Oklahoma Fire Chief Incident from May 16

[Steve Burre]

As I recall from the video, that fire truck was still in motion when it then tried to execute a turn back into the highway (possibly in an attempt to block the highway). From the Oklahoma DPS driver manual, we have: YOU MUST ALWAYS YIELD: <...several situations described, then>..."To emergency vehicles—Yield to police cars, fire engines, and ambulances when they are sounding a siren and/or flashing warning lights".

That means not running them over even if they are executing a poorly conceived turn. And what is a 'safe speed' for the road conditions/situation?....almost by definition it would be a speed that would let you safely avoid an accident vs one where you fly by his driver side fender by about 2 ft. Consider yourself lucky that you weren't ticketed since I can almost guarantee that you would be found guilty by a judge in that county who more than likely probably hangs out with the police and firemen there Or you could hire a lawyer for thousands of dollars to prove that you are 'correct' based on the technicalities....and still be found guilty by a judge (or jury) in that county.

 

[J Guthery]

As somebody who has conducted more than a few safety reviews for driver accidents, trust me, he could have T-boned him and would have been found not at fault. Pulling out that close was an unsafe maneuver lights or no lights. The driver already in the roadway followed the law by slowing to 35 in a 55 and could not have been reasonably expected to stop in such a short distance. A 20mph variance is plenty. Anything less becomes a road hazard/obstruction/impediment. The driver of the emergency vehicle was in the wrong as was the chief who has no authority to do what he did. All the more reason to keep a dash cam running any time you are in motion on a highway. It will save your hide in court.

 

[Dan Robinson]

YOU MUST ALWAYS YIELD.

How can you be expected to yield to a completely unexpected maneuver by the other vehicle? Yield means you have a reasonable expectation of what the other vehicle will do, not any conceivable maneuver. Can a fire truck suddenly turn onto a side street at me head-on, expect me to go into the ditch to avoid a collision, and then ticket me for not yielding? And 30-35mph in a 65 is "flying by"?

This is what I'm talking about. These officials make up their own rules of the road and their own legal definitions, then think they are above criticism or scrutiny just by virtue of their position. They have free reign to be as reckless and careless as they want, while expecting civilians to exceed perfection. When someone becomes a victim of their reckless behavior, they browbeat and bully them into silence if they complain.

I might lose a court case in the corrupt county good-old-boy system, but be assured I'd appeal it to the state level. The county doesn't have absolute power. I'd donate to Tony's legal fund to see that the county was held accountable and made an example for others who might think of doing something like this to someone else.

 

[rdale]

As I recall from the video, that fire truck was still in motion when it then tried to execute a turn back into the highway (possibly in an attempt to block the highway).

Don't mean to be rude Steve - but assuming you drive a fire truck based on your reply, you may want to check with your superiors about that. I can guarantee you that "yield" doesn't mean "never ever ever drive around when on the side of the road just in case it pulls out into traffic."

 

[joel ewing]

I love what his wife had to say: "I'll start by saying that Chad can be the most irritating, hard headed, stubborn, irrational man on the planet!"

"Now about that photo!!! Not the best and definitely not that most flattering but hey have any of you ever seen our family Christmas pictures!!! That photo caught him in a moment of anger (I think Gary & I are the only ones to have ever witnessed it)"

Just think of the hell that poor wife has had to put up with over the years. Seriously.... What a thing for her to begin her sentence with. I can only imagine what goes on in that household. There but for the grace of God....etc.

 

[joel ewing]

As somebody who has conducted more than a few safety reviews for driver accidents, trust me, he could have T-boned him and would have been found not at fault. Pulling out that close was an unsafe maneuver lights or no lights. The driver already in the roadway followed the law by slowing to 35 in a 55 and could not have been reasonably expected to stop in such a short distance. A 20mph variance is plenty. Anything less becomes a road hazard/obstruction/impediment. The driver of the emergency vehicle was in the wrong as was the chief who has no authority to do what he did. All the more reason to keep a dash cam running any time you are in motion on a highway. It will save your hide in court.

You know what? This incident has finally convinced me to obtain a dash cam, and make sure I use it even during quick little errand runs, etc. "It will save your hide in court" - J.Gauthery....that's the quote that convinced me. In today's legal climate, it seems foolish not to be using one. Thanks, guys.

 

[Jeff Duda]

I've long considered buying one of those rear-view mirror assemblies that can contain a dash camera for regular daily driving. I encounter way more acts of bad, dangerous, or illegal driving around town than I care for. It would be nice to always have some evidence if/when things go wrong. I think cost is the major reason I have not moved forward with getting a dash cam.

 

[James Hilger]

Although I have many, I have a two in one and I got the smaller camera recording my speed as well.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Stormtrack mobile app

 

[J Guthery]

I run one of the cheap looping cameras that films until the card is full in 5min increments and overwrites the oldest byte once full.

But the downside is if there is a major accident and you become pinned it would eventually overwrite the event.

Option B is the black box style using a cheap computer or even a raspberry pi in conjunction with a 1TB drive or an SSD and low - mid res camera.

 

[Justin Hassie]

I use a spare Android phone and the DailyRoads Voyager app. It will loop continuously over the size of storage you specify, and will auto-save if it detects an accident using the phone's accelerometer. You can also tap the screen to save the last few minutes of video.

 

[J Guthery]

I use a spare Android phone and the DailyRoads Voyager app. It will loop continuously over the size of storage you specify, and will auto-save if it detects an accident using the phone's accelerometer. You can also tap the screen to save the last few minutes of video.

I will have to try that.

 

[justinmacauley]

I can't see the video you posted. It says private.

 

[Tony Laubach]

I can't see the video you posted. It says private.

The video was removed from my Facebook due to the excessive amount of idiots posting in the threads... I am going to add it to a write-up I have done as soon as I get the all clear to repost it publicly.

 

[Tony Laubach]

http://www.tornadoeskick.com/southwest-oklahoma-chase-event/

Here is my write-up, video coming later, but has stills, GPS, etc.

 

[Greg Flint]

My belief has always been that, not only does time heal all wounds, but time allows us to look past ourselves and see how our actions may have affected others. With that said, I hope both sides (chasers & EM personal) have made amends and will continue the much needed dialogue to address this very incident because it WILL happen again> as long as there are storms people will be drawn to them, both chasers and EM services.

Tony, I applaud your effort to reach across the aisle and keep working so that both Storm chasers and EM can do their thing, while being respectful of each other and each other's communities. My hope is that the other side of the aisle has realized the same, and at the very least made an attempt to begin a civil conversation with you about this topic, and better yet learned something from the incident.

I'm not speaking for others, but I will not let a Couple of bad apples (on the EM side) spoil my positive experiences or encounters with EM, and we would expect the same from there side.

Continued updates are always welcome - Thanks for sharing.