At MOTD this year I was startled by the number of people in the MINI community who were constantly crossing the double yellow line. Usually I drive the Dragon watching for bikers over the line. This year, I was watching for MINIs.

These photos, taken from the Killboy, Moonshine and Zee Foto web sites (plus one video by MINIBee), were all made during MOTD 7. On the first day we heard reports that a MINI had crossed the line and forced a biker off the road. Are you shocked? Appalled? Keep watching and you'll see many examples of FOTD - Fail of the Dragon.



Sure, some people may see these photos who were unaware they were crossing the line. If that's you, this is your wakeup call. But when you look at many of the photos it's clear people are intentionally crossing the center line.

Is this what we stand for as a community? We curse the bikers for crossing the line and then we go out and do it ourselves? The challenge and the honor in driving the Dragon at a spirited pace comes when you do it between the lines. Anyone can ride down the center of the road and do it fast. Come on people, lives are at stake here.

If you are in one or more of the photos (or video) I make no apologies. They are public record and you knew the photos were being made. I'm sure this will be controversial but I'm hoping through constructive discussion some good will come from it.

 

to echo your sentiment

when folks get accustomed to disregarding the center line, it is possible to carry more speed on any given section

the problem is that even though the driver may believe that he/she could get out of the way if need be, it may not be the case

a lesson learned on the Great Ocean Road west of Melbourne AU

and reinforced between Mill Valley and Point Reyes in northern CA

and definitely a life and death matter - and most probably someone else's life

Charlie

 

If anyone saw me cross the double yellow line on a curve during the Sat Night Darkness On The Dragon run, it was only because I went into that curve misjudging the sharpness. So, forgive me the 8 to 12 inches of the other lane I consumed. I got the other 635 curves correct.

But yeah, intentionally cutting those curves to maintain your speed... not smart.

 

I agree with the sentiment, but here's my constructive criticism...

First, I don't know how kosher it is using the proof photos from those sites in such a manner. Linking to the proofs is one thing, actively bypassing the copyright scripts to put the photos in a video that completely takes the photographer's site out of the equation is another... (just a fellow photographer's view.)

That said, I think it better to continue drilling the "watch the yellow line" warning and show the pitfalls of failing to adhere to that warning, rather than saying "don't be like these guys". Some look intentional, some don't. Some folks could've realized they were going way too fast for conditions, and made the decision to cut the corner. Mistakes can happen, as a previous poster also pointed out. I am pretty sure that I cut corners on my first run or two on the Dragon, because I didn't know the road that well and I wasn't prepared. That doesn't absolve me of my sin, but it does bring things into perspective. Not everyone has driven a road like the dragon, and some folks even let their non-MINI owner buddies drive their MINI on a nice set of twisties. (One of the guys in our group let his buddy drive, and his buddy got to meet the THP. )

So basically, yeah, there were some folks who crossed the yellow for whatever reason. What do we do about it? Do we assume they all did it on purpose and use public humiliation to get the point across? And what if that drives them away from the community? Some might say good riddance, others might be more interested in "re-educating" them. Which is better for MOTD and the local view of us as a whole?

(As an aside, did anyone go to the orientation/newbie run and how heavy was the "stay in your lane" mantra covered?)

 

Echo here, too.

My brother (currently a non-MINI owner, but now he's addicted!) went with me to MOTD and even drove the Dragon and many other twisties. Even him being a newbie, he still did everything he could to stay in the lines - it probably helped by threatening to never let him drive again if he didn't. Like MINI Bee said, staying in the lines is what makes it so much more fun and challenging. Not to mention safer.

Unfortunately, both on the Dragon and on the roads around it, I encountered MANY more non-MINIs that crossed the line. Doesn't matter what you drive, the lines are there for a purpose.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. At first I made collections of the photos on the various web sites but I also had video and wanted to pull everything together into one place to help make the point. So I made screen grabs of the photos to pull them into the video. I'm not profiting from their use and I credited the photographers. I will gladly purchase the photos if they feel that's necessary.

My intent was not to say "don't be like these guys." My intent is awareness, for both the drivers in the photos and the drivers who may come upon them in the other lane. As I stated, some of these folks probably were not aware they were crossing. Others obviously knew. I had a conversation with the man in the silver cabrio (video) and he said he was aware he was driving in the other lane but had a clear line of site and didn't think it was a problem. That video was made during a very slow-paced Dragon Parade. We all know how fast things can happen out there. The crotch rockets often lean their heads over the line so being on the line is not even safe.

I too made some mistakes on my first Dragon runs. I took turns with a buddy taping our runs. When we looked at the first tapes we saw our wheels on the center line a few times and on the outside line a lot more and we made adjustments.

Again, I made no assumptions about all the people crossing the line on purpose, just observations. This is part of the re-education to which you refer. If we can't keep our own house in order how can we critisize the bikers, Miatas, Corvettes and everyone else out there?

