Reckless Driving?

[Jay McCoy]

The assumption and desire to get as close as possible no matter what is likely as I fear lead to one or more deaths of chasers and or innocent bystanders. This will in the plains likely lead to fierce regulation of chasing or banning of chasing in certain states/counties and or cities within the plains.

There really is no way to legislate or ban chasing. The roads are open to the public and we as taxpayers have every right to use them.

BUT...

It could lead to law enforcement using existing laws to target and clamp down on chasers in general. No more letting that 5mph over slide without a ticket or stopping on the side of the road unless their is an emergency. Along with many states having laws against thing like scanners or media devices such as a tv or laptop able to be viewed by the driver which would hurt us all. Somebody would have to sit in the backseat with the laptop so the driver couldnt see it.

I worry more about the tour groups causing some major incident than 1 chaser. If a chaser and a farmer have a wreck it wont make national news. But if a van loaded with tourists doing 80mph down the shoulder passing cars on the right (I have seen it) gets killed after plowing into a tractor then it will be all over CNN.

Since they carry passengers they should be held to the highest standards. We all should be held accountable but they are at a much higher risk of multiple fatalities than 2 people in an SUV.

Like I have said we all do stupid things and 1 incident shouldnt be blasted all over the net. (I have sped myself and not only while chasing but I dont pass people on the right or stop in the road or pass going up a blind hill). They should be talked to in PM form so they can respond and maybe learn from it. But when the same people do this stuff over and over it becomes an issue we all need to talk about and if it takes posting pictures showing them repeatedly then so be it.

 

[Jeff Miller]

A vehicle that is labeled indicates that they are "professionals" - it gives the perception that they should know what they are doing and they should know better. That is in the very least the perception it gives.

Imagine a car, unmarked, and unlabeled speeding by a chaser. Now imagine a labeled chase vehicle with mesonet, skywarn stickers, flashing amber lights and strobes speeding by the same chaser. The reaction is different internally because the preception is different. The first car may be labeled a "local yahoo" because unless it is a well known chaser, you dont know who they are, and besides, they aren't advertising themselves.

Bottom line is a labeled, marked chase car - or worse yet a labeled, marked TOUR OPERATOR - not only is advertising themselves as chasers - they are also advertising their reputation as chasers AND OTHER CHASERS BY PERCEPTION with how they drive and how they, unintentionally or not, endanger others. If someone is going to advertise themselves as chasers, complete with all the stickers, magnets, lightbars, antennae, and weather equipment, and be reckless, then they should accept the consequences of being called out on their actions. They brought it on themselves - and they, more than any other group of people, reflect more on the chase community because of their visibility.

A school bus that carries people is no different than a tour operator that carries people. People are people. How many of you would call out a school bus operator driving recklessly? How many would pick up the phone and immediately call the district and have the driver suspended or fired? Bottom line is, if ANYONE put in charge of transporting people for any reason - school bus driver, taxi driver, limo driver, shuttle operator - bus driver, and chase tour operator - is, while transporting others, driving recklessly, they should absolutely be called out - that is just common sense and anything else is just not right.

 

[Jesse Risley]

I agree that complaining about specific groups or individuals directly on a message board will do little good. You would have more influence speaking directly to the person, but it can also be hard convincing someone who is acting in his or her own self-interest that their actions or behavior pose an issue of some sort.

That being said, I think we should be concerned about perception to some degree. Perception often becomes reality, and perceptions can affect how everyone in the group is treated by others who hold said perceptions (public, law enforcement, NWS, etc.). This scenario is really no different than someone with a prestigious role in a community who becomes the source of controversy and gets a bum rap..perceptions and reputations can have negative consequences too.

 

[David Schuttler]

So who decides which is which? Because a vehicle has labels on it moves them from a lapse in judgement to a conscience decision to risk people's safety for money? Just curious how that works? How does a witness to something peer into the mind of the driver to know their intent?

I don't know the intent of the guy walking down the street with a gun but I might just call someone to find out .

Action could show intent, their experiance could show intent and how many times they've been seen doing it. I guess though that could be left to their employer if it's a media outlet and done with phone calls by the public.

Ones that do it for their own production , there is not much you can do but not buy their product or call them and maybe they well see the light.

I really would rather worry about others things personally though but there is a few certain ones who go too far.
But I see how any type of posting can be abused . Especially if someone has a greivance towards someone ( something that happens a lot on here alone)

 

[Robert Edmonds]

It has been done before on storm track before where people have been called out for pirating photos. I believe that that we should be allowed to call people out for being reckless drivers, which is certainly a more serious matter.





