Should Storm Chasing Be Regulated?

[Dustin Wilcox]

Multiple violations and the e-plate system could disable your vehicle, or only allow it to be driven away from the hazard area.

LOL, right; Forget the idea that something of that nature would likely never make it past the courts; Who and or what is going to be able to calculate the "hazard area" It'd take one law suit due to a wrongly disabled vehicle or miscalculated "hazard area" (be it computer glitch or human error) to send that idea back to the future.

 

[Jeremy Den Hartog]

I do not know if that's what Shane was trying to imply but I most certainly am. (And I mean this in the nicest way possible)

This thread is exactly why newbies should not be allowed to post in the Weather and Chasing forum IMO. At the top of the page it specifically says: "Meteorology discussion by experienced chasers and meteoroogist..." This topic HAS BEEN BEAT TO DEATH as Mike Scantlin has eluded and is not only redundant but more than shows your experince as a chaser as well as someone who posts on this forum. (1st clue)

Jeremy, the clues you have given that have led me to this fact are many and include more than just your join date (2cd clue). However, there is no shame in being new, not knowing how things operate or what questions to ask. This is the reason why ST has "elementary" section....a place where you can learn as you grow as a chaser and then "work" into the more advanced threads and topics.
Not taking the time to see if a certain topic has already been covererd
before you try to save the world (3rd clue) only promotes others to do the same and IMO is nothing more than "noise" which is only going to generate more noise by newbies as well as seasoned chasers.

It might be advantageous for you as well as all newbies to READ MORE, POST LESS. This will help you not only learn as a chaser but will also give you much insight as to how and what kind of of reactions you will get to your threads in this forum.

Seeing that this topic has been covered in GREAT DETAIL already I will keep it short....Freedome of Assembly.

I understand and respect that. Yes I am relatively new here which is why I had no idea this topic was 'beaten to death' already. Yes, as I have said several times I should have searched the forum before posting this topic. However, I do not understand how by posting this topic shows my experience (or lack there of) as a chaser. As I have said before in another thread, I have been chasing storms for the better part of 10 years (probably longer even). However, I did this locally in southern Minnesota (in particular around Worthington and Mankato, MN) so most everyone here has no idea who I am. I realize this means the number of years I have chased is misleading as I would only go out if storms happen to be in my area. I should say this though, I did the chasing the 'old school' way without mobile radar, spotter information, etc and simply went out with a map, a weather radio and my knowledge of storms from reading books, etc. If my lack of post counts here or the fact I'm newly registered makes me a newbie then so be it - I'm definitely a newbie here on the forum anyway.

With that said, I will refrain from posting in this part of the forum until I gain the respect of the other storm chasers here and to hopefully prove to everyone I'm not trying to pretend to be a 'I know everything already' type person because I definitely do not and have ALOT to learn.

 

[Greg Stumpf]

LOL, right; Forget the idea that something of that nature would likely never make it past the courts; Who and or what is going to be able to calculate the "hazard area" It'd take one law suit due to a wrongly disabled vehicle or miscalculated "hazard area" (be it computer glitch or human error) to send that idea back to the future.

Just think of it like an electronic road block. A hazard area could be entered into a GIS system. Today, road blocks for hazards are determined physically. I agree that this has to assume that the electronic barriers (as are the physical barriers of today) accurately determine the boundary of the hazard area. However, to my knowledge, a roadblock has never been challenged in court for being "miscalculated."

Wouldn't this be an interesting way to exploit technology to prevent people from driving across flooded roadways? A driver comes up to the barrier, moves, it, and then upon crossing the electronic threshold, their vehicle is disabled. Kind of like an electronic dog-collar for your car.

 

[Brandon Goforth]

Enforceable today, likely not. But if you consider some of these technologies applied to traffic enforcement

http://www.identecsolutions.com/electroniclicenseplate.html
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6404327.html
http://www.strangenewproducts.com/2005/10/electronic-license-plates.html

perhaps in the not too distant future a cop could just easily drive by chasers electronically cite them for various violations. Multiple violations and the e-plate system could disable your vehicle, or only allow it to be driven away from the hazard area.

Finally someone that is keeping up with technological advances is thinking outside the box...

