I just came down Black Mountain on i-40 east of Asheville, NC. All three of the runaway truck ramps have been used in the past few days. It amazes me how people who have been down Donner Pass in California, or Cabbage Patch in Oregon, or Snoqualmie in Washington state, or Vale pass in Colorado, come out here and scoff at the Blue Ridge Mountains. We've both driven over, up and down, all the places I mentioned, and we still have a healthy respect for the Blue Ridge, and especially Black Mountain. That's why neither of us has ever used a runaway truck ramp.

I think it may be like the surfers who come to the east coast and laugh at the gentle surf of the Atlantic Ocean, only to find themselves swept out to sea by the current. That's the same sort of mentality that gives those truck drivers a false sense of security, so that they're caught by surprise when they're suddenly careening down what they considered a mere hill at 80mph with their brakes smoking. That's when the Blue Ridge gets its respect.