Happy New Year!

Have a happy and safe New Year! Please don't drink and drive.

North Georgia Mountains

Hey y'all.

This is Bryant again, with a video from the scenic North Georgia Mountains. The North Georgia Mountain region is located in northeast Georgia and is apart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which extend up into southern Pennsylvania. The counties in northeast Georgia are Banks, Dawson, Elbert, Fannin, Forsyth, Franklin, Gilmer, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Pickens, Rabun, Stephens, Union, Towns and White.

This video follows U.S. 23/441 through the North Georgia Mountains, starting in Baldwin, showing the S.R. 384 West/Duncan Bridge Road intersection (Helen/Unicoi State Park/Downtown Baldwin), the S.R. 15 Connector/To U.S. 441 South interchange (Habersham County Airport/Downtown Baldwin/Cornelia/Commerce/Athens) and the U.S. 441 Business/S.R. 105/385 North interchange (Cornelia/Demorest/Clarkesville).

The second clip shows the U.S. 123 North/S.R. 365 North interchange, for Toccoa and Lavonia, and the S.R. 17 intersection (Clarkesville/Toccoa/Lavonia).

The last portion of the video follows U.S. 23/441/S.R. 15 through Tallulah Falls, the outskirts of Tiger, Clayton, Mountain City, Rabun Gap and Dillard.

Great Smoky Mountains - Pt. 2

Hey y'all!

This is Bryant again, with another installment of "Great Smoky Mountains." The Smokies are a subrange of the Appalacian Mountains, and are located in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. This range is home to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Qualla Boundary (Home of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, located in Jackson, Swain, Graham, Cherokee and Haywood counties, North Carolina), Gatlinburg, Tennesse, Sevierville, Tennessee and Dollywood, owned by singer Dolly Parton and the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation.

This video -- that I hope that you'll watch, because it's a very good video, if I do say so myself -- is of the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway, which runs from I-40 near Canton, North Carolina to the Nantahala National Forest, in southwestern Swain County.

The YouTube video posted is of the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway between Sylva Road (U.S. 23/441) and exit 74 (U.S. 441 North - Gatlinburg/Great Smoky Mountains National Park/To Blue Ridge Parkway).

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from your friendly neighborhood Southern Roadgeek!

Great Smoky Mountains - Pt. 1

Hey y'all,

I know I haven't posted in awhile, save for my other post about the theft of Christmas paraphernalia from an East Point Chick-fil-A restaurant. In this post, you'll see me driving along Sylva Road (U.S. 23/64/64 Truck/441), from Franklin and Dillsboro. This is my first time driving through this terrain, in North Carolina. I have been to Gatlinburg, but that was back before I began roadgeeking and back before I was driving long distances, out of town.

U.S. 64 east of U.S. 23/441 cannot be accessed by large trucks, due to the terrain of the highway: it's a winding two-lane road towards Highlands.

There will be a few other videos posted from the Smokies and maybe a couple from the North Georgia Mountains. I already have one on published from the North Georgia Mountains. Gotta get the other one done.

Enjoy!

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.

Recently, a "grinch" stole Christmas decorations from the Chick-fil-A on Cleveland Avenue, in East Point (GA). These decorations were celebrating the "twelve days of Christmas." It's sad when one can't even decorate their own business, without theft of those decorations. Whoever you are, the three words that best describe you are, and I quote -- "Stink. Stank. Stunk."

For more information, click here.

King of Pop dies at 50

Michael Joseph Jackson, aged 50, died earlier today. He will be missed by many, especially me. He was one of the best entertainers ever!

Here are some of my favorites.

Rock With You (1980)

Thriller (1982)

Billie Jean (1982)

Wanna Be Startin' Something (1983)

Remember the Time (1992)

Car Accident

Got in a car accident while driving through Downtown Atlanta today. This lady in a Honda Element turned left from the wrong lane, while I was trying to go straight. >:-( >:-(

TRAFFIC JAM!!!!!

(South) Fulton County, Georgia - 26 May 2009

Yesterday, I was caught in the worse traffic jam of my life. It took me about twenty to thirty minutes to go 5 miles. The reason this was the case was because there was a three car fire, just south of Jonesboro Road (S.R. 138 - Union City/Jonesboro).

Three Car Fire (I-85, Union City)
(courtesy of ajc.com)

TRAFFIC JAM!!!!! (Video)
(courtesy of youtube.com)

Judge Sonia Sotomayor

Washington, D.C. - 26 May 2009

This isn't road-realted, but it's newsworthy -- it's historic! Our nation's first President of African descent, Barack Hussein Obama II, has nominated this country's first Supreme Court Justice of Hispanic descent -- Judge Sonia Sotomayor, of New York. I don't know much about her, but plan to find out more about her. Sotomayor, if confirmed, will replace retiring Justice David Souter, who's served on the US Supreme Court since October 9, 1990.

For more on the nomination of Judge Sotomayor, click here.

