Revisiting the driving risk

[Dan Robinson]

I thought it might be a good idea with the new season approaching to bring up the driving risk, just for the sake of reminders and discussion. I have a couple of relevant web pages of interest that I've recently updated that I'd like to share.

The first is a part of chasing FAQ I've had online for 10 years or so. I pulled out the section on the risks of chasing, and posted an updated version as a standalone article:

http://stormhighway.com/blog2012/feb1212a.shtml

I also finished a big update to my dashcam videos page, adding several new clips and uploading the older ones to Youtube in full-res 720p:

http://stormhighway.com/dashcam.shtml

The reason I run the dashcams is simply due to chasing's driving risks. As you can see there, I've been blessed to escape some close calls - some chasing related, others simply day-to-day driving. Those certainly trump the very few close calls I've had with actual storm phenomena.

 

[Adam Simone]

Good post Dan a lot of good information there. Glad you had auto accidents No. 1 and also glad you added Financial risk. It's really easy to spend a lot of money on this hobby.

 

[hobobuster]

Very interesting dash cam videos. And a great blog on safe driving!

 

[Joshua Nall]

Enjoyed watching your close calls. Brought back some memories. Probably the worst was running through a barbedwire fence and out into some guys pasture after not making a 90 degree turn. Truck wasn't hurt too bad except for the paint, but I did barely miss a large cedar tree. It was real wake up call to me that I needed to pay better attention on unfamiliar roads. I felt a little better after the guy called me from a note I left on his front door about his fence. He said he had 7 cars not make that turn in the past 3 months. No excuses though really you just got to learn to make the road the priority. One thing that I focus on is keeping a ridiculous amount of space between me and the person in front of me. Because when you are along side a storm you are compelled to glance at it now and then. I've hit one deer on a chase and ran over two limbs in the road that were really too big to run over, haha. Just couldn't stop, one I didn't see in time and the other was just on the other side of a nice hill.

Downed powerlines can be dangerous too like you said. Just want to stress that, and they are not as easy to see as you might imagine. I ran under one on one trip that was just high enough to not catch my hail gaurd. I hate to think what would have happened if I had caught that line. It's bolted very well to the bed of my truck. Something would have gotten seriously bent/removed or either the line would have snapped. I've also seen deisel trucks catch lines after tornadoes and you don't want to be anywhere near that line when a diesel truck catches a line.

 

[STexan]

I have video of a piece of tin from a church about 150 foot off the roadway blowing across the hood (inflow winds). It slammed into the passenger side (no passenger) of a Tahoe, leaving a permanent paint streak embedded into the side window and a large dent in the front quarter fender ... got small some hail damage too. How it didn't break and come inside the vehicle is beyond me. It was nearly dark, heavy rain and some hail, the road angled back more to the SE than I realized as I was trying to work my way back around to get closer (Tushka 2011, Hwy 3 SE of Atoka). Once I figured out it was angling toward me instead of on a parallel path, and I got turned around, then 5 seconds later the tin hit me. Guess my guardian angel was with me. Yes, it can be dangerous, especially when the terrain is no longer open and flat, and it nears or passes dark.

I will rarely chase anymore east of OK, KS, TX or any hilly, heavily wooded terrain. If I do, certainly not past the near-dark phase.

 

[Seth Price]

The dirt roads in clay parts of KS are a real hazard too. The clay gets so slick in the rain, and anyone who hasn't driven on it before is in for a shock.

 

[Paul Knightley]

Distraction is almost certainly the biggest danger. Working your laptop whilst driving should be a definite no-no, as should using a handheld mobile. I can't believe people still do that, and text, whilst driving - it's idiotic and dangerous. If you're driving, your focus should be on the road, and other road users. That's why having someone else in the car to work the laptop, etc, is a good plan.