Bay Of Plenty Mustang Owners Club Vehicle Run Protocols.

For the safety and enjoyment of all attendees convoy driving rules will apply for the journey to the destination/venue for BOPMOC sanctioned vehicle runs. All club members will be expected to follow these rules, the return trip home will be less formal and members are welcome to enjoy their own drive. Please remember your driving behaviour reflects on the public’s perception off our club. New Zealand “law” road rules will always apply.

Please take note of the meeting times and start location from the website (these may change), make sure your fuelled up and ready to go. A short driver briefing will be held prior to departure.

Vehicles:

All drivers must have a vehicle that has a current warrant of fitness, and is registered and insured. Any vehicles not meeting these criteria will be turned away from a club sanctioned run.

Convoy rules: 

Important so we don’t lose anyone on the way, and let’s face it nothing looks and sounds more impressive than a line of Mustangs.

• All vehicles regardless of their position in the convoy will keep visual contact with the vehicle behind, (A 200 metre distance is fine) this means if you lose sight of the vehicle in your rear-view mirror you will slow down until they are in sight, this will result in the group staying together. Yes, I know this means you can’t go racing ahead but your chance will come on the return trip if this is what you want.
• We will make stops as we get closer to destinations or venues to “group the convoy” and make sure everyone is OK. When the group takes off again, keep an eye on your wing mirror the last car pulls out first (sort of blocking the traffic) and everyone else pulls out together. Also, the last car has the best view of when a gap is coming – we will still be in convoy formation.
• At traffic lights there are often 2 lanes for a short distance through the lights. Our aim is to get as many Mustangs through on each phase. So, in this case USE BOTH LANES and when we merge like a ZIP on the other side we are back in convoy. If we all politely stay in the left lane we will merge with other road users in our convoy and only half the group gets through. Should the convoy split the lead vehicles will attempt to pull over allowing the rest to catch up.
• We will be planning the all-important comfort stops on the way.
• We will have a lead vehicle and a tail end Charlie. These vehicles will be in two-way radio contact or cell phone contact with each other so in the event something happens to a vehicle we can assist.

“No Mustang will be left behind.”

• With all club runs we will post a link to the planned route that you can copy/download to your phone and follow.
• A First Aid kit and Defibrillator will travel with the convoy, and we have first aid trained committee members that will be on hand to assist and help coordinate any emergency response if required.

High profile:

We want to use the club runs to lift the public profile of the BOPMOC. And hey what’s wrong in showing off our vehicles as well, we are all proud Mustang owners after all. When possible, club run’s will begin with a loop through the town we start from, this could be Tauranga, around the Mount shops and beach front and also around any towns that we pass through including our destination. Please note the start locations for a run will not always necessarily be the same location.

• Non-club members owning Mustangs are welcome and club members are encouraged to invite any non-club members owning a Mustang to one of our club runs, subject to them agreeing to our run protocols.

Weather events:

We will keep an eagle eye out on the weather forecast leading up to any planned run and if we believe the weather will be too bad we will look at an alternative date, advising club members as soon as we can.

Split runs:

A couple of times a year after the initial town run start we will split the newer vehicles from the older vehicles and send them in different directions with both groups arriving at the same location. This will give the older vehicles a chance to drive at a pace they are comfortable with likewise for the newer vehicles. We will advise in advance which runs will be run this way.

October run:

October is the annual Mustang conference month. Some club members choose to attend the conference so the club will look at arranging a separate club run for those not attending but wanting to take their ponies out for some fresh air.

Media Release:  From time-to-time BOPMOC may enlist the services of a photographer, videographer or UAV pilot for the purposes of marketing activities or for promotional activities on social media platforms. You and your Mustang may be filmed or photographed on any approved club run or approved club activity. As the driver any passengers in your Mustang should be made aware that they may be filmed or photographed.

Photographs and video footage (film, digital or other) taken by other club run or club activity attendees may be used for personal purposes and/or for inclusion in the BOPMOC newsletter and on social media platforms. however publication in any commercial media or advertising material without the prior written permission of BOPMOC is  prohibited.