Dear Joe,

Thanks so very much for drawing attention to the traffic problems/accidents on Hinkle Road. My family and I live in a subdivision along Hinkle, and we struggle daily with the challenges this road presents. First, let me say that I was impressed, as were the rest of your readers, with the responses you were able to elicit from Blount County Road Superintendent Bill Dunlap. The problems are sure to go away as soon as the asphalt mix is changed. Here are a few blatantly obvious facts that are apparent to anyone who travels this road with any frequency. First, the majority of traffic on this road is not residents who live along Hinkle; it is people who use it as a commuter road from Hwy 411 to Chapman! They care nothing about the people and property along this road. Some local residents drive it with the same attitude. Next, the 35 MPH speed limit is a joke. Drive this road at 35 and you won’t travel half a mile before someone is riding your bumper. Fifty-plus is the norm – even on the dangerous, blind curves where most of the wrecks occur. Why? There is no fear of being caught for speeding – or anything else. Finally, is there any doubt or question why there is no centerline painted on this road? Few people make the effort to stay on their side of the road; some don’t even bother to get fully over when they meet other traffic! Right after the correct asphalt mix is spread on those accident-prone curves, let’s put some of those 2 inch-high, bright yellow, hardened plastic lane divider buttons down the center. Then, put a “bear in the bushes” with a radar gun by Jane David’s house. Last, place officers out in the flats on either end of the troubled spot, and give them each about 50-citation books; that should last them through the first day. Maybe then Jane and the others can have some piece of mind. Me? I’d just like to meet another vehicle on those curves without having to wonder if they are going to get over on their side before they get me. Don Antonson Seymour, TN