Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by FT2 (talk | contribs) at 12:26, 4 October 2007 (→London Tunnel Run in the Media: add info on video). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Tunnel running" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Tunnel Running is a kind of recreational motor vehicle activity, in the form of a road rally for owners of high performance sports cars. It emphasises recreational driving in a group, and in particular, journeys involving tunnels, often at night when little other traffic is present. At times convoys of over 200 cars have driven through tunnels in this manner. Like flash mobs, tunnel runs tend to be organised in a clandestine manner.

The activity originated in 2004 in the UK, and emphasises acoustic enjoyment of the sounds and unusual echoes produced and social enjoyment of the shared activity, rather than speed. The originating group runs a monthly run, known as the London Tunnel Run, which commenced in 2004.

Background and history

Tunnel Running, or "tunnelling", originated as an organised hobby, interest, or activity, originated as a social activity amongst London England TVR enthusiasts in 2004. Some sources state it was originated by one person, Eddie Wharram, others that it started with a group of "six enthusiasts" - Autocar states that six people "turned up" following a suggestion. Eddie Wharram stated in an interview that the initial motive was simply the "unbelievable" noise caused by echoes of a high power car engine, within the tunnels of London. Enthusiasts emphasise participation and shared enjoyment over competition, and the enjoyment of an extrovert nature]].

As a city, London has many tunnels, which gave rise to an enjoyment element. Semi-regular meetings followed, often at night or pre-dawn to avoid congestion, and at times including upwards of 200 cars. Other runs have visited in areas such as Wales and the south coast, or travelled overseas to Paris and the tunnels of the Alps (the "Furball 5000" run).

On such runs, route and logistic information is often provided by the organisers, themselves enthusiasts. The run to Paris caused a minor traffic jam near the Eiffel tower as locals stopped to take pictures, but whilst the police were quickly in attendance their action was for the most part limited to curiosity and chatting with Tunnelers. All cars returned to the UK, with organisers noting that not one speeding ticket or untoward incident had occurred on the journey.

Organisation

This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (October 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Members and vehicles

Whilst it is not imperative to have a particular type of car in order to attend (i.e there are no guidelines), an attendee's car tends to be one of the following:

1. A recognised high performance vehicle;
2. A recognised classic vehicle;
3. A vehicle considered to be unique enough to attract interest (i.e. rare/modified/import/prototype etc).

The criteria for drivers is stated by the organisers to be one of maturity. The runs are organised within a restricted Internet forum to prevent them from being gatecrashed by unwanted parties who may drive dangerously and bring the London Tunnel Run into disrepute. To date this has not happened.

International aspects

There are a number of international groups who bring a selection of vehicles over to the UK and join in the runs. In 2007 a Dutch contingency joined in on more than one occasion, arriving on a Saturday morning to be met by a number of the UK Tunnel Runners. Both times they completed a run that afternoon as well as a run early on the Sunday morning with the London Tunnellers.

Safety issues

The original London group has active relations with the Metropolitan Police Service to make sure that inconvenience to the general public is kept to a minimum. Many copycat runs have been created by other internet forums. To combat this the London Tunnel Runners now inform the police of every run that they have planned, to enable the police to deal with genuine complaints in case those are made.

Complaints and criticisms

In late 2006, complaints by Islington Council led to contact by the police - the London Tunnel Run had developed a prediliction for the underpasses under the Barbican Estate, which are wide and spacious, but are also above ground and act as underpasses for a 2000-apartment central London housing estate. The council identified the drivers as the "London Tunnellers", describing them as a "clandestine group of sports car enthusiasts" and stating that they were "quite notorious in certain circles" by reason of their choice of location and activity. The noise, at early hours of the day, had received complaints. Police commented that "It seems the idea is to make as much noise as possible, using high-powered sports cars. But there have been no allegations of speeding or dangerous driving."

London Tunnel Run in the Media

• The programme "Vroom Vroom" on mainstream satellite channel Sky One carried a report on the tunnel run where presenter Emma Parker Bowles was invited to join the run. Youtube videos available here.
• A video of a Tunnel Run can be seen here (the main run begins around 6½ minutes into the video).
• Article and gallery in Channel 4's 4car website available here.

References

1. ^ 'RIDES' magazine, May/June 2006, p.41-42.
2. ^ Autocar, February 2006, p.68-69. and
3. As described in both reviews organisation of runs tends to be via a "members only" website with directions and routes often only handed out at the rendez-vous; the description "clandestine" was also used in the Islington Council description.
4. ^ Islington Gazette, 24 January 2007. Bid to halt tunnel racers.

• Road rallying