The President introduces Judge Sotomayor
(courtesy of youtube.com)

Man Ticketed for Walking in the Street

(East) Atlanta, Georgia - 26 May 09

A man was ticketed for walking in the street to avoid a sidewalk hole. Atlanta is infamous for its uneven sidewalks and pothole-ridden streets. One of the City's bridges (Mitchell Street) had to be closed because it could no longer carry vehicular traffic. The bridge repairs are listed as one of GDOT's stimulus projects. Another bridge in the City that needs repair is the Courtland Street bridge, which crosses of Decatur Street. This is in the heart of the Georgia State University (GSU) campus. There are nets under the bridge with signs that tell pedestrians and vehicles that pieces of the bridge may fall. That's bad when you have to post signs that say that.

For more on this story, click here.

Stimulus Projects (GDOT)

GDOT has a listing of stimulus projects that they're going to undertake.

For that listing, click here.

One of the projects I saw listed, that needs to be done, is to extend the left turn lanes onto I-285 North/South from Camp Creek Parkway (S.R. 6). Many times, there's a back-up for traffic turning left onto I-285 North, as most traffic turns northbound.

Turn Signals

Turn signals, why have them on your car? Nobody seems to use them... but me (lol). I make an effort to use mine when at all possible. I don't use them coming out of my driveway. That's kind of stupid, in my honest opinion. A lot of times, people turn their turn signal on as they've started to turn or after they've entered another lane. At that point, using the turn signal is useless. The other drivers have been notified of nothing, except that you're an idiot. At traffic lights and stop signs, a turn signal is paramount. The reason that I say this is because a driver that's turning left at a red light could've turned awhile ago if someone turning right had their blinker on. At stop signs, even if you stopped first, that other driver might go straight, because you didn't use your left turn indicator.

Turn Signal School

Blinker School

Red Light Cameras

Gwinnett County, Georgia - 20 May 2009

Recently, red light cameras were in the news again.

King Rushnell, a driver caught by the red light camera at the intersection of Indian Trail and Lawrenceville Highway (U.S. 29/S.R.8) in Lilburn, took his ticket to court. The reason being is that he stated that the sun distorted the picture, making the color of the light impossible to see. Lilburn Municipal Court Judge Charles Barrett III agreed with him, and dismissed the ticket. This comes on the cusp of some cities, mostly in Gwinnett County, getting rid of these devices. Among those municipalities are Suwanee and Norcross. The operational costs are too high, because there aren't as many red light camera photos being taken.

So, when it comes down to it, red light cameras weren't really about safety -- they were about generating revenue. Side-end collisions may've been decreased because of the implementation of the cameras; however, rear-end collisions were increased, because people would slam on their brakes, so as not to get a ticket. In my opinion, a rear-end collision can be just as bad or worse than a side-end collision. The reason that I say that is because if a larger vehicle contacts a smaller vehicle from behind, they could crush that car, possibly pushing that smaller vehicle into the intersection, where that car could be T-boned.

Red Light Cameras Gone?
(courtesy of scanaugusta.net)

Young Girl Honored

Fulton County, Georgia - 19 May 2009

Kayla Lemons, 9, was honored by her classmates at Stonewall Tell Elementary School, located in Southwest Fulton County. She, along with five others (her mother, father, infant brother and an occupant in another car), lost their lives on Camp Creek Parkway (S.R. 6) at Old Fairburn Road on Easter Sunday, being hit by a reckless hit-and-run driver (Aimee Michael, 22). Michael wasn't apprehended for about two weeks. Her wrecked BMW sat in her garage for two days and was partially fixed. When Michael was apprehended and brought before the judge, she was charged with five counts of vehicular homicide and felony hit-and-run. Thank God that the judge denied bond, as this young lady didn't have the good sense to stay at the scene of a chain reaction crash that she initiated. Michael's mother (Sheila Michael, 52) was charged, as well. She was charged with tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension of a criminal.

This is one reason why driver education needs to be reinstituted. The younger Michael had at least, according to prosecutors, two speeding tickets -- in one day, when she attended the University of Pittsburgh. What the hell is that?!

Camp Creek Parkway is a major thoroughfare that begins at the Georgia-Alabama state lines, as U.S. 278/S.R.6, and ends at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport & I-85 interchange. For most of its length, it's a four lane parkway with a grass median. I feel that this corridor needs a cable barrier, especially in the rural, expressway portions, because of the crossover crash factor.

Young Girl Honored by Her Classmates
(courtesy of ajc.com)

Hit-and-Run Suspect Apprehended
(courtesy of cbsatlanta.com)

Easter Family Crash
(courtesy of forbes.com)

S.R. 6 Transportation Corridor Study
(courtesy of atlantaregional.com)

Officer Dragged

This isn't road-related, but something I found of note.

Villa Rica, Carroll County, Georgia - 19 May 2009

Early this morning, Sgt. C. Long (Villa Rica Police Department) was dragged and run over, when trying to pull over a driver for speeding at the intersection of Industrial Boulevard (S.R. 61/101) and Bankhead Highway (U.S. 78/S.R. 8), just north of I-20. The officer instructed the driver (Marko Burton, 28) to turn off his vehicle. When Burton didn't follow Long's verbal command, Long reached into the vehicle. That's when Burton drove off, dragging and running over the officer.