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

Wouldn't this be an interesting way to exploit technology to prevent people from driving across flooded roadways? A driver comes up to the barrier, moves, it, and then upon crossing the electronic threshold, their vehicle is disabled.

Interesting, and feasible if given sufficient time along with extensive financial and public support. Perhaps I'm not being optimistic enough about the future (history has shown society can adapt quickly to technology 100 years or so ago they were still riding around on horses) but in my not so technological optimistic mind, this seems to be something outside the era of any of our lifetimes. Seem as though it'd carry far too much of a financial and perhaps more importantly a "freedom" burden to be implemented anytime soon, and to think it'd be implemented to combat chasing seems even more extreme. Seems the implementation of such a method would wait and come at a time when it could coincide with the realization of auto-pilot vehicles. I guess your scenario is feasible, but to consider it as a scheme of controlling/regulating chasing seems a little farfetched, perhaps I’m way off and not giving technology advancments enough credit (the more I think about the nature of technology 100 years ago compared to today the more I think your scenario is feasible in our lifetimes), but I’d still expect the advancements in forecasting to alter the nature of chasing problems long before this could be implemented to help.

 

[Greg Stumpf]

...to think it'd be implemented to combat chasing seems even more extreme.

Implemented to combat traffic violations, leveraged for other applications.

 

[Shane Adams]

Hmm, are you trying to imply that I'm a non-chaser or haven't chased much because I brought up this topic? That seems kind of silly to me but I guess you are entitled to your opinion.

Well, the fact you put yourself in that category (not me) is quite telling. I've never heard of you, so I don't know if you're a chaser or not. If you've got a website I'd be happy to look at it.

In other words, before the storm has become extremely dangerous which would give LEO plenty of time to write out those pretty pink tickets if he wanted to while observing the storm himself...

I guess we'll just agree to disagree on this issue.

 

[Jeremy Den Hartog]

Well, the fact you put yourself in that category (not me) is quite telling. I've never heard of you, so I don't know if you're a chaser or not. If you've got a website I'd be happy to look at it.

Last post for me in this section (as I said I would discontinue) but I do have a newly opened website (so not a ton of content or pictures and videos that I have). I'll have to dig up all of my old pictures sometime to put on the site but for now its just stuff from 2009. Anyhow, the link is in my signature...

And you wouldn't have heard from me because I never put a whole lot of effort into establishing an online presence for myself. I instead chased because I enjoyed storms and chasing them - not for the recognition...

 

[Robert Dewey]

Getting respect in chasing takes proof of accomplishment; not a decal.

I agree with your post and those who state that this is a ridiculous idea. I'm not sure why some keep "throwing around ideas" for regulation when everyone is obviously against it - They're just fighting an uphill battle.

In terms of respect... I only need my own respect, and don't give a rat's ass about what others think. If my name isn't known, oh well. If people in the "chase community" don't like me, oh well to that too. I liken the chase community to a geeky chess club - being at the top means absolutely nothing to those from an outside perspective. Fortunately enough for me, I'm an "outside perspective" kind of guy.

 

[Steven Gliebe]

I just want to pop my head in here and say your logo is awesome.

 

[Steve Miller]

I just want to pop my head in here and say your logo is awesome.

I have to agree. That is a killer logo.

 

[Jeremy Den Hartog]

Thank you for the compliment

 

[Charley Kelly]

This topic seems to come up year after year. Even if a law comes up to regulate chasing, it would be impossible to enforce and pull over and stop each and every chaser out there on a storm . I know law enforcement has far more to worry about than running down chasers. I know there are EM and law enforcement that hate chasers, but there are far more chasers than either of the above in a given area during an significant event. Just using some good ole common sense and respect others while enjoy the awesomeness of atmospheric violence, and none of us will have to even worry about this. Just my two cents on the matter

 

[john.sibley]

My say: Enforce the traffic laws on the books. There is no way to enforce any type of regulation on 'chasers' since they just come and go. Plus there are the state to state issues.

Yawn, this is boring. I'm going back to hard core weather.

 

[Shane Adams]

And you wouldn't have heard from me because I never put a whole lot of effort into establishing an online presence for myself. I instead chased because I enjoyed storms and chasing them - not for the recognition...

You may discover that success generates recognition whether you're aiming for it or not.