to steer to make a maneuver, and you have to do that a little more slowly than you would if it wasn't there." Residents say Old North has a particularly serious problem with speeders, particularly in the morning when drivers cut through side streets to get to work. An example of a completed traffic circle sits at the intersection of Luttrell and Caswell in the Fourth and Gill neighborhood. The city expects to complete installation of the Old North traffic circles by Spring, 2007.
Until then, Old North residents want Knoxville drivers to stop racing through their neighborhood. "There are a lot of children in this neighborhood, and it makes a really dangerous environment, so people just need to slow down," Rider says. Related news:
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed.
Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self
evident. Marrying means to halve one's rights and double one's duties,
to grasp blindfold into a sack hoping to find out an eel out of an assembly of snakes." "Steering happens backwards. Many riders have learned to steer a
motorcycle without understanding the process. Steering is simple
enough—you push the bars in the opposite direction of the direction you
wish to travel. That begins the turn, and the bike leans as it turns.
Deliberately turning the bars in the opposite direction of travel is known
as counter steering. To go right you must turn the bars to the left—to go
left, turn the bars to the right. Counter steering is the only way you can
direct a motorcycle to steer accurately. In essence, motorcycle steering
is backwards from most other forms of transportation. An automobile goes
in the direction you turn the wheel, as do most other forms of
transportation. One problem we have in learning to ride stems from a cruel
trick played on us by our parents. They gave us a tricycle to pedal
around. A tricycle turns in the direction you steer it. When we rode a
bicycle for the first time, we fell down, and everyone said it was because
we didn't have good balance. Actually, it was because bicycles also
counter steer. Balance had nothing to do with it! The confusion is caused
because the child expects the bike to go right when he turns to the right.
Eventually, out of sheer survival instincts, he goes through the steering
motions without understanding them and winds up on a motorcycle 15 years
later not knowing what he has been doing to go around turns. Most riders,
in an emergency, try to turn the bike in the direction they want to go. I
have known people who who have ridden for 30 years without having to face
an emergency situation. Then, one day a car pulls out in front of them.
They try to avoid it but the bike won't do what they want it to. So they
get scared and quit riding. They realize that the control they thought was
there—wasn't."
"It's not speed that kills us, it's crashing on the bends. Be
honest, we've all crapped ourselves on a bend and run wide. What are we
going to do? Improve the quality of our bike riding skills seems to be the
most blindingly obvious response. Bikes will never be as safe as cars and
we are always going to hurt ourselves - which is part of the allure I
suppose - but it would be a shame if, by doing nine-tenths of fuck all,
the government legislated our fun away. Just a thought." "I've just returned from a Swansea hospital after visiting my
brother-in-law, Carl, who had an accident on one of the first good days of
the year. Carl's an experienced rider and MV owner, and a group of us left
Worcestershire that mornihg heading towards Crossgates in Wales. We got
there, had breakfast in and then headed back home. Unfortunately, our
return journey ended only seven miles from Crossgates when Carl collided
head on with a Kawasaki ZX-6R that was on his side of the road on the
wrong side of the road on a left handed bend coming towards us. This was
one of four bikes and we believe that more than one was on the wrong side
of the road. Carl had to be airlifted to hospital. Carl now has injuries
similar to the late Barry Sheen. The entry to the airport departure lounge
will never be the same again! His injuries at present include 2 broken
hands, broken pelvis (plated and bolted), broken leg (rod), and collar
bone (plated). This doesn't include the catheter that he had to have
inserted that he was not too chuffed about either!" Question: "What is the use of climbing Mt. Everest?" "Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they
were created. He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made
a decree which shall not pass. Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons,
and all deeps. Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling
his word: Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all
cedars." "And in that same place there was a great dragon, which they of
Babylon worshipped. But give me leave, O king, and I shall slay this
dragon without sword or staff. The king said, I give thee leave. When they
of Babylon heard that, they took great indignation, saying, he hath slain
the dragon." |
