Sort of like sending out someone to fight a structure fire with no training isn't it?
Apples and oranges.
I learned about storms on my own "way back then" there was not much in the way of formal training. I am still learning many things and glad I lived through some of my earlier mistakes.
Perhaps I'm the exception not the rule, but there was never a danger issue when I was a newbie. I had enough common sense and where-with-all to know when things were getting rough, well before I was in trouble. Even a rain-wrapped wedge gave me enough signals to pull over before we drove into it. I didn't know anything about the schematics of what was ahead of us, but I knew enough from just looking out the windows to realize something wasn't right. The fact chasing could be dangerous to me as a rookie never occurred to me...if it had, I wouldn't have tried chasing, because I am not a daredevil. The only issues for me were not seeing anything because I didn't know what the hell I was doing.
But with all the sources, classes and mentors out there now the new chaser/spotter should make use of them.
You can teach someone terms and rules, but you can't teach experience. As I've said for years, application of said knowledge comes only from experience. And experience only comes from having to be responsible for decision-making on storm chases. A person can ride along for years and do nothing but enjoy the view, and then you throw that person out there alone and they're lost. "Bringing along" new chasers only slows their progress IMO, because it's delaying the inevitable: they are going to have to chase and make important decisions on their own before they will ever start to learn how this is really done. But in fairness, it's a different world in 2009 as opposed to 30, 20, or even 10 years ago. I don't think it's realistic to expect newbies to develop the same skills newbies developed years ago, because their initial exposure (aka "training") is far different than it was when the sky was the blackboard (not a computer screen).
Kids today ask about what software they need, not how to tell visually what's capped and what's not. They wanna know how to design and build their equipment mounts and what scanners to buy, not where in the storm you might expect a new tornado to develop. It's a different breed.
But then the mentors need to be willing to share their knowledge and not hoard it to themselves nor get upset when someone asks a question or makes an honest mistake while learning.
Sharing knowledge only works when it can be applied. Newbs are quite reactionary and get worked up many times when you try to give advice or constructive criticism. Not because they don't want to be influenced or because they want to do it all on their own, but because too many of them think they know more than they do (see my previous post).
Time in the saddle is a must, but you first must teach them how to get on the horse and not fall off.
I disagree. To be a true chaser, you have to make decisions. There is no rulebook or peptalk for how to handle real-time, real-world storm situations when you've never done it before. I think a lot of people who call themselves chasers would fail on their own; you have a ton of carpooling groups out there who are lead by one person, usually someone in the frontseat. IMO, being a career ride-along and never stepping out on your own isn't a chaser. I'm not saying you shouldn't ride along, but there's a lot of people doing it who call themselves chasers, who have no clue what's going on without the others. A chaser, IMO, is an individual who can "take the controls" should something happen to another person. Kinda like a co-pilot in a plane VS a flight attendant; one can do the work, the other is just taking up space.
