Chaser courtesy reminder!

[Joe Acord]

I got one thing to say to all storm chaser haters.......

I LIKE TURTLES !!!!

 

[Mike Peregrine]

I LIKE TURTLES !!!!

Zombie kid should be nominated as the spokesman for storm chasers everywhere!

 

[Bill Doms]

You know that the news has their own agenda and cuts out facts to fit it. On the "Twister Sisters" show last year (I know this is not news), some chaser was depicted as core-punching a TOR-warned storm at night with a very young son in the car. What if FOX News ran this story? Can you charge the chaser with reckless endangerment? What if the facts of this story were snipped to make it appear more dramatic, to get ratings up?

Boy, are you assuming Darrin. You have NO IDEA what you are talking about on this subject. I was the chaser on the show and that "very young son" would be Cullen. He has more experience and the ability to ready the sky than 90% of the self proclaimed chasers.

Or maybe you felt taking a poke at me on here was necessary after I didn't respond to your PM you left me about your poor judgment on the May 6th 2008 Story county Iowa cell. Yes, I had my 5 year old daughter along that day...Cullen was in school.

I think you have pretty well discredited yourself. My advice to you is to listen more and talk less unless you have all your facts.

More power to the LaDue's and anyone else WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING for getting their kids out there. Too bad some others on here didn't have parents willing to let their kids live instead of protect them from every shadow...

 

[Jason Foster]

How about other courtesy

We've been focusing a lot about driving issues. Let's also bring into the fold other courteous things that chasers might do to be more respectful.

1.Walk behind someone's camera, instead of in front.
2.Don't talk too much around someone who is filming, unless you know they don't mind
3.Ask if anyone would like to share a room (for those budget minded chasers).
4.Sharing data, and forecast information.
5.Pass along road danger information
6.Don't use a lot of fowl language.
7.Stop and check when you see someone roadside in a ditch or other situation.
8.Ask if it's OK that they are in your picture, before taking the picture.

Just a few to think about. Not a requirement, just some suggestions. I'm sure there are others.

 

[Darrin Rasberry]

Boy, are you assuming Darrin. You have NO IDEA what you are talking about on this subject. I was the chaser on the show and that "very young son" would be Cullen. He has more experience and the ability to ready the sky than 90% of the self proclaimed chasers.

But I'm not against you! My post was meant against the earlier poster's comment about his belief that law enforcement should make arrests based on watching media reports of stormchaser behavior. Of course you wouldn't put your son into undue danger ... but the media portrayal of what you did was, "OMG chaser takes his son willy-nilly into the core of a tornado warned storm! Do they survive? Tune in same bat channel, same bat time!"

f course this isn't the true representation, but they're not going to show you checking the storm and they're not going to get an explanation from you as to why you knew you were still safe - that loses the viewers.

I used the Twister Sister case because that show overdramatized a LOT. Peggy told me that they'd even splice in different video shots to amp up scenes. My point was, the guy I replied to suggested the media should be used as a way to make arrests on "irresponsible" storm chasers, and I was answering that by saying that the media makes it seem more dangerous than it actually is - your case being a prime-cut example of the media twisting things for dramatic effect. Nobody has the right to say you actually put your son into danger based on that show, and I would bet there's not some huge twenty-page thread here on Stormtrack about it; we all know what the media does for effect. I was just using that as an example to show the guy that media cannot in any way be used as a justification for judgment, and I CERTAINLY don't use that show to judge you!!

Or maybe you felt taking a poke at me on here was necessary after I didn't respond to your PM you left me about your poor judgment on the May 6th 2008 Story county Iowa cell. Yes, I had my 5 year old daughter along that day...Cullen was in school.

I wouldn't blame you or anyone else for not returning a PM. A few other people haven't returned mine, and I probably have missed replying to a few people myself. Chasers are generally very busy people, so I understand when messages aren't returned. Besides, I didn't know it was you on the show in the first place.

If I took a poke at someone on Stormtrack, it would be because my temper was lost, and at that point everyone would know about it quite quickly and I would very likely receive a lifetime ban on this board. You haven't done anything to make me mad - I've enjoyed your posts here on ST and your photography is beautiful on your blog; I have no beef with you at all.

I think you have pretty well discredited yourself. My advice to you is to listen more and talk less unless you have all your facts.

But how can I discredit myself? I'm a super-newbie and I'm thus bankrupt to begin with. I got fooled by a gustnado under a shelf finger, and according to Jeff Johnson at the DMX weather service, so did two other storm spotters watching the exact same area, and the radar there had shown low level rotation at that time (five minutes before the warning was issued). At that point I'd only been on two real chases, and I hadn't seen a tornado in person yet while chasing, so I made a noob mistake.

I've been here since early January or late December or so, I've posted much much less than I've read and I admit I've STILL posted too much - otherwise I wouldn't have three infractions from March for posting improper formats in forecasting and report threads.

More power to the LaDue's and anyone else WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING for getting their kids out there. Too bad some others on here didn't have parents willing to let their kids live instead of protect them from every shadow...

That's your decision as a parent to make; in my opinion it isn't against the law or immoral at all since your chances of dying in a crash to and from your chase target is still much higher than dying in a storm. Hell, my dad took me hunting when I was a kid and that's more deadly than stormchasing. Is the bonding and experience for your kid worth the risk? If you know what you're doing and have the personal experience to get a handle on it, and you don't get entirely too close or expose a risk to get hit by lightning, then sure, I'd do it as a parent if I had a kid old enough (and willing) and I obtain a much better handle on situations than I do now.

 

[Shane Adams]

that "very young son" would be Cullen. He has more experience and the ability to ready the sky than 90% of the self proclaimed chasers.

Nothing personal, but that's a bold statement.

Let's see what he can do while driving, and without a computer.

 

[Darrin Rasberry]

Nothing personal, but that's a bold statement.

Let's see what he can do while driving, and without several computers each with different ISPs to make sure coverage is maximized, seventeen antennas on the roof connected to Lord knows what, an old woman in the back seat to say "I feel it in my bones," a trailer with a huge satellite dish attached, a speakerphone teleconference with the entire SPC on it at all times, Sylvia Browne to predict where the tornadoes will strike, a suit of well-insulated platemail armor to protect from hail and debris, a Ghostbusters-like device to zap a tornado and catch it in a box, and the spirit of Ted Fujita sitting alongside the kitchen sink in the trunk.

Fixed up your comment here Shane, I'm disappointed in your lack of knowledge of what's necessary for chasing.