Unacceptably rowdy behavior by a number of nonmember motorists and bikers at its July 23 downtown Rod Festival cruise night has led ColoRODans of Longmont to announce it will cease holding the annual event.

“We had a bunch of unruly characters ruin it,” said Terry Campbell, ColoRODans’ Rod Festival chairman.

“The lack of respect shown by a few reckless and inconsiderate drivers endangered both the safety of the spectators and the safety of other car owners who were attempting to enjoy a cruise night on Main Street,” Campbell said.

He cited such problems as “constant burnouts,” deliberately exhausted clouds of coal-colored smoke, racing motorcycles and the noisy “over-revving of tuner cars.”

Those, Campbell said, “were just a few of the totally inappropriate actions by these inconsiderate and self-absorbed individuals” — interloping drivers who butted into the ColoRODans annual city-permitted event for street rods and specialty, antique, classic, vintage, restored and customized cars and trucks.

“We had a lot of phone complaints” about what Campbell said is supposed to be “a family-friendly event.”

He said ColoRODans’ board of directors decided Tuesday night that, after 46 years, it won’t be sponsoring any more of the traditional rod festivals.

Campbell’s message to the offending drivers, who he said didn’t appear to be ColoRODans or other regular festival participants: “We hope that you will experience at least some shame for your careless disregard of the other drivers and the spectators.”

He said ColoRODans wants to apologize to people who live in the neighborhood, particularly residents of The Village Place at Longmont, 600 Main St., “who had to listen to the incessant and unnecessary revving of engines of those inconsiderate drivers” — as well as to people who were trying to dine outside at downtown restaurants that night but “were assaulted with the ‘rolling coal’ from the inappropriate actions of some diesel truck drivers.”

The car club also extends its apologies, Campbell said, “to the parents who had small children in the crowds and left early” because of the offending motorists who did burnouts in “blatant disregard” of those children’s safety.

Many of the street rodders belonging to ColoRODans or similar clubs — along with other street-rod and classic car and truck owners who annually show up for the Longmont Rod Festival — left early themselves, “due to the antics of these careless drivers,” Campbell said.

This year’s downtown Rod Festival again attracted hundreds of onlookers who showed up with lawn chairs and blankets to watch the show as cars and trucks cruised along Main between Second Avenue and Colo. 66, as well as what Campbell estimated were about 1,500 participating vehicles.

Campbell said, however, that “it has become apparent to us as a car club that we can no longer sponsor an annual festival.”

He said, “ColoRODans will not be put in a position of being held responsible for childish, spoiled, self-centered actions of these inconsiderate people who deemed it their right to drive recklessly and disregard both the rule of law on how a driver is supposed to drive a car, and disregard the safety of our fellow citizens.”

Campbell said ColoRODans is thankful, however, to “the loyal street rodders who have come to Longmont over the past 46 years, even traveling as far as 1,000 miles to be part of our historic and annual event.”

Campbell, a former Colorado State Patrol sergeant, also expressed gratitude to Longmont police, “who have tried to be a presence so that drivers would be on their best behavior, and working with us on the safety plans needed for such an event.”

Longmont police Cmdr. Joel Post said on Thursday that while there were no specific statistics about cruise-night incidents compiled, there were about five motor-vehicle accidents in the area that night — one of which resulted in a DUI arrest, although Post said “an accident on Main Street doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s tied to” the event.

Post said officers also reported there were “a few verbal disturbances here and there” but “nothing major” in that category.

Post said one of the officers he talked to said that the area was so crowded with onlookers and cruise-night participants that there might have been situations where they couldn’t get to the location safely, even if they saw something they suspected might be questionable going on.

Campbell, meanwhile, said that others deserving of ColoRODans’ applause for their help with the Rod Festival in this and previous years were the Longmont Downtown Development Association; the Longmont Visitors Association; Michelle Gomez, an administrative assistant in the Longmont city clerk’s office, and Jeff Friesner, a city recreation manager, “who were always willing to help us through the myriad of paperwork and logistics of a Rod Festival.”

He also issued what he said is “a huge thanks to the Longmont and surrounding area citizens who have shared our passion for street rodding, who have helped us support the local charities and who have enjoyed sharing with us car enthusiasts the Longmont historical ties to the automobile and cruising.”

Campbell said ColoRODans has no plans to move the Rod Festival to another city: “It’s best that we shut it down,” he said.

He said the club intends, however, to continue non-festival activities that focus on community projects and raising funds for local charities.

John Fryar: 303-684-5211, jfryar@times-call.com or twitter.com/jfryartc