I was holding this comment... but I gotta' ask.

If safety is the main objective... where's the mention of speed limits, tailgating, safety belts, etc.?

 

I'd just like to remind those who attended MOTD: there were MANY MANY MOTD-specific signs posted all over the place reminding folks about safety. Lane-crossing, seatbelts, tailgating, and speed were the top items mentioned. Not to mention, each and every time one of the "trip/event leaders" got up and said their schpiel, those three were the top items of safety reminders...this is what I meant when I previously said we were reminded AD NAUSEUM! If you didn't see them or hear them, I really have to wonder what else you missed. I got it - not everybody showed up to the Welcome dinner to get the "in-brief" and not everybody picked up their own registration stuff...but that's why the organizers repeated this stuff so often.

I mean, you can lead a horse to water, but.....c'mon - how much harder do we have to make it on the organizers? There's got to be responsibility on the part of attendees, too. It was my first MOTD (although I'd been to the Dragon before with a small group of MINIs), and I was shocked at how much damage was done to the MINIs, considering how many of us are OCD about the cars!! Just at the panoramic picture we had no less than THREE accidents that tore something off vehicles/caused some serious dents. That's just what I heard over the radio.

Jack, I think the "wall of shame" might help - sounds dumb, but if no one was paying attention to/even SAW the written signs everywhere, maybe they'd be more interested/attracted by pictures...even shameful pictures. What we DON'T want is to make the shameful pictures a joke or a goal to those who don't think it's as important.

Bartski - I think everybody's kind of focusing in on the lane thing only, because very few of the photos/video in question show excessive speeding, tailgating, or lack of seatbelts. It's not that we don't think those are important, too...it's just not as obvious in the examples.

Do we have statistics from this MOTD yet? I.e. how many tickets were issued to MINI drivers for speeding, lack of seatbelt, tailgating, etc. as well as how many accidents/wrecks? I think that might be something to add to the info everybody gets. AD NAUSEUM.

 

Of the video, I counted 5 Ohio drivers crossing the yellow line, which, sadly, are 5 too many...so I made posts about it in each club site.

 

WHAT?? How can you have an accident at the Panoramic Photo?? Glad I got there late and left early

 

Constant rain for days, frustrated organizers & volunteers, pissy photographer with conflicting directions, mud everywhere, tight-spot parking, and then late for planned trips? Yeaaahhh...LOTS of frustration. From what I could hear over the radio, the accidents were all after the shoot when everyone was trying to leave via the single muddy and slippery lane into and out of the field. At the SAME time.

 

That's strange I stayed behind at the photo with Edge and we personally controlled the exiting of all cars of the field and I did not see or hear of any of this Anyone with first hand experince of such a incident let me know so I can try to avoid that in the future.

 

You mean you missed one of the frantic radio calls, "OMG, THAT DUDE JUST HIT ME!!! LOOK WHAT HE DID!!" You WERE kinda busy, snooter...

 

dang...that sucks....can't say I'm to suprised...due to the mud and all...but that is still very disturbing news

 

You guys did a commendable job organizing that chaos -- MOTD, that is, not just the photo shoot -- and I am sincerely appreciative of your efforts.

I would, however, be very interested in those statistics, though...

 

+1

 

I had a similar event but it was a minivan that was in my lane,

2 broken ankles, 3 broken ribs, and 2 broken wrists, I spent 3 months learning how to walk, and every morning I wake up with pain. I sold my bike and I haven't ridden again since I was 18. If I spy anybody doing this, I will be happy to call them out humiliate them, make personal threats, and if need be enforce them. I have no respect for other people that disregard the safety of others.

There is a time and place, and on a cruse it's not the time or place.

pic brings back bad memories, sorry if the post was a little too aggressive for nam.

 

I've sent a request to Blount County for the citation types and numbers for the week of MOTD. We'll see if they shoot me down or ask for my firstborn. I've specifically told them that I don't want any identifying information, just numbers for that time frame.

I'll probably send a similar request to THP. It's worth a shot.

 

Apologies to all dragon participants. I am not the most skilled driver with no race/autocross experience. I was unaware I was over the line and will take great care not to do so next year.

I spent the week chasing my pal's Lotus Elise and drove at speeds beyond my skill. I don't believe anyone on this thread intentionally meant to be reckless so personal insults are not necessary.

 

You sir (or ma'am) have my utmost respect for owning up like that. That's what this was about from the very beginning. I'm so glad you saw enough value in it to tell us about it. If there ever is anything I can do for you please let me know. Glad to have you here!

 

I sincerely hope no one sees this thread as place for personal insults - that bypasses the whole point. Ditto on the kudos, Mowse - we're not looking to bash, just looking to learn from it and express concern to others. MOTD should be FUN, not scary!!!

 

I wonder if there would be a way to setup an smalll autox or funkhana type course where people could learn about their cars. I am not talking about something timed or even high speed...just something for fun. A couple of people could be there to give out pointers such as the one mentioned earlier for judging where you car is on the line of the road. I am trying to think of a decent sized empty lot...right now all I can think of is over by the old registration building.

I know the first year attended MOTD I was paranoid about crossing the line. Once I saw the pictures, I was nowhere near as close as I thought I was. Plus, after doing a few autoxs, I definately have a better "feel" of how wide the car is and where I am in relation to things.

