John Farley
Supporter
Just a few random thoughts:
1. There are multiple aspects to what is being discussed in this thread, including mass chaser convergence, irresponsible and dangerous driving/behavior, and the possibility of legislation restricting chasing and/or law enforcement actions that have the same effect. Different issues arise with each of these aspects, so that I think that each aspect is worthy of some discussion.
2. On the issue of mass chaser convergence, such as has happened a couple times recently in Oklahoma. I think that a wide variety of factors, including the actions of almost everyone on ST, have contributed to this. Twister and similar movies, specials (and now regular storm-chasing series) on TDC and similar channels, Vortex 2, the "live coverage" on TWC, local media sending out their TV mets to chase, and the wide availability of storm chasing material on the Web, including our Web sites, Facebook, and ST itself. In some ways, we have all contributed to this in varying degrees, and I am afraid the genie is out of the lamp; the horse is out of the barn, or however you want to say it - chasing has reached such a level of popularity that when you have high risks in Oklahoma in mid-May, mass convergence is probably unavoidable. And wait until next year, when all the people that saw this year's hype get out there. Maybe the absence of Vortex 2 will help, but that may just be offset by more newbies and locals inspired by this year's coverage. About all I see that we can do about this is avoid the areas and times when it is obvious that mass crowds are likely to be out. It can be done - each of the last 3 years I have seen tornadoes witnessed by 0-2 other chasers. But I will probably never have that experience in Oklahoma in May.
3. On the issue of irresponsible chasing/driving/behavior: There have been numerous examples pointed out in this thread and others recently. These include, but are not limited to, illegal passing, pulling out in front of traffic, standing in the middle of the road, parking without being completely off the road, even in areas with considerable traffic, driving slowly to watch the storm, running stop signs and yield signs, and on and on. PEOPLE GET KILLED by doing each and every one of these things, and it is a miracle that so far none of those people have been chasers or killed by chasers. But if this keeps up, IT WILL HAPPEN. Please everyone, do not engage in these behaviors, confront those who do, and report them when you see them. Yes, the TIV does this and seems to be a flagrant violator, but they are far from the only one. Others with TDC, chase tours, apparently some in Vortex 2, and gazillions of individual and media chasers have also done these things. It is time for this to stop, and now.
4. On the issue of legislation and law enforcement action - I think it is evident that this threat is real and under way now, and those of you that continue to deny it are sticking your heads in the sand. But there are some things we can do that can help to minimize this problem. We can self-police, as I state in the item above. We can avoid places we know will have massive chaser convergences, or move away from the crowd when they occur. We can resolve to NEVER engage in the dangerous and illegal behaviors I outlined in item 3 above. And, perhaps most important, we can work with allies. It may be that in Oklahoma so many eyes are on the storm that we are not really needed, but that is not the case in many places. So we can provide timely information to the NWS, and also contact them and offer to share with them our pictures and videos for training and analysis purposes. I've seen NWS offices asking for such things, even in Oklahoma where every other person seems to be a chaser. Certainly there is even more need elsewhere. We can assist emergency responders when damage or injuries occur. And we can remind folks (including people in the relevant businesses) that we are a substantial source of tourism in states like Oklahoma and Kansas in the spring, bringing substantial money into the state in the forms of hotel/motel rooms rented, restaurant and fast food meals purchased, gas station and convenience store purchases, etc. Perhaps some of these businesses can even be recruited as allies if there are attempts to pass unreasonable legislation. I don't know how much any of this will help, but none of it can hurt, in what could be a difficult legislative and LEO environment in some places in the next year or so.
EDIT: I have now posted an expanded version of this post, along with some relevant links, on my Website at:
http://www.johnefarley.com/chasesafe.htm
1. There are multiple aspects to what is being discussed in this thread, including mass chaser convergence, irresponsible and dangerous driving/behavior, and the possibility of legislation restricting chasing and/or law enforcement actions that have the same effect. Different issues arise with each of these aspects, so that I think that each aspect is worthy of some discussion.
2. On the issue of mass chaser convergence, such as has happened a couple times recently in Oklahoma. I think that a wide variety of factors, including the actions of almost everyone on ST, have contributed to this. Twister and similar movies, specials (and now regular storm-chasing series) on TDC and similar channels, Vortex 2, the "live coverage" on TWC, local media sending out their TV mets to chase, and the wide availability of storm chasing material on the Web, including our Web sites, Facebook, and ST itself. In some ways, we have all contributed to this in varying degrees, and I am afraid the genie is out of the lamp; the horse is out of the barn, or however you want to say it - chasing has reached such a level of popularity that when you have high risks in Oklahoma in mid-May, mass convergence is probably unavoidable. And wait until next year, when all the people that saw this year's hype get out there. Maybe the absence of Vortex 2 will help, but that may just be offset by more newbies and locals inspired by this year's coverage. About all I see that we can do about this is avoid the areas and times when it is obvious that mass crowds are likely to be out. It can be done - each of the last 3 years I have seen tornadoes witnessed by 0-2 other chasers. But I will probably never have that experience in Oklahoma in May.
3. On the issue of irresponsible chasing/driving/behavior: There have been numerous examples pointed out in this thread and others recently. These include, but are not limited to, illegal passing, pulling out in front of traffic, standing in the middle of the road, parking without being completely off the road, even in areas with considerable traffic, driving slowly to watch the storm, running stop signs and yield signs, and on and on. PEOPLE GET KILLED by doing each and every one of these things, and it is a miracle that so far none of those people have been chasers or killed by chasers. But if this keeps up, IT WILL HAPPEN. Please everyone, do not engage in these behaviors, confront those who do, and report them when you see them. Yes, the TIV does this and seems to be a flagrant violator, but they are far from the only one. Others with TDC, chase tours, apparently some in Vortex 2, and gazillions of individual and media chasers have also done these things. It is time for this to stop, and now.
4. On the issue of legislation and law enforcement action - I think it is evident that this threat is real and under way now, and those of you that continue to deny it are sticking your heads in the sand. But there are some things we can do that can help to minimize this problem. We can self-police, as I state in the item above. We can avoid places we know will have massive chaser convergences, or move away from the crowd when they occur. We can resolve to NEVER engage in the dangerous and illegal behaviors I outlined in item 3 above. And, perhaps most important, we can work with allies. It may be that in Oklahoma so many eyes are on the storm that we are not really needed, but that is not the case in many places. So we can provide timely information to the NWS, and also contact them and offer to share with them our pictures and videos for training and analysis purposes. I've seen NWS offices asking for such things, even in Oklahoma where every other person seems to be a chaser. Certainly there is even more need elsewhere. We can assist emergency responders when damage or injuries occur. And we can remind folks (including people in the relevant businesses) that we are a substantial source of tourism in states like Oklahoma and Kansas in the spring, bringing substantial money into the state in the forms of hotel/motel rooms rented, restaurant and fast food meals purchased, gas station and convenience store purchases, etc. Perhaps some of these businesses can even be recruited as allies if there are attempts to pass unreasonable legislation. I don't know how much any of this will help, but none of it can hurt, in what could be a difficult legislative and LEO environment in some places in the next year or so.
EDIT: I have now posted an expanded version of this post, along with some relevant links, on my Website at:
http://www.johnefarley.com/chasesafe.htm
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