I have many close friends down around the Dragon and it's always been my pleasure to inform my MINI friends after the MOTD that the Gap (Dragon) locals consider the MINI group the best, most polite, and well behaved group of all the many car groups that congregate down near the Gap and run the Dragon (and there are many, many groups). Well, sadly this was not the case this year. Where most of the MINI folk were the standard well behaved crew, there were numerous reports of extremely bad and dangerous driving on the Dragon. Lori "Killgurl" came by my cabin at Fontana for a lunch I held for my local Rider friends on Saturday and told me she was ashamed to drive her MINI and if she had had her other car should would have driven that instead. Before coming she had phoned the other people attending the lunch and told them to be very careful crossing the Gap (Dragon) because the MINIs were driving dangerously. She lamented that she lives down there and she and the other local MINI owners were the ones who would bare the brunt of the unhappiness the locals were feeling toward the MINIs this year. Darryl "Killboy" was run off the road by an orange cabrio with the dragon on the side. She was totally in his lane while she was PASSING IN A BLIND CURVE! If there had not been a small pull-off and Darryl knew the road so well and was a very good driver, there would either have been a critical crash (him, in his mostly fiberglass car, being the one injured) or he would have plummeted down the 80 foot bank and been killed. Even if this MINI had been waved around by the MINI they were passing, they should never have passed when she could not see it was clear. You NEVER pass in a blind curve. Not to mention don't cross the double yellow lines. She did not even bother to turn around to see if Darryl was ok and when she was informed the next day that it was Killboy she ran off the road, she still never bothered to apologize (he isn't hard to find, since he's always on the side of the road taking photos). A quick glance at Killboy's blog this week will show MINIs driving incredibly unsafe and totally in the incorrect lane. killboy.com photos See the second page where he says: "This was also the year of some of the worst driving we've seen from the Mini group. I think the emphasis of how to act when visiting here is getting lost in all the excitement and activities. You know we love you guys, you're our bread-n-butter, but as fellow Mini owners, you're also our people. How does this disrespectfulness make us look after you've gone back home?" Darryl has nominated the woman who ran him off the road as next year's Safety Coordinator. killboy.com Safety Coordinator I was asked to tell the MOTD organizers about the dangerous driving going on in hopes of rectifying the behavior next year. We all love the gathering for MOTD and I would hate for someone to get killed. We need to police ourselves and make sure that noobies are properly educated about that fact that the Dragon is a PUBLIC ROAD where people live and work, and everyone needs to drive responsibly. We can all have fun and stay safe at the same time. Maybe we can save the MINI reputation next year and again become known as the most well behaved car group. After this years behavior, that certainly is not the case any longer.
Thanks for posting this. It certainly is not the way to act as "guests" to the area. Glad no one was hurt.
Thanks also for posting this. It is something definitely to reflect on. I hope this gets reposted before next year's event.
Sadly we agree, saw some very poor driving on the Dragon during the midnight run where a Countryman totally disregarded the yellow lines and crossed completely in to the other lane in almost every turn.. We even got on the radio and asked him and others to stay in their lane but it didn't help. Got as far away from that group as we could on the trip back down... Not the impression we need to leave at the Dragon....or anywhere for that matter....
I heard quite a few stories of the awful behavior by MINI peeps while there. It truly saddens to me to hear, b/c the behavior will likely continue un-checked and ultimately make a MOTD event very policed. FYI: It is not 'ok' behavior to all but shut down a highway so that you and your group can get photos w/ the perfect back drop. It is dangerous and outrageously arrogant of you (directed at the individual who did it) to behave that way.
In this case, I feel that public ridicule is completely justified. There is NO excuse for this what so ever. If I remember correctly MINIBEE posted a thread "Fail Of The Dragon" after MOTD 7 (which I could not attend) and it must have made a difference, as MOTD 8 (which I did attend) was well behaved. I hope the guilty folks get the message loud and clear. :frown2: Jim
I'm glad you posted this as I was looking at Killboy pictures tonight and felt the same way after seeing how many were over the line! The event idea is to enjoy yourself not to endanger others and if you can not drive that fast and stay in your lane, then SLOW DOWN!
I noticed this as well this year. This was only my 3rd visit but I can remember how much emphases there was placed on safe driving my 1st year. Its a shame to see things like this. Are we getting to big or just lazy?
