Brian McKibben
EF3
Note: Please keep this thread professional by adding useful information which will hopefully enhance the ethical standard and safety of the storm chasing community.
I believe the time has come for us as a community to reflect on how we go about storm chasing. Rather than post a personalized rant, I will simply paste information from various sources for chasers to read. After reading this information, I matured as a chaser and realigned my own priorities.
Mods, I found one thread relevant to this one that was started in 2006 (old thread). I thought it might be a good idea to start a new thread in light of recent events.
Storm Chasing Ethics (via wikipedia):
A growing number of experienced storm chasers advocate the adoption of a code of ethics in storm chasing featuring safety, courtesy, and objectivity as the backbone.[SUP][28][/SUP][SUP][29][/SUP] Storm chasing is a highly visible recreational activity (which is also associated with science) that is vulnerable to sensationalist media promotion.[SUP][30][/SUP] Veteran storm chasers Chuck Doswell and Roger Edwards have deemed reckless storm chasers as "yahoos".[SUP][31][/SUP] Doswell and Edwards believe poor chasing ethics at TV news stations add to the growth of "yahoo" storm chasing.[SUP][32][/SUP] Edwards and Rich Thompson, among others, also expressed concern about pernicious effects of media profiteering[SUP][33][/SUP] with Matt Crowther, among others, agreeing in principle but viewing sales as not inherently corrupting.[SUP][34][/SUP] Self-policing is seen as the means to mold the hobby. There is occasional discussion among chasers that at some point regulation may be adopted due to increasing numbers of chasers and poor behavior by some individuals, however, many chasers do not expect this eventuality and almost all oppose regulations --as do some formal studies of dangerous leisure activities which advocate deliberative self-policing.[SUP][35][/SUP]
As there is for storm chaser conduct, there is concern about chaser responsibility. Since some chasers are trained in first aid and even first responder procedures, it is not uncommon for tornado chasers to be first on a scene, tending to storm victims or treating injuries at the site of a disaster in advance of emergency personnel and other outside aid.[SUP][36][/SUP] Jason Persoff, M.D., a physician and storm chaser, ended his chase to treat victims of the 2011 Joplin tornado and has provided first response and mass-casualty incident triage suggestions to chasers.[SUP][37][/SUP]
28. Moller, Alan (Mar 1992). "Storm Chase Ethics". Storm Track 15 (3): 8–9.
29. Doswell III, Charles A. (4 April 2009). "Storm Chasing with Safety, Courtesy, and Responsibility". Michael Graff. Archived from the original on 21 January 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
30. The Online Storm Chasing FAQ
31. Edwards, Roger (07 February 2002). "The Reality of Storm Chase Yahoos". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
32. Edwards, Roger; Doswell, Chuck. "Irresponsible Media Storm Chase Practices". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
33. Rich Thompson; Roger Edwards. "Cancer Within". Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
34. Crowther, Matt. "Some Chase Musings". Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
35. Olivier, Steve (2006). "Moral Dilemmas of Participation in Dangerous Leisure Activities". Leisure Studies 25 (1): 95–109. doi:10.1080/02614360500284692.
36. Burgess, Cindy. "The Weather Network". 2011.
37. Persoff, Jason (5 June 2011). "First Response Mode: May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado". Blogger. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2012
Chaser Safety and Responsibility suggestions (via Stormtrack):
http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/sho...estions&highlight=storm+chasing+ethics+safety
Here is the first post:
Dr Doswell gave the keynote speech at the Denver convention on chaser safety and responsibility. In a humerous but very serious fashion, he talked about dangerous chaser practices by new and veteran chasers along with your "average Joe" out to see the tornado. Dr Doswell also talked about his fears should there be a serious accident (ie lady with baby walking across street is killed by speeding chasers) He stated that any bad behavior becomes a reflection upon all of us.
Link to Dr. Doswell's often cited and quoted paper on safety
http://www.cimms.ou.edu/~doswell/Chasing2.html
Dr. Doswell asked that there be some discussion on how chaser safety can be nurtured and improved.
My thoughts: I don't think there is a way to enforce chaser safety through rules, membership in an association or sanctions. All chasers should strive to set an example of good chaser behavior. This should also be emphazied among tour groups since some participants are likely to be future chasers. When dangerous behavior is observed, I would suggest that the offending individual be privately e-mailed or contacted. As a last resort, a description of the situation, video clips or stills can be posted to ones website or a public forum. Nobody is perfect. I certainly would not be angry if someone contacted me about something I did.
Bill Hark
I believe the time has come for us as a community to reflect on how we go about storm chasing. Rather than post a personalized rant, I will simply paste information from various sources for chasers to read. After reading this information, I matured as a chaser and realigned my own priorities.
Mods, I found one thread relevant to this one that was started in 2006 (old thread). I thought it might be a good idea to start a new thread in light of recent events.
Storm Chasing Ethics (via wikipedia):
A growing number of experienced storm chasers advocate the adoption of a code of ethics in storm chasing featuring safety, courtesy, and objectivity as the backbone.[SUP][28][/SUP][SUP][29][/SUP] Storm chasing is a highly visible recreational activity (which is also associated with science) that is vulnerable to sensationalist media promotion.[SUP][30][/SUP] Veteran storm chasers Chuck Doswell and Roger Edwards have deemed reckless storm chasers as "yahoos".[SUP][31][/SUP] Doswell and Edwards believe poor chasing ethics at TV news stations add to the growth of "yahoo" storm chasing.[SUP][32][/SUP] Edwards and Rich Thompson, among others, also expressed concern about pernicious effects of media profiteering[SUP][33][/SUP] with Matt Crowther, among others, agreeing in principle but viewing sales as not inherently corrupting.[SUP][34][/SUP] Self-policing is seen as the means to mold the hobby. There is occasional discussion among chasers that at some point regulation may be adopted due to increasing numbers of chasers and poor behavior by some individuals, however, many chasers do not expect this eventuality and almost all oppose regulations --as do some formal studies of dangerous leisure activities which advocate deliberative self-policing.[SUP][35][/SUP]
As there is for storm chaser conduct, there is concern about chaser responsibility. