Robert Dewey
EF5
... I think the black eye has healed. Any steak that was put it on it has probably rotted away by now 
Sorry, just trying to bring more humor.
Sorry, just trying to bring more humor.
-
After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.
I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.
For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.
From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.
Sincerely, Jeff D.
Another Black Eye For Chasers?
- Thread starter Evan Bookbinder
- Start date
Greg Stumpf
EF5
Since they've decided to advertise so blatantly online their irresponsible chase behavior, I have no problem no naming names....well, they've named themselves.
This is EXACTLY the kind of behavior that is unfortunately getting the airtime now. Just think about the young chaser wannabee still in high school, seeing this. Who do you think they would likely gravitate toward?
The pot calling the kettle black.
This is EXACTLY the kind of behavior that is unfortunately getting the airtime now. Just think about the young chaser wannabee still in high school, seeing this. Who do you think they would likely gravitate toward?
The pot calling the kettle black.
Paul Knightley
EF5
Maybe a little O/T, but still is relavent to chasing "safety":
I have a problem when I read about people making "huge drives" to get to a storm area. A person may feel they can drive and drive for hours on end, but it's a fact that just 2 hours of continuous driving is enough to cause (possibly unnoticed) fatigue, which leads to a higher risk of accidents. That's why we prefer having 3 drivers - we can rotate as often as required.
Some of the tour companies get their drivers to cover almost 1000 miles in a day - that's too much IMO, especially as they're conveying people around.
I have a problem when I read about people making "huge drives" to get to a storm area. A person may feel they can drive and drive for hours on end, but it's a fact that just 2 hours of continuous driving is enough to cause (possibly unnoticed) fatigue, which leads to a higher risk of accidents. That's why we prefer having 3 drivers - we can rotate as often as required.
Some of the tour companies get their drivers to cover almost 1000 miles in a day - that's too much IMO, especially as they're conveying people around.
Tarmo Tanilsoo
EF5
Looks like we just had another blue eye(here in Estonia, we say blue eye). I agree about the worry on media showing wrong chasing. I didn't get to know about real chasing until I started to regularly visit chaser(Mike H, Chris C...)web sites and read about chaser ethics from ST...
Shane Adams
If some of you feel you should only chase 100 miles a day and in some state outsidew of tornado alley to be safe, by all means - go for it. But it's ridiculous to make the general assumption that driving hundreds of miles at a time is dangerous (for people in general). I've been the "Iron Man" of our group for years and somehow I'm still here. Maybe some folks fatigue easily, but I don't like hearing people say that driving is dangerous. Hell, is there anything about chasing that's acceptably safe anymore?? LOL.
You can't be close to storms, you can't block the road, you can't drive in rain, you can't let yourself get stuck in mud, you can't park on the shoulder, you can't drive more than a few hours at a time, an you can't chase where other chasers are.....cause none of it is safe.
It's kinda like auto racing. At the end of the day, it's inherently dangerous to a degree. It's easy to make chasing _relatively_ safe, but it's never going to be 100% safe and secure. I see this trend of trying to coddle storm chasing. Hey, if you feel there's all this danger involved, you can do something about it.
I'm not saying being a moron out there is ok - certainly it's not. But this nitpicking about every little detail being dangerous...I feel like I'm 5 years old again and mommy is chewing me out for not looking 45 times before I cross the street. Again, I offer my blanket solution for all who are concerned with the state of chasing: You no likey, QUIT
BTW: Currently northbound on US81 south of Concordia, on a marathin chase trip. My partner and I are on 6 hours' sleep between us. Oh the humanity.
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Robert Edmonds
EF5
Just to get Amarillo from where I am I guess I'm going to have to take 3 long breaks now. I might as well make getting to Dodge City a two day long trip. I'm sorry I have to laugh, I'm just thinking back to all the long hauls I've had to take to get to a storm. I mean I left from AZ once to get NE for an event 2 days out. If I followed that advice of drives not longer than 2-3 hours I don't think I would have ever seen a tornado or even very many severe storms.
Jay McCoy
EF5
And to think there are thousands of semis on the road where the drivers have driven for like 6-8 hrs or more today.. Will be a bloodbath tonight!
I can do 500 mile chases without breaking a sweat constantly. On the road by noon and home around 10-midnight is common. ofcourse you do alot of stopping and watching but I have never had an issue of falling asleep while driving. Good music, good caffiene, and good company solves all that.
Doug Lee
Driving 2 - 3 hours without a break can be fatguing, depending on your age and physical condition. To make sure you take enough breaks, drink a quart of water just before you get behind the wheel. 