+1 ^ Mol this is the crux of the whole issue. Lots of folks feel it is their private race track & behave like it is. I do not understand them & their lack of concern for other road users. FWIW I did not witness any bad driving. I only drove in on the dragon Thursday evening & out early Sunday morning. There are so many good roads I chose to leave the dragon to the racer wannabes. Although I did see the aftermath of a MINI turning in front of a local on 28 at Fontana. Luckily only car carnage, the people seemed OK. Quite a sobering sight. Seems like every year this is a problem. We had the largest group ever this year & from the sounds of it the largest problems. Sad stuff. :frown5:
DUDE, Please keep your stupidity home next year. How the hell do you not know what "dont cross the double yellow lines" mean. Don't f' things up for the rest of the people that are smarter than you.. I drove from Cali, two years ago and I knew what that meant. ... Ur MINI card has been revoked!
I have an idea. All of the photos of people being stupid in their driving the dragon should be printed. At next years MOTD they should all be posted on a wall of shame.
Education is the key and I guess we all didn't get the word out enough this year. We can do better and the public shaming that is now underway is just one bit of the puzzle. A multi-pronged approach night be a fun way to get the message across for next year and get the community involved in helping each other stay safe. Besides posting online and pictures in a prominent place of MINI owners misbehaving we should come up some ideas here. The Don't be "that guy" campaign. Clink Stickers for every car with a cartoonish MINI on its roof with a circle and line thru it and the text Don't be "that guy" Banners on various sites with the same message. A Don't be "that guy" video online. Your ideas here... Comer with some, I'll split this out for a new thread...
Speeding and/or driving too fast for conditions was also apparent at Fontana Village. Another MINI driver and I stopped a Fontana employee for going way too fast and talked to him. Shortly after he went through, a green 'limited edition' cabrio came through the same area, also going a bit too fast (considering a small group of us standing nearby). I tried to flag him down, he just waved and continued. Those are but 2 examples that I witnessed, and I didn't even have to leave Fontana :frown2: Note: I'm not claiming to be perfect, and I hope that if I mess up someone calls me out on it. But there's a right way, and a wrong way to deal with circumstances like the ones in this thread. If you don't know the difference, then perhaps you should remain silent. My .02...
Driving the Gap I drove the Dragon on Thurs and Fri and luckily did not see any bad driving by the Minis...I did see some stuts by motorcycles, passing on the double yellow which is also unacceptable. I think people forget this is a 'public' road. There are always a few who push the limits of safety and make us all look bad. For the most part, the Minis I saw were driving fine.
This was my first Mini event ever. I only spent one night at Fontana and I drove the Dragon very conservatively. This behavior is absolutely unacceptable. I was having too much fun driving in my own lane, much less any other. I am glad no one was hurt. I will attend next year, but this type of behavior needs to be diplayed at the forefront of next years event of what not to do.
It's sad to see some of these pictures. Just as sad as all the motorcycle helmets I saw on my side of the line last week. I think there have been some good suggestions in this thread so far. There are two laws that get broken every year on the Dragon. Speeding and crossing the yellow line. In my opinion, I can't help but believe that speeding leads to 75% or more of crossing the yellow line.(I'm guessing the other 25% is just laziness). Yet very few people want to address that. Maybe it's time to address both of them.
I think making newbie driving orientation mandatory is a good idea, but I don' see how it could be enforced. Short of adding to Barry's plate (keeping a separate list of new attendees) and taking attendance at orientation meetings, how else could it be done? One thought I have is that veterans "adopt" a newbie or 2 for one on one orientation, above and beyond the group orientations that already exist. The veterans could answer questions and reiterate tips for safe driving on ALL the roads. I'll be the 1st to volunteer to do this if this is instituted. I think posting photos on a wall of shame at the event is also a good idea. Unfortunately, public humiliation may be the only way to drive(pun intended) home the absolute necessity of safe driving. Perhaps pictures of horrific crashes on the Dragon should be posted as well, with the thought "Only YOU can prevent this from happening!" behind it. "Don't be THAT guy" stickers or clings need to be changed to "Don't be THAT Driver", since the most egregious act of unsafe driving was female. More ideas on this as they occur.