Not the adjective I was hoping for AT ALL !

 

Thanks for posting this Jack.

 

What fun is that????

 

Greetings, all-

I've driven the Dragon many times, in different cars and on motorcycles, and always endeavor to stay between the lines. Never had a ticket or even a chat with a LEO there, so I have no axe to grind. Here's my question:

Since it's against the law to cross the center line, how is it that large trucks, RVs and 18 wheelers can even be allowed to drive on that road without automatically receiving tickets for not just crossing the line, but often blocking the ENTIRE road, from outside shoulder to the inside, with their humongous vehicles?

As dangerous as it may be for motorcycles and cars to cross into the oncoming lane, isn't it equally risky to oncoming traffic to completely block the road with an oversized vehicle and make everyone come to a complete stop? And yes, I do understand the difference in approach speeds with both vehicles moving vs. when one is stopped, but gee whiz... doesn't seem fair, does it?

Thanks for your feedback!

 

Use of the pictures is legal as long as you do not sell them, claim them as your own or modify them in any way. The Photographer does own the copyrite and if you make $$$ or misrepresent them you can be sued. what you did it is not a problem at all.
There is never ever an excuse for crossing a double yellow line."""NEVER""""
Someone will be killed some year when it is not raining and a lot more traffic and many Motorcycles are out there at the same time.
If those one's crossing the line were running autocross there would not be a pylon standing for the next guy. The Mini is a great handling car and there is no need to try to streighten out the curves.
The old saying "KEEP IT BETWEEN THE LINES" is really a good code to drive by.
Ronnie948

 

I have contacted Killboy, Zee and Moonshine asking permission to use the photos after the fact, explaining that I used them for educational and safety reasons that could benefit us all. I'll let you know what they say.

I applaud you for having the courage to say one of those MINIs is your MINI and further applaud your efforts to get your brother on track after his early error. I agree that one moment in time does not always tell the story. That's why I said from the beginning the intent is not to humiliate but to increase awareness and make adjustments as needed, as you and your brother did.

 

Probably because the LEOs don't want to have to wait for the truck to find a place they can reasonably pull off. I mean you know how annoying it is riding behind them, imagine having to do that for pretty much the entire Dragon because there's no safe place for them to pull over.

I mean we all know the LEOs are there for $$$$, and them waiting for a truck to get to one end or the other takes away time they could be using for a more profitable ticket, like speeding.

(Note: This is all wild *** conjecture.)

 

Just received a kind reply from Big Al at Moonshine Photo:

 

Finally.

I've been reading this, and I find it absolutely ludicrous that anyone with a license needs to be reminded about the importance of not crossing the centerline. An occasional little slip, sure, fine, fix it and learn from it, but most of us got taught as children to not color outside the lines, so the concept certainly shouldn't be foreign to us. If you can't comprehend this little detail of driving, then you shouldn't be allowed to drive. Period. As a biker (and a MINI driver, also), I know how dangerous people on four wheels can be to those of us on two (or even to others on four). Seriously, if people can't stay inside the lines on the twisty roads, go drive on the interstates, and only the interstates, because apparently the skill of driving properly is something that's outside of your reach. If you think it's fun to drive the Dragon like a track, I've got some advice for you--go to the track and stop wasting our time worrying about your idiot driving.

I'm glad that little series of pictures got posted.

 

Well put! Nuff said!

 

I'm sure I'll get lynched here for conveying my feelings (hence the reason I don't post here often), but having someone recommend I watch this video prompted me to post.

I've been to the Dragon for the last 4 years. Every year I've learned more about the car's capabilities as well as my own. And, yes, I have crossed that yellow myself as I was learning that, early on, the car was more capable than I was. While driving the Dragon the first couple of times, I realized how critical it is to keep things in my own lane. I don't want to injure, or worse kill, someone because of my own stupidity. I couldn't live with that guilt. Even worse, what if it was one of our own? Try posting on any MINI forum after that incident and see how warmly you're received.

Bottom line, I know things happen and mistakes are made. I've been there, done that. But if you're driving beyond your limits so much that you have to cross the line, be smart enough to slow down. If you're too stupid to slow down, and your ego is driving, I hope it's only a one car accident that you cause. And yes, I will be happy to give a shakedown to anyone I see deliberately crossing the line. I did it last year and don't have a problem doing it again. Sorry, guys. This issue fires me up.

 

Absolutely no lynching required. Great post - you should post more often.

And to MINI_Bee - thanks for your tremendous service to the community by educating (deserved public shame can be effective!) and reminding everyone of how important this issue is. Bravo!

 

I understand the sentiment but what do you expect with such a gathering? This community attracts as many people for the "drive-ability" of the MINI as the "cuteness" factor, like it or not. This results in people being put into situations they cannot handle, i.e. the Dragon. It probably will take someone getting hurt while the NAM group is there to change things.