I helped Cabriopilot with the newbie orientation and yes, not crossing the line was heavily emphasized.

I guess the thing that drove me to do this was the large number of people who were crossing. I saw it on almost every run I did this year and it just hasn't been like that before.

 

I let my friend drive my car. On the way to the dragon somewhere in the 10 hour drive, I told him "you never ever ever ever EVER cross the double yellow" (I'm pretty sure those were my exact words) and then went on about motorcyclists and other cars and blind corners. Then when he did nudge it on a couple of corners I said "Watch the yellow line!" And as a result, my car is not in MINIBee's video. Oh, and this was my 1st time too.

It's easy to say "he/I was a beginner and didn't know the road" but you have to take responsibility, admit when you're wrong and make sure it doesn't happen again rather than making excuses. It doesn't matter if it was intentional or not.

 

The photo thing was more of the photographer in me cringing when I see folks use proofs for anything more than just to see how the photo looks before purchasing (I can't count the number of times I had to turn people away from the photo processing place I worked at because they wanted to enlarge a proof of their student's school photo...). If they're cool with it, I've got no say in it.

Do you think the weather had anything to do with people thinking the double yellow is a suggestion? With the number of occurrences, did anyone hear of a MINI getting a ticket for crossing the double yellow? I guess what I'm wondering is if the numbers are actually higher, or simply seem higher. I'd go look through previous years of photos, but I'm too lazy.

 

Thanks for the emphasis, MINI Bee. This was my first dragon run, and I found two things very helpful in keeping myself between the lines. One was that I didn't lead a trip up on the dragon until the last day and I had driven it a couple of time. The other was, of all things, having a navi. With a navi, I was able to glance at upcoming turns and negotiate my speed based on the sharpness of the turn.

These of course, don't include the newbie run either, which I missed because I came the next day.

Just wanted to pass along a couple tips from my experience. It's definitely more challenging to stay in the lines, but it's also more rewarding.

Thanks again.

 

On many of the above photos, with car right on the line, or just over it slightly, all is forgiven, for perhaps they were not aware of it or simply chose a bad line, or whatever, but there are some GROSS examples, with some cars over half into the other lane, that is simply unacceptable!

I live near the dragon, and I see people in all types of vehicles, including LEO's crossing the line, but with cars that handle as good as our, with such short wheelbases, there is really no excuse!

 

Totally agreed.

I had to tsk tsk one of our club's members when we went up earlier this year and he went straight down the S's.

 

I should think that anyone viewing the video and seeing his/her car crossing the lines would be mortified. And then, having his/her license plate posted publicly [and not blacked out] should cause even more angst, as those people are now "marked". Enjoying the thrill of the Dragon is one thing, but making yourself the not-so-guided-missile is quite another.

 

Might I suggest that it is the experienced, veteran MOTD crowd that might need re-emphasis on the importance of observing the "not crossing the line" rule...maybe even more than the noobs? Just a bit of over-confidence and cockiness can easily become inattentiveness to driving within personal skill levels and not so much thought on good motoring practices.

Probably worthwhile to hammer this home to everyone each year.

 

I agree with the photographer comments.. If i were one of the photographers selling images, I'd be pissed to see my proofs abused.

However, my car IS in there... driven by my brother on his first run on the dragon and the first time he's ever driven a MINI. The car is one tire over the line on an early turn where he happened to get photographed. He quickly adjusted, got use to the car and did well the rest of the trip. I am planning to buy the photo from the photographer and make a poster of it to tease him (what are brother's for?)

One moment in time doesn't always tell the full story.

 

I like this idea. Perhaps a fun "motoring tips" pamphlet in the welcome packet is a good idea. I know it was in the large packet we all downloaded, but maybe something fun sort of like a flashcard or something in the welcome bag would really help drive the point home.

 

While I agree that crossing the double yellow on the dragon is EXTREMELY dangerous, I don't think this is the best way to point it out.

In addition, in creating a video to make this point, one should probably avoid circumventing copy protection measures to obtain the bulk of the content and using copy written music for the soundtrack. As someone who has had my copy written work stolen and posted on the internet, I have a big objection to anything like that.

 

I will contact them to see what the have to say and will either buy the photos or take the video down if they object. I think they take those photos to document and prove this point. After all, how many people want to buy a photo of themselves with both wheels over the center line?

 

Appears Bartski does.

 

I was behind you on the return run, and didn't notice anything.

 

You didn't even notice my cute boot ??

 

Oh yeah, I noticed your boot, alright.

Did you notice my headlights?

 

Oh dear... how could I miss them... they are HUGE and perfectly shaped.

 

Oh holy god.

 

What ?? did you ever notice how large the R55 headlights are compared to the R50/52/53 ? And they are perfectly shaped.

 

You're a mess.