Brandon Goforth
I think the point Paul was trying to make is simply that if you're driving a very long distance for a chase, then rotate drivers periodically *IF* possible. I don't disagree with that because it's true that some amount of fatigue will inevitably occur during long hours behind the wheel, which in turn will no doubt lead to a decrease in awareness and reaction time. Rotating drivers and/or taking small breaks will help keep the risk of an accident down, even if it's only by a very small amount. That being the case, as long as I'm not literally about to pass out behind the wheel I will keep on truckin'. But to each his own as long as you put safety first.
But to each his own as long as you put safety first.
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Paul Knightley
EF5
The kind of arrogant "iron man" comments just go to prove that people "think" it's safe. I've driven large distances too, without incident - but that doesn't mean you won't crash at some point.
I suppose tiredness could explain some of the awful practices we've witnessed amongst both chasers and semi drivers when we've been over in the USA!
I suppose tiredness could explain some of the awful practices we've witnessed amongst both chasers and semi drivers when we've been over in the USA!
Paul Knightley
EF5
Have a read of this page, if you're interested:
http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/reports/papers/fatigue.html
"International evidence has accumulated which suggests that fatigue may be a significant contributor to truck crashes. Transportation Research and Marketing (1985) concluded that fatigue was a primary cause in 41% of heavy truck crashes in the western United States and a probable cause in a further 18%. Jones and Stein (1987) conducted a study in Washington State which found that the crash risk for drivers of articulated vehicles who had driven for more than eight hours was double that of drivers who had driven for less than eight hours. To put this in perspective, this means that someone who has driven for more than eight hours is operating at a similar risk to someone who has a BAC of .05."
http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/reports/papers/fatigue.html
"International evidence has accumulated which suggests that fatigue may be a significant contributor to truck crashes. Transportation Research and Marketing (1985) concluded that fatigue was a primary cause in 41% of heavy truck crashes in the western United States and a probable cause in a further 18%. Jones and Stein (1987) conducted a study in Washington State which found that the crash risk for drivers of articulated vehicles who had driven for more than eight hours was double that of drivers who had driven for less than eight hours. To put this in perspective, this means that someone who has driven for more than eight hours is operating at a similar risk to someone who has a BAC of .05."
Mickey Ptak
EF5
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Jim Hunt
EF2
But in the UK, they don't have long streches of hiway to drive. If you drive anywhere for more than 6 to 8 hours, you end up in the water.
Mickey Ptak
EF5
But in the UK, they don't have long streches of hiway to drive. If you drive anywhere for more than 6 to 8 hours, you end up in the water.
So what you are saying is that once the person gets to ocean the highway does not go back to the original starting point in which the driver started? Also, it’s less likely for a tired / fatigued UK driver to have an accident based on the fact that the roads in the UK are much shorter than the roads in the USA? Hmmm interesting….
Mick
Helen Rossington
EF0
In the UK we have laws for truck drivers so that they have to log the hours they drive and therefore have a maximum length of time a day they can drive for. In the UK we don't have the long lengths of highway with nothing on them and also dead straight like many are in the US.
Most cars in the UK are also manual so you tend to have to be doing something most of the time rather than just sitting with cruise control on and there are lots more other cars to avoid!
We also have laws that cover people being distracted by driving using a mobile phone. There have been many well publicised accidents recently caused by people on the phone or sending text messages. You only get a fine and points on your license though and lots of people are willing to take the risk.
There have also been crashes caused by people falling asleep and then crashing into other cars or also crashing on to train lines. One a few years ago involved a car driver falling asleep crashing off the road down onto a high speed passenger train line (the closing speed was 142mph) 10 train passengers were killed. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1703935.stm
However I would say that most people are killed in the UK by people speeding in urban areas...which is most of the UK ...or driving having taken alcohol or drugs.
I don't think that Paul meant that you can only drive for 2 hours a day! He meant that you shouldn't drive for long periods of time without taking short breaks. Think when you are chasing a storm and racking up the miles you are stopping occasionally to take photos and plan your next move...you not just blindly staring ahead for hours and hours.
Most cars in the UK are also manual so you tend to have to be doing something most of the time rather than just sitting with cruise control on and there are lots more other cars to avoid!
We also have laws that cover people being distracted by driving using a mobile phone. There have been many well publicised accidents recently caused by people on the phone or sending text messages. You only get a fine and points on your license though and lots of people are willing to take the risk.
There have also been crashes caused by people falling asleep and then crashing into other cars or also crashing on to train lines. One a few years ago involved a car driver falling asleep crashing off the road down onto a high speed passenger train line (the closing speed was 142mph) 10 train passengers were killed. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1703935.stm
However I would say that most people are killed in the UK by people speeding in urban areas...which is most of the UK ...or driving having taken alcohol or drugs.
I don't think that Paul meant that you can only drive for 2 hours a day! He meant that you shouldn't drive for long periods of time without taking short breaks. Think when you are chasing a storm and racking up the miles you are stopping occasionally to take photos and plan your next move...you not just blindly staring ahead for hours and hours.
