Storm Chasing and Emergencies

[Kyle Masters]

This post may end up being a minor vent towards "some" storm chasers out there, and it's been discussed several times, but nonetheless, with a new season I think we should discuss it again.

The topic is the all-to-common crossing of chasers and emergency services. I may be biased, as I am both a chaser and a firefighter. My main gripe is chasers that somehow feel that they rank right up there in priority with emergency vehicles when driving down the road near a storm.

Now, I understand adrenaline better than most, and what it can make people do and think. But still, there is no reason that fire apparatus and ambulances should have to worry about our hobby getting in the way of what they/we do.

Chasers do provide a valuable service to the public, giving the NWS "eyes in the field". They can forecast all day and look at doppler images, but it breaks down to people taking things alot more seriously when they can say "spotters have reported a tornado on the ground", rather than "doppler is indicating a possible tornado". But that shouldn't overshadow our responsibility to: A. Report any damage and accidents, and B. Yield the immedate and largest possible right of way to responding emergency services vehicles.

I've personally ran into (recently) a chaser staring out his window, going 25 in a 55, completely oblivious, while we were code 3 (lights and sirens) behind him. He had a horrible case of tunnel vision because there was a rotating wall and a couple intermittent funnels. We were responding to a lightning caused structure fire in a home. As you can imagine, time is of the essence when someone's house is on fire and we want to stop it before they're homeless.

So, all in all, I guess all I wanted to say is when you're out chasing, don't get tunnel vision. Keep your situational awareness and spread it out to keep watch over what's on the road around you. I don't care if you have to put your car in the ditch to get out of the way, heck, we'll even call our fire dept.'s wrecker to come pull you out. Just, please, yield to responding emergency services and stay out of the way of them. I do, most people on here do, but it's the few that affect the many.

Thanks and sorry for the repetetiveness/griping of this post.

 

[Melissa Jablonski]

I agree with you Kyle. I've seen it here in Indiana. I'm not sure if it is always real chasers though. Sometimes the locals come out for the spectacle and get in the way of everybody. We have people around here who follow fire trucks everytime they go out.
Thanks to you and everybody out there chasers and emergency responders . you are
saving lives.
Melissa

 

[Paul Harrop]

Furthermore, I do not understand the chasers who feel it is necessary to drive with warning lights activated. I have strobes in the tails and an LED bar in the back window of my tv station chase vehicle. When I am in a dangerous situation, parked, they come on. I also wear a reflective vest in those situations if I am outside the truck. I just don't get people who feel the need to drive with them on. Again, a bit of a vent.

 

[Shane Adams]

Awesome!!! Fresh content.

 

[David Schuttler]

First lightbar this year?

 

[Lanny Dean]

I don't care if you have to put your car in the ditch to get out of the way, heck, we'll even call our fire dept.'s wrecker to come pull you out. quote]

Interesting quote....of course then every chaser who passes you while you're in the ditch will no doubt slow down long enough to take pics or video and post them on here with glee, all the while *****ing about how bad you must have been driving/chasing to end up in that kind of predicament in the first place.
And to top it all of with, I am sure that "your" wrecker service will no doubt have issues with why your car is in the ditch and "talk to you" about how they have more important things to do, ect ect... Not to mention the possiblity of a passerby calling law enforcement thinking that there has been an accident because your in the ditch.
I would hate to be the one who tried to explain that to any officer.

Personally I think this is some of the worst advice/recommendation I have ever heard. Not only does this put you in harm in being on the side of the road but it could potentially put others at harm who try to stop and help you or ask if you need help.....potentially A VERY BAD SITUATION!

Why not just recommend slowing down and pulling over as far as you can so that emergency vehicals can go around you?

 

[Sean Poling]

Yeah... I think that was written in a moment of griping. Going in to a ditch on purpose is a bad idea. But chasers/spotters really must think about this before they go out. Emergency vehicles should always have priority on the road, and everyone must realize that and be more cognizant on the roads.

It makes me think of all of the times I was too busy chasing and not enjoying what was happening right outside my car. We get caught up in the adrenaline rush, searching for the perfect shot or imminent tornado, and sometimes we miss some amazing stuff.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

This is the first time I've heard a first responder tell people to go off into a ditch if that's what it takes to get out of the way. Typically, if the person is pulled over as far as they can and are stopped then the first responder would safely make the maneuver to get around the vehicle.

I don't think telling people to go into the ditch is a wise suggestion, that ditch maybe a lot deeper than one thinks and ultimately would cause a lot of damage to the vehicle.

 

[Jason Foster]

It sucks doesn't it....having to drive around other people. I know. I should have the road all to myself because I'm a perfect driver and everyone else doesn't know how to drive.

I like to use the quote that Larry Cosgrove use to use:

"Deal with it".

It's just part of game nowadays....it isn't going to change.