Heck, I would even offer to help set this up but I may not make it again next year. I am not too sure how fun MOTD is with a newborn.

 

I have always wanted to something similar to this. I'm not necessarily interested in auto cross, but I hate the idea that I own a car with all this untapped potential. I just want to learn more about the abilities of my MINI. I like this suggestion, and I think it would be a fun event during the early days of MOTD, to encourage people to do it before going on the dragon.

Also, to the point of personal humiliation, I think there's a degree of this that could be affective (like the posted pictures MINI Bee mentioned earlier), but the key is to have fun with it. Not unlike the Tree of Shame at the motel. Everything else we do is fun, so I think we could find a way to easily have a little fun about serious subject by poking fun at each other. Maybe a "badge of shame" or a giant "motorer in training" magnet. Despite whether you've made an honest mistake and are happy to correct it or you're a veteran that's just too "good" (?) to stay between the lines, we all share one thing in common and that's that we're there to have a good time, so why not have a good time with this too?

 

why don't you just drive within your limits. If you wanna learn how your car performs go to an auto cross in a parking lot, NOT on a mountain road. In fact, go to an empty parkinglot and flick your car, see what happens, 10 mins of spinning out will be 10 months worth of time it will take to fix your car if you hit a tree.

 

I write this in memory of Rich Calvillo - a brother

Rich took me under his wing when I showed up at the parking lot in Mill Valley, ready for the first time to join the Sunday Morning Ride up US 1 to Point Reyes.

That ride has gone on since 1957 - every Sunday. It is usually well attended, with bikers from all over the Bay Area making the trek.

Rich was riding an older BMW Boxer, with engineer’s boots that had little metal plates on their outside edges.

I followed him that morning, and for the rest of the year I rode with him and the friends that choice lead me to.

Rick took me up that treacherous road between the lines, with a few sparks from the boot plates on every turn. Never off line, never late braking, never any drama. He was not slow, not at all - he knew the bike, and the road, and his own limits.

I, having graduated from the Keith Code School at Sears Point and NHMS did not bridle at his tutelage - I knew the road could kill, and I knew that I didn't know it.

That year we had over a dozen accidents on the ride, and one fatality. None were with the group that had adopted me thank God.

Jeff Jungsten was the fastest rider with that group, riding a Honda 600 in full leathers with a degree of skill that still amazes me to this day. I once mentioned to Jeff that it might be a greater challenge never to cross the line, and he changed his style that day and permanently.

Later that year he brought it up to me again, and thanked me for that comment - I'll never know if he did that because he liked the challenge that being precise within one lane offered, or because it saved his life.

Quite possible Rich saved mine.

I never had a chance to thank him I am sorry to say - a gentleman and a rider with grace and style, and above all a rider with wisdom.

He did not die on a bike of course.

I pray to all that love performance - meet the challenge of the single lane. Roads like the Dragon are exhilarating because they have turns - even if one feels immortal I think that straightening those corners is missing the point.

Even if it were not life or death.

I am proud to read the comments in this thread, and respect the spirit of the Mini community as portrayed herein.

With respect,

Charlie

 

I autocross regularly now and it has definitely improved my skills. I recently bought a Cooper for my son and he is going to drive at autocross this Sunday for the first time. People ask me why I would want to teach a teenager to race. I don't. I want to teach him how to handle his MINI at the limits so if something happens in traffic he'll have better skills and a better chance to survive. Oh, and it's also fun.

Case in point. Recently I had a total loss of brakes in traffic when a brake line burst (long story). I was going 45 miles an hours, closing on a Tahoe at a red light, no brakes at all. It was downshift, ebrake, quick lane change and pray. I know my autocross skills got me out of that situation.

 

Wow. Thanks so much for that story. I too find it to be a greater challenge to stay between the lines, both inside and outside. I watch the outside lines just as closely because of drops in the pavement that have overturned a few MINIs out there.

I treat the Dragon and other twisty roads like they're a big version of the game "Operation." If you touch either side you're out of the game. It's a personal point of honor for me even if it makes me slower than some. The key word there is personal, since I know I can't expect everyone to do the same. I think we all know the difference between a careless disregard for safety and different driving styles. The former is of greatest concern to all of us.

 

One of the reasons I added the Top Gun music to the video was to make it a little fun even though it's a serious topic. It seemed pretty appropriate too.

I was thinking of ways to have fun with this too. On the newbie orientation run we could use a buddy system, with each driver watching the one in front of them to see if they cross the line. Then those folks would get together at the gravel parking lot and tell each other what they saw. Corrections could be made on the drive back. Those who "pass" the test (little mistakes OK, touching the line OK but no intentional crosses of the line) would get a sticker or magnetic grill badge indicating that they support the no line crossing rule.

 

Hey Mowse-

I know how it is... top down... AC/DC playing (not Back in Black )... it's SO easy to get a little bit crazy! And BTW- you are certainly not the only MINI driver without racing/autocross experience. Props to you for "coming out" though!

I must say... I was surprised to see as many Cabrios out of line.

MINI_Bee- Don't the photog's usually post the "naughty" people somewhere anyway? I know Killboy posts everybody... but I thought there was a place where pics are posted as examples... kinda' like a wall of shame?

 

That's

How

I

Roll

 

Last year I attended the dragon and my car was driven Several times on the Dragon and NOT by me. This is not any different then mailing people tickets for something their car did.