Chasers Stuck in the mud in SD

[Derek Weston]

Like Mr. Snyder said....when you place yourself in the path of a storm capable of dropping tornadoes... there are risks, excuses such as "the road ended" don't really mean anything. It can explain the situation, but it's not an excuse. Deal with what ever comes, and make it right. Sounds like they have. Do things different in the future so it doesn't happen again. I'm talking to myself here, as I have run off the road before and gone through a barbed wire fence, then I offered to pay for it, but the owner wouldn't let me. I was so thankful to him. I have to say "baloney" on self preservation bit though....I'm sure the farmer thought they were a boat load of crazies for even being in that position. I don't think the "but we had to" argument would mean much to me if I were the farmer with 20 vehicles in my field. There are lots of old roads that show up on digital maps around here that are nothing more than old field roads, some of them have been plowed over.

You're missing the context in which the idea of 'self preservation' is applied.

Of course the situation would've been avoidable with any number of alternate decisions before the point of entry onto the road of destiny.

But when that destiny was realized -- a dead end road with tornadoes closing in... self preservation said to bail into field south and this was not an unreasonable decision.

 

[Andrew Stoller]

,$400 a person. 12 people involved. If all pay, no legal action, no insurance company, its all settled so without naming names please all that were there come up with the four so we can put this behind us.

What is the $400/person for? Damage to crops and the field? Or to keep the farmer from suing?

 

[Jacob Ferden]

Thanks Jay...! Tongue in cheek, comment, sorry. I have a weird sense of humor, I know.

Dang straight! And I know I'll never have to when chasing. I'll never be so close that I won't have time to get out of the way and will always have escape routes. I don't know, I guess that's just the way I've always chased...

Oh I see, you're going to rip into anyone who has a chasing style that might be different than yours. They're going to pay for damages, yet I bet you still think the same of them.

They were there, it happened, and whether they make any changes to their chasing style or not is their call. I sincerely hope for your sake that you don't ever end up getting trapped, because it can happen to ANYONE, whether you believe that now or not.

 

[Danny Neal]

What is the $400/person for? Damage to crops and the field? Or to keep the farmer from suing?

At first he wanted well over 5 grand. We disputed and he came down to $4,800 for damages. The other farmer said it has been a horrible growing season and he(other farmer) stopped seeding. I can't imagine the damages had this been a good growing season. We made the decision to save our lives. Plain and simple. We knew we were gonna pay, it was our bad decision not his. A lot of people were grumbling that the road was cultivated over but whatever its done. We went in his field, we pay. End of story

 

[bvassmer]

It happened, they are going to pay for the damage. GPS/mapping failed, and they took steps needed to stay out of harms way. Seems like end of story to me.

 

[Chris Allington]

Andrew the damage done to the field may be a lot more than you think. When I was a little kid I went into a bean field with some other people and thought it would be fun to create trails and hide in the field. We were caught and the farmer was mad. My dad called up our uncle who farms for a living and he said this farmer was being fair in the money he was asking for. We did not make a lot of paths and only hurt a tiny area before we were found but the damage came out to over $100 bucks. Farmers get thousands of dollars for a field I believe and they work very hard for that money. So the farmer can sue them for more than you would think but thankfully as already said everything is being worked out.

I know nobody meant to end up in the field and I am thankfully everyone was ok. This situation could have been a lot worse had they stayed on the road and the tornado hit them. Please keep us updated and I am happy to hear the last cars will be dragged out soon.

Jesus Matt, have you ever chased an actual storm. You seem to have an opinion on everything but not a whole lot of real world knowledge.

Hah, well, Joey, I have an axe to grind with all chasers that have to be a mile or less from a tornado or pendant hook (on radar) to feel significant. I don't care so much that they put their own lives at risk (that's their decision) but I do when it affects other people's lives or property around them.

It's unsafe and dangerous.

Kind of like Maverick in "Top Gun." He ended up losing his RIO and best friend.

No one said anything about wanting to be close to tornadoes, they took a road to stay ahead of a storm and got trapped. They are paying and owning up to the damages, end of story.

Matthew, is this not your car that is parked on someone else's property during a chase and waiting for storms to fire?

Response?

At first he wanted well over 5 grand. We disputed and he came down to $4,800 for damages. The other farmer said it has been a horrible growing season and he(other farmer) stopped seeding. I can't imagine the damages had this been a good growing season. We made the decision to save our lives. Plain and simple. We knew we were gonna pay, it was our bad decision not his. A lot of people were grumbling that the road was cultivated over but whatever its done. We went in his field, we pay. End of story

They took care of the damages and got out of the field, end of story. Glad we are looking at some folks that have some lighter pocket books and good stories instead of some dead friends. Maybe that doesn't matter to anyone else and they just want to keep riding the drama llama...

 

[Brendon Lindsey]

I didnt read the whole post, but If I was that farmer and 20 cars were in my field, I would automatically assume chasers are obviously idiots who cant pay attention to the road. If you really think about it, 20 cars in a field. Ha I would be like holey smokes. Maybe when the conditions are horrid, people may have to adjust their speeds accordingly and then they may have seen a wheat field rather rather than a road as the gps they were relying on to show the roads portrayed.

