Everyone - the issue that came up this year was a new precedent for the event and one that had not been seen previously. With that in mind I have emailed the list of those involved in the organization of this year's event to request feedback on how to develop a policy to deal with issues like this at future events. This could range from a reprimand to local law enforcement involvement depending on the type of behavior. Obviously we want to have an event that is fun and safe for all those attending. As a policy is developed I will incorporate it into the registration process as well as the planning for next year's event.

In the meantime to address banning on NAM relative to a member's actions offsite...

I feel that NAM's guidelines are meant to enforce what is expected in how we interact with each other while online...and something that can easily be seen, tracked, and dealt with as appropriate. With this in mind if violations of the guidelines are made the person will be issued a first strike warning and on a subsequent violation will be removed from the site.

As this particular issue occurred at an event and involved the real world safety of the event participants I see this as something that should be addressed by the event organizers (myself included) in a consistent way at future events. This will be incorporated in the registration process and event operations for next year's event. Regardless I'm confident that at next year's event issues of this nature will be dealt with quickly and severly. No one wants the fun and safety of an event to be marred by the actions of a single participant.

Mark

 

Glad you're back, Mark.

 

And again, I am sorry for the chaos caused by the thread, but something needed to be said. Your words are a great relief to me and I am sure many others.

Welcome home man.

 

I bet if we had posted what he was doing on a biker forum the results may have differed...

 

There is nothing that the moderators can do to this guy. Banning him from NAM, even if he were a heavy poster would do nothing.

However as I posted in the locked thread, if I witness these acts again next year, I will show up at his cabin/hotel with the local LEOs in tow, and will testify in traffic court as to what I saw. Even if I have to drive back down there from PA for the court date.

Steve

 

agree with Mark's statement on the subject. However, I just don't see how an effective "policy" to deal with these annoying perpetrators can be developed. The Dragon takes place on federal land on a federal road, this is not private property we are taking about here. I am all for just punishment of those who by their negligence chose to endanger other people's lifes and property.

I think a careful strategy and approach must be considered by all parties involved. The last thing you want to do is to entince detractors and locals who would like to see these enthusiast events being banned from the area on a permanent basis.

Just be careful what you wish for.

 

It's people like this guy, that make the locals want these type of events banned. Passing on the Dragon, Doughnuts in the lot with people walking by. Imagine what he has done around the "locals"

Steve

 

Jeremy,

Crossing the yellow line by mistake is one thing, passing cars on corners, or anywhere on the Dragon, is something completely different.

Steve

 

Hey, pass that over here, eh

Us

 

Thank you Mark for your time in this matter . As mentioned previously your words have given a considerable amount of relief to myself and others in my Family . .

An absolute resolve to this matter may be difficult to accomplish but I feel assured that you and your staff will accomplish something to hopefully make this type of thing , a thing of the past . You have my Support 100%:::
Thank you .

 

I wanted to address this concern. I met with the owners of Fontana (they purchased Fontana last year) and a large portion of their business model is based on enthusiast events. Additionally the owner is on the Graham County board of commissioners and John Bunch (Fontana General Manager) is on the Travel and Tourism Board so I am VERY confident that we would receive the support we need to deal with issues like this promptly and without damage to the event itself.

In the meeting with the owner he said "he grew up in Graham Country being told that no one would ever come to that area of the country because of the little twisty roads and all the federally owned land. He said he never dreamed that those two things would become the area's biggest assets."

MOTD is the largest auto event that comes to that part of the country and may be the largest event Fontana hosts each year (we're about twice as big as any other auto event there). This coupled with a plan in how to deal when these types of issues arrive will insure the continued success of this event.

Mark

 

Mark, I am very pleased to hear that. Having the full backup of local businesses and government (+ law enforcement) can certainly go a long way in deterring those individuals that by choice are putting their lives and those around them in jeopardy.

 

I wonder if there is an old jail anywhere on Fontana's grounds.......

 

You are too quick to lock down.

There is (was) a thread regarding a certain reckless activity by a member of this forum. My wife and I were witness to this while at MOTD, and were directly affected by the reckless individuals actions. I did not see the thread until after it was locked so could not weigh in with my comments.

Regardless of that fact, by locking the thread, it will become buried; by being buried you place others in peril.

I understand this is one of the most restrictive forums on the Internet and to this time I have not really cared, however I guess that is the price paid for not being diligent in defending the freedom to speak.

I think in this case the price of politeness, political correctness, site guidelines; call it what you will, are much too high. Hurt feelings are nothing compared to someone being dead.

Banning this individual solves nothing, publishing his idiot actions makes others aware.

