Jeremy Den Hartog
I hear you, to be honest I really haven't changed my ways much at all...just avoiding bringing up the controversial or often posted topics is about it.
I hear you, to be honest I really haven't changed my ways much at all...just avoiding bringing up the controversial or often posted topics is about it.
Jake Tyson
Look what I found:
the 2nd one in a row is the only one i would consider allowable.
Jay Crane
EF0
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2006
- Messages
- 21
Why is the guy with the grand am wearing a badge?? I know its gone wayyyy too far where people are wearing badges now along with lights and I think most will agree. Its one thing being fire ems police or emgergency managment in uniform wearing badges , but wearing them while chasing. In a " undercover manor" just does not make since.
David Drummond
Member
Maybe he's an official? I know a lot of EM folks on the plains that don't wear uniforms at any time, and often sport a belt badge. Things are a bit more laid back in the more rural towns/cities.
rdale
EF5
He wanted to stay ahead of any possible regulations...
James Weatherman
EF0
Honestly I don't think it is a bad idea especially if you are going to be stopped along the road. I don't see any need to run with them on but using them along the road is nice to let other drivers on the road know you are there. I have never seen anyone pull over for the amber ones heck at times it is hard to get them to pull over with the red and blue ones (which are illegal for non emergency people to use) when they are suppose to pull over. Use to tick me off when I would be going to an emergency call with lights and sirens on people not moving over. I would take the tag information down and contact them later with a citation if I could see who the driver was. I think a few smaller ones or even on full light bar would not be bad to use like I said if you are stopped along the road but other then that there is no need for them to be on.
Bob Simmons
I have strobes on my truck but they were there for other reasons well before I became a storm spotter. I do volunteer support in a number of ways, sometimes involving blocking off roads, acting as a slow moving escort for public events, directing traffic or otherwise standing in places where traffic normally goes. I nearly got killed a few times before I added the strobes, but I don't really have that problem anymore. I use them sometimes when I'm spotting, and several local law enforcement agencies actually prefer it that way. Yes, I agree that they are overused at times, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone has had that opinion of me at some point in the past. But considering the close calls I had before, and don't have now, I'm not really concerned what those people think. I'm not insulting them or saying that they don't have valid points. On the contrary, I think they do. I'm just saying that in my own personal case the positives easily outweigh the negatives, so I'm not going to really worry about the negatives.
I also can't speak for other areas of the country, but in southwest Ohio there's some kind of highway, service or construction truck with a gajillion strobes on it, every few miles of highway, every day. I really don't stand out much.
One nice thing though. An F-250 with strobes on top is really easy to find in a big parking lot.
I also can't speak for other areas of the country, but in southwest Ohio there's some kind of highway, service or construction truck with a gajillion strobes on it, every few miles of highway, every day. I really don't stand out much.
One nice thing though. An F-250 with strobes on top is really easy to find in a big parking lot.
Kyle Soldani
EF2
I have 1 strobe in front which is only used in a true emergency while stopped, never used to gain right of way. That is why I think front facing lighting is completely useless (my opinion was different prior to the beginning of this season).
Now I run a single amber bar on the back of my trailblazer. The front of the lens is painted black so only people in the rear can see the light. It's not a bad idea to have some form of warning in the back if you're stopped on the side of the road, no argument there.
Just don't go overboard and think lights give you super-powers or somehow give you a safety net. If you believe either of those, you're in for one hell of a ride..
Here's an outdated video of my trailblazer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfXBoCj_9K4
new setup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DofAZ7_VfI4
Now I run a single amber bar on the back of my trailblazer. The front of the lens is painted black so only people in the rear can see the light. It's not a bad idea to have some form of warning in the back if you're stopped on the side of the road, no argument there.
Just don't go overboard and think lights give you super-powers or somehow give you a safety net. If you believe either of those, you're in for one hell of a ride..
Here's an outdated video of my trailblazer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfXBoCj_9K4
new setup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DofAZ7_VfI4
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Bill Tabor
EF5
Lightbars may have some legit chase uses in certain situations; however everyone failed to mention what I consider to be the #1 problem with using light bars / bright, flashing lights in chasing and that is blinding other chasers and decreasing their ability to see in or near a storm environment. I have experienced this first hand. Imagine the scenario it is dark, or near dark with a large supercell overhead dropping intermittent precipitation and tornadoes. The area of development is approaching you very nearby to your west (left), directly in front, and almost overhead (per Threatnet shear markers above your location). You also happen to be in a large chaser convergence (line) of cars. Your windshield wipers are going and there are drops of water on your windshield. Many of the vehicles in the line or that you are passing on the side of the road have their lightbars and flashing lights (very bright) turned on. You are trying to see out and be aware of new tornadic development - possibly very near you however you are having a difficult time because the lights are refracting / reflecting in the water drops and off the hood of your car - not to mention directly in your eyes. This kills your night vision. Other chasers can and will use light bars regardless of opinion; but I think everyone should be aware of this issue and at least try to minimize the impact on others out of courtesy and to support safety.
Mark Sefried
EF2
If you piss off a cranky cop in Illinois and have amber lights flashing they may give you a ticket because they are illegal and have been for about 5 years in the state. Even EMA personal can't have amber lights anymore in Illinois. They must either have blue or a combo of blue and white along with written documentation from their EMA director in order to run lights in their county.
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David Drummond
Member
It might be more helpful if you posted a link to the specific law stating their illegality.
Stephen Barabas
EF0
What next? 50 PA speakers mounted on your vehicle's roof all playing "Child In Time" as you go to intercept the tornado? "IT'S THE WONDER OF NATURE, BABY!"
rdale
EF5
It's been like that for a while...
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=062500050K12-215
...snagged from...
http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9124
Jesse Risley
Staff member
See http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/062500050K12-215.htm
Scoll down to part B and it's all specified in that subsection. There is wording in section B that might permit local EMA officials to use amber lights, depending on exactly how one wants to interpret the wording below:
Vehicles of public utilities, municipalities, or
other construction, maintenance or automotive service vehicles except that such lights shall be lighted only as a means for indicating the presence of a vehicular traffic hazard requiring unusual care in approaching, overtaking or passing while such vehicles are engaged in maintenance, service or construction on a highway;
We had this issue raised at one of the local amateur radio club meetings last year, following some reported 'abuse' of amber lights by local ham radio spotters. The official LE interpretation that I was given, as club President, to deliver to the club membership was that the use of amber lights by storm spotters was illegal unless individual spotters had received special permission from a local law enforcement agency in accordance with the directives specified in Section (b), Number (8).
rdale
EF5
The "service" that you underlined is related to "automotive service" in the first part of the paragraph... I don't think that can be related to EMA usage.
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