The driver was found later, being charged with assault on a peace officer and drug charges.

For more on this story, click here. A dashboard video is also included.

When I saw the dashboard video on the news, I was like, "Damn!" Your reaction, I'm sure, will be similar.

Story courtesy of wsbtv.com

I-85 Reconstruction (South Metro Atlanta)

Currently, I-85 -- from the Coweta-Meriwether county lines to Senoia Road (S.R. 74) -- is being widened and the concrete surface is being replaced. Before the reconstruction project, the I-85 southbound lanes decreased from four to three (at S.R. 74), then from three to two (at S.R. 34). There's a lot of traffic that uses this corridor: Ft. Benning traffic, Auburn football traffic, New Orleans-bound traffic, etc. It's good that GDOT is widening and resurfacing this stretch of rural highway.

During this reconstruction process, there have been numerous accidents, some fatal. Because of this, GDOT has lowered the construction speed limit (for the 29 mile project) from 60 m.p.h. to 50 m.p.h. I thought 60 was a bit fast, because the lanes are narrowed and shoulders are non-existent. Traffic is still rolling through this construction zone, though. To help curb some of this speeding and reckless driving, small message board signs have been installed. They read, "Slow down -- My Mom/Dad works here." I wished I'd stopped to take a photo of them, but there was nowhere for me to pull over to do it safely.

Here are some links that will explain the accidents and the reconstruction project in greater detail. Also, included are some videos of the construction zone.

I-85 Reconstruction/Widening Projects page

Tanker Truck Explodes (Coweta County, Ga.)

Overturned Tractor-Trailer (Coweta County, Ga.)

Speed limit lowered to 50 m.p.h. (S. Fulton/Coweta counties, Ga.)

May '09 Roadtrip - New Orleans, LA

Southern Mississippi/Miss. Gulf Coast

Okay, this blogging is addictive. :)

This weekend, well, last Thursday my family and I drove to Philadelphia, Neshoba County, Mississippi. We stayed the night there, and gambled a bit. On Friday morning, we started driving down to Biloxi. We took I-59 South, through Laurel and Hattiesburg, then got on U.S. 98 East to U.S. 49 South, driving through the DeSoto National Forest and Wiggins. U.S. 49 through the DeSoto National Forest is beautiful, very, very beautiful. The speed limit is a respectable 65 m.p.h.

When we got into north Harrison County, we took the S.R. 67 South interchange. All of S.R. 67, north of Old S.R. 67 and the I-10/110 interchange, is signed at 65 m.p.h. A 55 m.p.h. speed limit on that stretch would be really bogus, in my opinion, and a speed trap. There are no driveways directly on the S.R. 67 right-of-way, which is good. The only thing that I found odd was that there were bike lanes on this expressway.

After driving through the beautiful countryside, we merged onto I-110 South, which used to carry S.R. 15. S.R. 15 is co-signed with S.R. 67 for the last few miles of S.R. 67's length. Both of these state highways end at Sangani/Bobby Eleuterius Blvds. & the I-10/110 interchange.

Now, I'll show y'all two videos: one is of U.S. 49 through the DeSoto National Forest; the other is of S.R. 67 through north Harrison County, the Tradition community, and I-10/110.

Oh, before I post the videos, here are some links.

National Forests in Mississippi, DeSoto Ranger District

Town of Tradition, MS

MDOT Ribbon Cutting Ceremony (S.R. 67)
(courtesy of gulfcoastnews.com)

U.S. 49 South - Forrest and Stone counties (MS)



Mississippi Highways - Harrison County, MS

Superspeeder Law

If you travel through Georgia, come July, an additional $200 fee will be added to your fine if you're stopped for being a "superspeeder." A "superspeeder" is one who travels faster than 85 m.p.h. on multi-lane highways or 75 m.p.h. on two lane highways. For further information on this law, click the link below.

http://www.11alive.com/rss/rss_story.aspx?storyid=128410
(courtesy of 11alive.com)

Personally, I don't mind anyone driving 80+. The problem is from those people who just speed no matter what, whenever they want -- especially in poor weather conditions. Driving fast like some people do -- all of the time -- is very stupid. A lot of people are driving 60 or 70 m.p.h. through residential areas and school zones, which isn't safe for anyone. If you're doing 80 or better down an open highway -- two lane or otherwise -- that's fine. Many of the accidents that occur are from impatient drivers, who are sometimes inexperienced and cannot handle driving that fast.

Also, speed in and of itself doesn't kill. Inexperience, impatience and thinking "Oh, I can drive fast whenever I want, because I'm a superior driver" is what kills.

'Til later.

-Bryant

Mid-North Alabama/South Mississippi

Here's some more video from my trip to Alabama and Mississippi. Enjoy!

U.S. 280 West - Birmingham, Alabama

I-59 South - Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Laurel, Mississippi

Hey everybody,

This is the first post on my new blog. Enjoy!