Storm chasers fight accusations of bad behavior as “chasertainment" comes of age

[Rob H]

This year alone I missed several photo shots because no safe place to pull off the road, but its a small price to pay for my safety, other chasers safety, and the public's safety.

There unfortunately seems to be a sizable group of chasers that don't think this way. They're important, nothing is more important than getting the shot, they can stop wherever they want. The lightbar is just the validation of the "I'm important" mindset emulating a real emergency responder and gives a false sense of safety. You're not any less of a moron parked in the road just because you have flashing lights and a Skywarn decal.

Repeat after me: it's OK to not get the shot. No one cares that I am a storm chaser. I am not saving lives or doing science. I am not the nexus of the universe.

 

[Mike Tobin]

There unfortunately seems to be a sizable group of chasers that don't think this way. They're important, nothing is more important than getting the shot, they can stop wherever they want. The lightbar is just the validation of the "I'm important" mindset emulating a real emergency responder and gives a false sense of safety. You're not any less of a moron parked in the road just because you have flashing lights and a Skywarn decal.

Repeat after me: it's OK to not get the shot. No one cares that I am a storm chaser. I am not saving lives or doing science. I am not the nexus of the universe.

Ok let me clarify something. When I meant fixed Light I meant and LED driving light White or yellow light to help see through the rain while driving. Now for Strobes I don't think they are necessary unless your EMS ie Police, Fire, EMT. Having an Orange light helps people see in my opinion. As it says in my signature I believe in safety for my self and fellow chasers out. Getting the shot is secondary. If I can witness the beast but cant film it I am happy either way. I drive the speed limit obey all traffic laws and get the warning out if its not issued. I have met chasers on all different sides of the spectrum. To me Chasing with my chase partner or other chasers is about comradery and witnessing the greats sites nature has to offer with them. We all got into chasing for some reason or another. Heck we had to write an essay to become a member of this forum . We will always have a difference in opinion but the point is we enjoy it lets agree to disagree and work together to show chasers are a solid community.

 

[Matt Tottle]

What gets me is I hate the whacker mentality of the whole thing where people get the notion that flashing amber lights and a Skywarn sticker grant them authoritah... But something that has haunted me for the past few years is that had I been the idiot whacker on 5/24/11 and blocked off highway 281, I could have saved two lives and spared a third the horror of watching her mother and brother die in front of her while she was pinned in a truck crushed by a tree.

Dateline: Stafford Co, KS, just north of St. John.. 5/24/11, two days after Joplin.. I was on my way down toward the OK border when a cell blew up right in front of me. As it crossed 281, all you could see was a wall of rain and tree limbs being blown all over. The radar was showing a hail core but no real tornado signature at that point (IIRC there was a couplet on one scan but it dissolved by the next scan). I wasn't going to drive into it so I just pulled over with my flashers on. A few vehicles passed me and disappeared into the rain. Several others pulled over behind me. After the cell passed, there were tree limbs and debris all over the road, so I started clearing it off. While I was doing that I saw a commotion going on further up the road. I pulled up to see what was going on.. One of the vehicles that passed me and went into the rain was pulled into a driveway, with a gigantic tree (easily 40' tall, 4' around) smashed across it. The mother and son were crushed to death in the front seat, while the daughter was trapped in the back seat for almost two hours.

I can't help but think that if I had done the stupid whacker thing and blocked off the road, they'd still be alive. But then again there's the stupid-hating natural selectionist part of me that says if you are stupid enough to drive into something like that - especially 100% blind - and then take shelter under a tree... Yeah.

http://articles.kwch.com/2011-05-25/stafford-county_29584142

 

[Shane Adams]

That's pretty harsh, but you're no more responsible for those deaths than you would be responsible for saving lives if you'd kept people out. It goes both ways, and for YEARS I've heard how chaser warnings are not considered live-saving information on their own, regardless if it was the only warning and people avoided death by directly responding to that warning. Point is, chasers don't get credit either way, so this shouldn't haunt you. As you said, the mother chose to keep going. It's a horrible thing, but chasers can't save the world from severe weather.