 

[Danny Neal]

I didnt read the whole post, but If I was that farmer and 20 cars were in my field, I would automatically assume chasers are obviously idiots who cant pay attention to the road. If you really think about it, 20 cars in a field. Ha I would be like holey smokes. Maybe when the conditions are horrid, people may have to adjust their speeds accordingly and then they may have seen a wheat field rather rather than a road as the gps they were relying on to show the roads portrayed.

There were 7 of us in the field, 2 were on a section line, and about 5 others got caught on the dirt road. The rfd behind that circulation was as intense as any I have ever seen. 10 mins of 60 kt west wind with hail. Flooded everything, anyone on that road orin the field were immediately immobilized

 

[Joey Ketcham]

I didnt read the whole post, but If I was that farmer and 20 cars were in my field, I would automatically assume chasers are obviously idiots who cant pay attention to the road. If you really think about it, 20 cars in a field. Ha I would be like holey smokes. Maybe when the conditions are horrid, people may have to adjust their speeds accordingly and then they may have seen a wheat field rather rather than a road as the gps they were relying on to show the roads portrayed.

On a lighter note, if I were that farmer and had 20 vehicles stuck in my field - all storm chasers - I would have made sure to had my camera with me and snap a few pictures. Not every day do you see that, think of the story and pictures he could have shared with his buddies as they ate breakfast at the local cafe.

There really isn't anything else to be said, I think everyone involved did what they had to do and it is very respectable of them to man up to it and repay the farmer. Everyone that was involved are a great group of chasers who have always chased responsibly and just ended up in a bad situation that any one of us could have gotten into.

 

[Stuart Robinson]

I guess one question remains- how? did he arrive at $400 each which seems a lot.
$50 each is a closer amount IMO.

Still I was not there and I fully accept that it is not really my place to comment. Overall I am glad that no REAL harm was done to any person or property.

 

[Michael Riedl]

I guess one question remains- how? did he arrive at $400 each which seems a lot.
$50 each is a closer amount IMO.

Still I was not there and I fully accept that it is not really my place to comment. Overall I am glad that no REAL harm was done to any person or property.

Considering the price of diesel and the loss of the crops it seems about right.

 

[Matthew K. Hartman]

No, not necessarily... All I ask is that chasers be responsible and safe about what they do. And when they screw up that they are held accountable. I've heard the excuses for a lot of different behaviors over the years from chasers and sometimes they just don't want to accept what they've done is wrong.

It's human nature to be defensive, but there are respectable ways of doing that. When you (the proverbial, you) start blaming others that are clearly not in the wrong, it just looks immature.

I think what really set me off about this entire case, was when someone stated that the farmer may have plowed over the road and that he/she should pay for the towing. That's as clear-cut an ignorant statement, I've ever heard. My frustrations and points got too generalized soon after that and I apologize for that.

I still think these guys made a poor decision, yes, but if they take accountability for what they did and take care of it in a civil manner, then great! That's what needs to be done. I'm not going to judge the character of these guys if I don't even know them, so if that's what you're implying, Jacob, then no... I never looked at them in that way.

Chase safe, put some time and distance between you and storm(s) and you'll find very little of these issues. I guarantee it.

Oh I see, you're going to rip into anyne who has a chasing style that might be different than yours. They're going to pay for damages, yet I bet you still think the same of them.

They were there, it happened, and whether they make any changes to their chasing style or not is their call. I sincerely hope for your sake that you don't ever end up getting trapped, because it can happen to ANYONE, whether you believe that now or not.

 

[MatthewCarman]

Chris, yes I have chased an actuall storm. Not as much as you have but that will change in a year or two. Nice to hear this has been resolved and everyone can move on now.

 

[Robert Dewey]

Response?

Seconded.............

 

[Jesse Risley]

No, not necessarily... All I ask is that chasers be responsible and safe about what they do. And when they screw up that they are held accountable. I've heard the excuses for a lot of different behaviors over the years from chasers and sometimes they just don't want to accept what they've done is wrong.

It sounds to me like everyone involved took this attitude from the very beginning, given the fact that their reputation for probity is high. The entire ordeal was probably not very fulgurant for all parties involved, including the farmer himself.

I think what really set me off about this entire case, was when someone stated that the farmer may have plowed over the road and that he/she should pay for the towing. That's as clear-cut an ignorant statement, I've ever heard. My frustrations and points got too generalized soon after that and I apologize for that.

If that had actually been the case (just for the sake of discussion), and obviously it was not, I could see those involved having some disdain for the farmer. Just because a road or an alley is rarely, if ever, traveled doesn't give anyone the right to just declare it abnegated and do what they wish with a public right-of-way, short of an official sale or transfer of ownership to a private party.

If nothing else, I think we can breathe a sigh of relief that this particular scenario appears to have ended a little better than some other recent events that have contributed to a rather parlous state of affairs for the chasing world.