 

[Danny Neal]

Are you suggesting that emergency responders should "deal with" chasers/civilians not pulling over because those emergency responders don't deserve the whole road? Maybe I am reading that wrong.....but as someone who is in the fire service I thought that comment was worse than the one where he suggests we pull into a ditch. To clarify I don't think it is right to suggest that emergency responders didn't deserve the whole road. Maybe I am reading that wrong and if I am then I do sincerely apologize. You are absolutely right though, that we live in a day and age where we have to deal with other drivers not respecting the "Pull to the right for sirens and lights"

Do we deserve the right of passage? Absolutely! Do we get it? More often than not. I know of some jurisdictions where if you don't yield the right of way some company officers take down your plate and then you get a nice big surprise in the mail a couple of days later.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Are you suggesting that emergency responders should "deal with" chasers/civilians not pulling over because those emergency responders don't deserve the whole road? Maybe I am reading that wrong.....but as someone who is in the fire service I thought that comment was worse than the one where he suggests we pull into a ditch. To clarify I don't think it is right to suggest that emergency responders didn't deserve the whole road. Maybe I am reading that wrong and if I am then I do sincerely apologize. You are absolutely right though, that we live in a day and age where we have to deal with other drivers not respecting the "Pull to the right for sirens and lights"

Do we deserve the right of passage? Absolutely! Do we get it? More often than not. I know of some jurisdictions where if you don't yield the right of way some company officers take down your plate and then you get a nice big surprise in the mail a couple of days later.

Anyone, regardless of who they are, should yield to first responders who are responding to an emergency with their lights and sirens going.. but come on, telling people that they should drive off into the ditch.. that's a bit much. Generally just pulling off as far as you can and stopping is good enough. I can understand being upset if a chaser is in the middle of the road not pulling over to let the first responder through, but seriously.. how often does that happen? Or at least, how often does that happen and it is a storm chaser? My guess is very very rarely.

 

[Scott Weberpal]

Wow, people need to stop freaking out about the driving into the ditch comment. It took it as more of a tongue in cheek comment than anything, I'm sure he wasn't being serious. Take a chill pill people.

 

[Danny Neal]

Anyone, regardless of who they are, should yield to first responders who are responding to an emergency with their lights and sirens going.. but come on, telling people that they should drive off into the ditch.. that's a bit much. Generally just pulling off as far as you can and stopping is good enough. I can understand being upset if a chaser is in the middle of the road not pulling over to let the first responder through, but seriously.. how often does that happen? Or at least, how often does that happen and it is a storm chaser? My guess is very very rarely.

I agree. It actually did happen to Adam and I in Arkansas City this past Monday. We were behind the storm we wanted to catch up really bad and there just so happened to be an ambulance and brush company coming up behind us. Could we have floored it and stayed ahead of them the whole time? Yeah. Did we? Nope. Pulled over and let them pass. Just have to remember, you may have a bad day missing that storm, but someone else is having a worse day than you at that point.

The whole point of my post was to say, *IF* a chaser should run upon that situation I think we are all smart enough to pull over. Whether it is police OR fire. I know the whole driving into a ditch comment was probably like a "......if this doesn't produce a tornado I am going to jump off a cliff" comment. I am in no way calling anybody out or puffing out my chest and thumping it with my fist, just agreeing with the notion that if anyone encounters an emergency vehicle with emergency lights activated that they should yield, but we all already knew that!

Stay safe out there!

P.S by the way I was referring to Jason's post, not Joeys in my original post so sorry if there was confusion there. No hard feelings toward anyone, just enjoy talking about it!

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Wow, people need to stop freaking out about the driving into the ditch comment. It took it as more of a tongue in cheek comment than anything, I'm sure he wasn't being serious. Take a chill pill people.

Yeah, which is why he followed up with the offering of their tow truck to pull them out.. sounds like tongue in cheek comment to me

 

[Lanny Dean]

Wow, people need to stop freaking out about the driving into the ditch comment. It took it as more of a tongue in cheek comment than anything, I'm sure he wasn't being serious. Take a chill pill people.

Joey and I seldom agree, but on this issue I agree with him 100%
Kyle did offer to call his tow truck driver to pull you out.....what kind of advice is that really?

I certainly see Kyle's point as well as Danny's.... both of them work in emergency services and no doubt both have had some issues with people not stopping/pulling over. But I wonder how many of those situations are chasers and how many are public Joe blow? I would bet my last nickle that 90% of the situations on the road with people not pulling over (even during a chase/storm) are the same people that try to outrun the train at the RR crossing......ignorant people.

Putting yourself in harms way purposly, for any reason, is just stupid.
It is very bad advice IMO and should not be perceived as the thing to do when you are chasing and come into a situation such as this.
The rules of any driving handbook for most States tell you that you should pull over as far as you can to the right (when possible) and come to a stop to let the emergency vehicle go around you.

I hope that none of the newbies take this advice to heart, as I said, IMO you could be potentially putting yourself or even someone else in danger by doing this.