 

Publishing his actions is one thing... and was not the cause of the threads being locked or posts deleted...

However, the posting of private messages, contact information and the calls to harass this person is what caused the posts to be deleted and the threads to be locked.

You want to post what this person did, you want to post the pictures as evidence... Fine. You want to submit that information to the Graham and Blount County Sheriff's departments, you can do that too... But don't go posting private correspondence, or this person's address and phone number and incite others to harass and annoy this person.

 

Do you all think that just MAYBE (me not knowing him personally) that now he is aware of how everyone feels about his actions, and just how upset everyone is about it, he MIGHT act different next year?

Just giving him the benefit of the doubt, he messed up BIG time, showing off, and putting other peoples lives in danger. Now maybe he has read all of this and will NOT behave the same next year if he decides to come.

I know there are alot of "maybe's" in that and some "might's" but some people do learn by their mistakes.

DO NOT get me wrong, I do not agree with his driving habits at all! What he did was wrong and if a local LEO had seen his actions I am sure he would have been dealt with.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Sheri

 

Great logic Mark. I totally agree your with actions.

 

Nope!

He did it last year, and people said things to him. He did it again this year, and people said things to him.

There have been people in contact with him about his actions this year, and his attitude is, he did nothing wrong.

He will not change until he 1) gets a few citations from the LEOs, 2) kills someone.

Steve

 

I think your response is overly defensive. In my post I made no reference to phone numbers or harassment and agree that it is unacceptable. However, why lock the thread, simply X out the offending comments. NAM is far to quick to lock entire areas of discussion if a single member treads on the sacred site guidelines.

I also, at first, thought your comment regarding the Sheriff was a little silly. I do not carry a camera “at the ready” while driving, nor did I get the license number, as I was shocked by what happen, especially from a fellow MINI driver.

But to follow-up on your suggested solution I sent the following e-mail to the Blount County Sheriff's department. I’ll post their response.

While on a recent holiday in your area, my wife and I were on a scenic drive and were illegally passed by another motorist in reckless fashion. When I later related this event to others, I was told I should have reported it to your office. If I had gotten the individuals license number (I didn’t) would this have had any effect? As my cell phone does not work in that area, the call would have been placed some time after the event occurred.

There is no need to follow-up on this particular incident, however, I am just curious, how should this have been handled?

In the mean time, please go easy on the locks. I think most are adults here.

Best Regards

Mark

 

Where is this locked thread so I can read up?

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...hlight=passing

Somewhat entertaining

 

In most cases you're probably not alone... But it wouldn't surprise me if one of the many people who were shooting video of their runs didn't catch this guy in the act.

Plus there's usually no shortage of photographers scattered about the Dragon, it's possible somebody got a shot, heck Killboy did, although it was pretty minor, and probably was just one of many cars that he shot that weekend with a tire over the line.

As for the policy of locking threads... Well, we'll just have to agree to disagree there. When a thread is locked, it's because the moderator based on their experience, felt that the thread has entered into a death spiral. If it can be rescued by deleting the offending post(s), they will do so and re-open the thread, usually with a warning. However, if the thread is so far gone with a great deal of posts that violate site guidelines, then the moderatation team may decide that the thread isn't worth the effort to try and clean up and revive.

 

Michael, Killboy actually posted a picture of the offender (way over the line) on his blog for folks to respond to: www.killboy.com as he is well aware of how upset the MINI community is about the individual.

 

Lookie what I found on dealsgap.com today. Looks like the locals won't be looking forward to a return from our infamous friend:

"Thursday, May 11th
Hi everyone. I am back after a couple of much needed days off. This a.m., there is off and on rain, and they are basically calling for more rain throughout the weekend. It won't be consistent, but it will rain off and on. The 2 stroke club is in town this weekend, so expect to see some cool older bikes coming through.
To recap last week, we had a few not so nice wrecks, but overall, everyone dealt with the traffic and multitudes of people very well. I don’t normally do this, but I am going to make comment on one of the mini drivers that was giving a bad name to an otherwise fantastic group. Said car is a newer model Mini with big chrome wheels on it. I won't mention his tag # but to those that were here, you know who I am talking about. Sir, your driving and passing skills are not as good as you think you are. In the future, keep your car in your own lane, and drive a bit more respectfully."

And.....
"Friday, May 12th
Not much else to report, but I want to emphasize that tomorrow (especially tomorrow) is not a day to be an idiot. You will not be happy with the outcome. Why couldn’t they have been here for that jerk in the blue Mini ??"

 

Well in that case, it could be used as evidence. That is if anybody was going to persue it... The only picture I saw was of just a tire over the line, but then again, I didn't going searching through all of his pictures...