Group Drives – Do’s & Dont’s
Spring is finally here and with its arrival, the forums are abuzz with stories of owners bringing their pride and joy out of storage. As expected the S2000 is passing on to a second generation of owners. Many people that have dreamed about owning one for the last decade seem to have bit the bullet and bought a great car (whether new or used). Going by all the new posts on the Introductions forum, group drives everywhere will include first-timers and perhaps now would be a good time for all of us to review the do’s and dont’s on group drives so we may temper our enthusiasm and continue to enjoy the S2000 safely for a long time in the company of kindred souls.
There are two kinds of events that are typically organized by our communities – Group Drives and Meets. The former involves a drive along a pre-determined route, with breaks along the way for lunch, sight-seeing etc.. Meets are typically a gathering of cars at a rendezvous point and provide more of an opportunity for face-to-face interaction and socializing. However you look at it, both kinds of events are great for community building and have gone a long way towards establishing camaraderie and esprit de corp among our members. This post from my remote Upstate Outpost though is to focus on Group Drives and the best way to enjoy them.
Our archives at S2KI already contain a great article posted by drewchie that can be accessed by clicking here. Yet another great resource for anyone that is looking forward to their first group drive is this post on the Oregon S2000 owners forum. Also this post on the Florida S2000 Owners forum is a good read for everyone that’s either planning or participating in a group drive. The Texas – North Texas S2000 owners also have nice link to rules that must be adhered to on group drives.
Some of our communities also have a thread for great drives. The Oregon S2000 owners forum has a listing of suggested drives for some pure unadulterated VTEC fun. There is the Meets and Events section of our forum, that has a listing of all the major events our membership participates in.
Group drives are great fun and the fun quotient doubles when it is a group of S2000’s driving the route together in a VTEC chorus. That said there are ground rules that must be adhered to and I present the following tips as a quick summary, to recall when you do make it to your first drive:
1. Arrive on time (or ahead of time) with a full tank of gas. It is not courteous to keep others waiting and I will admit I’ve been guilty of this in the past.
2. Pay attention in the drivers meeting. Ensure you have studied all the instructions posted by the drive organizer. Feel free to ask questions.
3. Be Situationally Aware – Group Drives are not held on a closed circuit and on public roads.
4. Drive within your limits. Remember that video of Jenson Button drifting that Honda S2000 was performed on a closed circuit. Even Jenson Button would drive safer on public streets.
5. Do not tailgate. You do not want to be the cause of worry for the person in front of you. Dont get them nervous so they keep looking back at you instead of looking forward and enjoying the drive. Also tailgating may mess things up for the person behind you, in the event you braked suddenly. I was rebuked on one of my first drives and have since learned to be a better participant.
6. Stay in your lane. It is always recommended that you do not hog the left lane (unless turning). You dont want the general population or the police to think of you as a menace.
7. Stay within the speed limit. Most drives are organized to include fun sections with curves and transport sections. The fun sections will have curves and you can enjoy driving them within the limit. Do not exceed the speed limit on transport sections. If you get pulled over, you will have spoiled the drive for everyone.
8. Overtake only when on straights when there is no danger of oncoming traffic and in a designated passing zone. If you are being overtaken by the person behind you, please yield. Do not get into a drag race on public streets.
9. Lastly, have fun. Enjoy meeting others and building friendships. Be respectful of others and you will receive their respect in return.
Now that you have read and processed everything above, it’s time to smile, get in that car of yours, head to the nearest open stretch of road, and hit VTEC 😛 . Stay safe people and enjoy the spring weather. 🙂
Images courtesy of S2KI members JonasM, Defender and NNY S2K.
NOTE: S2KI welcomes the opinions of its members on the S2000 and on all topics related to the S. Should you feel the creative urge to pen a few words then by all means do so and PM energetic, aashish2 or Onehots2k OR send us links to what you would like us to write about and we will feature you (or your community) on the S2KI Home Page.