Petition Seeks To Ban Pigeon Forge Rod Run

⚡️ Read the full article on Motorious

Residents have had enough of the harassment.

A petition posted on Change.org by Journee Clouse seeks to ban all future rod run events in Sevier County, Tennessee. The claim is that the Rod Runs, including the Pigeon Forge Rod Run, bring in the wrong element and result in residents being harassed. However, some are claiming it’s not the official Pigeon Forge Rod Run that’s the problem, but instead it’s the less-organized groups who show up on park along the roads in Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and other areas which are the true problem.

Before anyone accuses Clouse of just not liking gearheads, she admits when she was teenager she looked forward to attending the rod runs. However, recent events have been plagued by men harassing her and other women to flash them and do other lewd acts. Car crashes, traffic congestion, and drunken fights have also become all too common during the events.

A woman interviewed by local journalists said she and her 14-year-old sister were catcalled by several groups of men. Another woman posted on the petition page that she had been boxed in while in traffic, then some men got out of their cars and tried to pressure her to go with them while “detailing awful things.” After locking her doors and trying to ignore them, one of the men threw up on the hood of her car, then they finally drove away.

While we love car events, we don’t like people who turn them into excuses for complete debauchery. This kind of behavior isn’t acceptable anywhere, so it’s understandable why anyone would be upset.

Some argue the rod run shows bring in considerable revenue to the county, so cancelling them would hurt the local economy. However, Clouse says at the local business where she works things actually slowed down because of the Pigeon Forge Rod Run. With attendees taking up parking spots and causing traffic congestion, locals avoid patronizing businesses they normally would.