Although we all may not be perfect angels when driving, it is clear when others are over the top and reckless. I’ve seen plenty of storm chasers drive beyond what I would feel comfortable doing, but I have yet to see someone be reckless. However, if I did I would certainly want to call them out. Also, if I was reckless I would want someone to tell me, because that should be a warning to me that I need to change my driving habits. With a tour company, they should almost be role models for storm chasing and go beyond the norm to be good storm chasers.

 

[rdale]

What good does calling someone out do? Think about it - if you drive like a madman, will seeing your picture on here make you stop? No way... This is just a way to get people ticked off.

 

[Robert Edmonds]

What good does calling someone out do? Think about it - if you drive like a madman, will seeing your picture on here make you stop? No way... This is just a way to get people ticked off.

I believe it would affect the way an individual would drive. If it becomes well known you drive recklessly, you will recieve less help from others, and perhaps you need that little wake up call. With a tour company I believe it would force you to quickly change your driving actions. If it is known some tour company drives recklessly I believe less individuals will then use that tour company.

 

[rdale]

People that use tour companies are probably not readers of this forum... People that drive extreme to get to a storm, are not going to hear of a monster wedge 15 miles away and say "wait, what if ST users find out about it, so I'll slow down."

 

[Earl Faubion]

The legal definition of reckless driving may vary from one jurisdiction to another but generally it's defined as, "a wanton disregard for life and property" or something similar. The elements of the offense may involve several moving violations occurring at or near the same time, or a single violation committed in an extraordinarily dangerous manner.

Those who witness reckless driving and want something done about it need to contact someone who is in a position to do that, meaning law enforcement, the employer or the driver himself. If that's not done it's almost a certainty the poor driving will continue. Maybe your complaint will fall on deaf ears but at least you'll know you tried.

As for banning chasing, I don't think it'll happen because it'd undoubtedly be found unconstitutional. There are already ample traffic laws on the books to deal with this kind of thing and if there's not a LEO handy to observe the violation firsthand and take enforcement action, then it's up to those who did see it to step up to the plate and take action. Public discussion might be okay insofar as trying to find out if others saw the same thing but after that I think it's pointless.

 

[matt patterson]

Speaking of reckless driving, there was an email sent to every mass media group in Tulsa today complaining about a RED FORD RANGER (tag numbers were given) that was passing people at way over the speed limit yesterday. The complaint also stated that they were passing on the shoulder and in no passing zones. The person who wrote an email that stated that the driver was flashing his lights, honking at others on the road as he flew by. This really makes us look bad especially when there are SKYWARN stickers pasted all over the place....
This needs to stop as these people are putting the public at more risk than the storms in their area....

 

[David Drummond]

I have video just about every news station marked chase vehicle in OK doing the same thing Matt, it's not uncommon.

I have passed a few myself.

That reminds me. People, if your gonna get right up close under the wall cloud. When it's time to move, MOVE....don't piddle around at 20 mph under there. Things happen fast and I have nearly got myself caught in something nasty from trying to move out of the way and another chaser driving way TOO SLOW. If you want to stay under there and get taken out, at least pull off the road and let the rest of us get out of it's way.

 

[David Schuttler]

We need to address this slow driving too

 

[fplowman]

I had someone pass me once in a no passing zone..

I couldnt sleep for days .. And then finally to gain satisfaction I contacted all media outlets and law enforcement to tell them I was passed at high speed in a no passing zone.

This lead to feelings of comfort and satisfaction. I then resumed normal sleeping patterns and was better able to deal with life more easily on a day to day basis.

[smiley/]Marty Feldman googley Eyed Smiley [smiley]

 

[Matthew Crowther]

I think we may be dealing with two separate but related issues- bad behavior/driving by chasers
and what I think may be a more dangerous problem- the sheer # of people out on the road. Check out this article from the Hutchison newpaper:http://www.hutchnews.com/news/regional/stories/trackers042607.shtml. For a weekday in a large severe risk area before the true heart of chase season I was frankly shocked by how many chasers were on this storm. I shudder to think what will happen on a Memorial Day weekend.
I really believe that the total # of chasers is exploding almost exponentially due in most part to the internet. People learn about the hobby on the web and see great video and photos and that makes them want to try it out-
and then the explosion of in-vehicle technology makes it much easier to find the correct storm than in "the old days". The combination of having more and more chasers each year
and the relative ease of tracking and intercepting storms is going to perhaps ruin this hobby we all love- I am not sure if it will be through legislation or what, but I am not sure if storm chasing can take this sort of increase for many more years without some sort of bad outcome.

 

[Jay Cazel]

I found this artical from the Wichita paper about the Reno Co. storm.
Talks about all the storm chasers around Nickerson.

http://www.kansas.com/197/story/53791.html


I just want to add that all the chasers that I saw did a fine job staying out of the majoir traffic areas, stayed well off the main roads and parked far enough off the road so others could pass.