That said, snapshots of every individual who touched the lines without the context of what was happening isn't exactly fair and or prudent, especially when their license plates are in clear view. No one drives perfectly or by the rules of the road 100% of the time, if we did we'd all be doing 55mph (or whatever your respective highway speed is) 24/7, which certainly isn't true.

 

What do we expect with such a gathering??? Well, conscientious MINI drivers at a minimum, that's for sure. No one here said anything about driving perfectly 100% of the time, and we've all had a "first" especially when first driving the MINI. But if you read anything about MOTD prior to going, saw or heard anything AT MOTD, and now afterwards, it was "STAY IN YOUR LANE" AD NAUSEUM. I can't believe how often I heard it, saw it, was reminded of it...yet way too many people at MOTD this year seem to have spent too much time on the track where the lines don't mean as much. I saw the bike that was run off the road, and I saw the MINI that did it. I hope to hell that driver got the p*SS burned into him after that, considering how close to the cliff edge they were.

WE EXPECT MINI DRIVERS TO BE CAREFUL. Whether it's a gathering this size or three MINIs together. THAT's what we expect.

 

conscientious maybe, experienced not so much. The untrained driver doesn't know/care how serious this sort of thing is until someone gets hurt unfortunately. Sadly, the embarrassment of having your pic in that video probably will decrease the amount of that behavior next year and on local runs, rather than just the impetus to learn how to drive properly.

All I'm saying is that acting surprised about it is a little naive.

 

Thanks for that! x uh oh x, you are on the money!

I'll say it again, the intent was not to humiliate anyone. The license plates were not blacked out because all our MINIs are unique and you can tell them apart anyway. And those photos can all be seen by anyone who goes to the Zee Foto, Killboy or Moonshine sites where the license plates are not blacked out.

I some cases we have people in those photos who are making rookie mistakes and were unaware. Clearly in many of the photos the drivers are intentionally crossing the line to cut the corner. And they're doing it knowing that one of the photographers was taking their picture. So if there is any embarrassment it was brought on by the driver's themselves.

The Dragon is a technical road. To drive it well at the posted speed limit requires your total concentration. Perhaps it's the hype of the road that causes people to attempt it at speeds beyond their skills. People can explain it away all they want but the truth is we all have a choice to make out there. The right choice, the honorable choice and the one that says "I care about myself, my family and the other people on this road" is to stay in your lane. If you can't do that then you just shouldn't be out there.

And for the record, I didn't use photos of every person who touched the line. Far from it. If you go through the photos from Wed-Sat for all four photo sites you will find many more. Some of those are just touching the line. The examples I used were the ones that were clearly over. And in some cases you see the same MINIs crossing the line in multiple spots.

I have been a photojournalist for 30 years. On assignment, so often when disaster strikes I hear people say "you never think it's going to happen to you." Ask yourself if you would say that after hitting someone while driving over the line.

 

To Edge and everyone else who is backing me up, thanks very much. We will either become stronger as a community over this or be torn apart. The choice is ours.

 

Just received an email from Darryl at Killboy with his approval to use the photos in the video. Thanks Darryl!

 

Ah, good ol NAM rule number 5.

I agree with the above, but I do wonder if we'd get the same response from the community about a video of folks exceeding the speed limit on US 129. I'm absolutely positive a number of those folks crossing the yellow were because they hit the turn going too fast.

I will also add that a neophyte can drive the entire Dragon safely without a problem at the posted speed limit. Especially in a MINI.

Edit: Just to reiterate, I agree with the premise of this thread. Stay in your lane. However, the way that it was approached was wholly inappropriate, and the holier than thou attitudes being espoused do nothing to educate or correct the issue at hand. That's my two cents.

 

Here's another one, this is way past failure.

 

Whoa!!! Was that on the dragon or in Great Britain!?!?! Good Lord!

 

Is that a Mind the Gap badge I see? Come on now!

(I'm going to be optimistic and say he was evading a bear... who is out of frame... and he didn't try to slow down....)

 

I feel sorry for the passenger. I think if I were them, I'd a done a tuck and roll out the passenger door by this point.

 

I won't get into the posting pics is right or wrong argument, they were posted, that's done. But if you did it and someone caught you and posted your picture doing it, you got caught. If you don't want to get caught doing something... if you don't want your picture posted driving on the wrong side of the road... if you can't tell your mother about it... if your boss would fire you... etc DON'T DO IT. I have no sympathy for someone whose picture was posted of them doing something wrong. And I'm certainly not a "holier than thou" person - you should have seen my speedometer - but if I get caught I will just have to take it.

 

I'd like to think that photo of the BRG MINI has been inverted and he's really driving on the right side of the road and on his OWN shoulder.