A great morning for a drive - who wouldn't want to come out? Everybody did.


--Bob Collum

 

Above is a picture of a Fairfax County policeman, who followed an attendee in this morning, and gave him a couple of tickets. I talked to the guy pulled over, and he said the tickets were for 'colored headlights' (the colored-LED surrounds are apparently not legal in VA), and for having plastic covers over his license plates, front and rear.


Regulars have seen that we are drawing the attention of the police, over the last several weeks. It must be said that this is a direct result of a few bad actors who have done burnouts, engine revving, and some overly-fast transiting of the aisles in the parking lot. (Please note that the guy who got the tickets had not been doing that, but was the victim of the law enforcement presence.)


Personally, I have been coming to these events since late 2010, and we have not had these problems until recently. As this event grows, we have to be more and more cognizant that we are guests on this parking lot. Adolescent behavior cannot be tolerated. There are condos adjacent to the parking lot, and people will complain. I, for one, will be very angry if I get a ticket for no front plate, because some fool draws law enforcement attention where we have been operating without issue for nearly 4 years.

Let's please make sure everyone knows that none of us appreciates bonehead behavior where we meet every week. (My personal opinion, based on what I have seen at both Katie's and Fair Lakes, is that the combination of kids recording video at the exits, combined with drivers showing off, is a big problem.) Please encourage everyone to behave responsibly; it is possible for problems caused by a small amount of people to cause problems for everyone. It has already started.


Thanks!


--Bob Collum

 

A beautiful morning!


--Bob Collum

 

That looks my my old Gt2. I hope he is taking care of it, the car was and is a beast.

 

I had the Jaguar sub-event, off to the side Sunday. We had a great time.


An important message to Fair Lakes attendees:

It is unfortunate that we are getting a growing number of miscreants at this event. Several people did high-speed runs down Fair Lakes Circle, both when arriving and when departing. Add to that the misguided individuals who decided it was a good idea to use the multi-story parking structure for loud acceleration runs, and you'll be wondering where this all stops.

I can guarantee you that there will be heavy police presence at Fair Lakes in the next few weeks, but no one can say for sure what that will mean. It could result in tickets for relatively minor infractions; we just don't know. It is important that everyone understand that it's possible for this event to disappear, if we don't get this under control, now.

--Bob Collum

 

Bob C is right on with his post. The behavior of several people this past Sunday was appalling. Including the guy in the vintage Charger who left the event spinning both rear tires and getting completely sideways on Fair Lakes Circle.

There have been MANY complaints from the residents of noise, reckless driving, and speeding and now we have 3 -5 officers at every meet. Even with the police presence, people still insist on doing things that will get this venue shut down.

If you can't or won't behave appropriately then please find somewhere else to be on Sunday morning. Make no mistake, all it will take is the owners of the shopping center providing permission to Fairfax County Police to stop this meet and it will be over.

 

Remember that we are guests of Starbucks, Kohls, Dicks, AND the people who live in the condo building at the other end of the lot. If they want us gone, we will be gone. Our event has grown and we have so many great people and cars, it would be tragic if we had to cancel this venue.

If you come to the event, please abide by these very few and very simple rules:

1. Demonstrate respect for the people who live there and for the event. No silly and/or stupid driving antics entering or leaving the event. Please save the burnouts and 0 - 100 mph runs for somewhere else.
2. Drive SLOWLY in the parking lot - there are kids, LOTS of people wandering about, pets, and people going to shop.
3. Don't start your car and repeatedly rev the engine demonstrating how loud it is. We love that stuff but the rest of the people going to shop or living in the condo probably don't.
4. EVERY car there is special and exceptional. That is why we all take our ONE parking space. If you feel the need to take more than one space, please feel free to do so at a different event.

Ok, that's it - pretty simple basic stuff.

Please copy this and post it in other forums to get the word out.

Thank you and lets try and keep this venue safe, fun, and growing for a long time to come!

 

Can someone draw up a flyer to hand out?(If you send me a file, I can print a couple hundred copies). I'd be willing to put them on windshields, and I'm sure we can find a few others to help as well...

 

Unfortunately, I don't think the people doing this crap care, and I doubt they're on this forum. Maybe the flyers will help, but I have a feeling the people doing won't care about those either. If they did, they wouldn't be pulling these stunts to begin with.

Katie's is starting to get the same problem. The Mustang group that showed up a week ago was a perfect example.

 

Food for thought:


At both Katie's, and at Fair Lakes, individuals are waiting by the exits, recording video, encouraging infantile behavior. Give a little thought to what would happen if the police confiscated video devices, and used the amateur video to prosecute someone. I wonder how those involved would feel about that?


--Bob Collum

 

I had my wife and kids out for there first C&C at Fair lakes yesterday. My wife and I both were a bit surprised at the childish behavior. Not needed and it will ruin a good thing we have going.


I also noticed the FFX County officer drive through each lane of the parking lot to make a point!


To the guy in the Laguna Blue M3 that was revving his engine in the parking lot: Please Knock it OFF!

 

I have reposted this on the Northern Virginia Sports Car Club (NVSCC) facebook page as well as e-mailed all the members via the meetup site.

 

The organizer of Hunt Valley Horsepower actively asks people not to take pictures and/or video near the entrances/exits to minimize the potential for drivers wanting to show off.

 

Yesterday after a big horsepower camaro left, I had words with a couple guys that were egging people on at the exit. I told them that behavior like that is what's going to get us shut down... One guy's response? "Well... it made for a real cool video...."

 

Disappointing... both the ones taking the videos, and the ones lacking any self-control, as well as throttle control. I heard several loud, high-speed runs down Fair Lakes Circle.


I was surprised that I did not see any police around, while I was there.


--Bob Collum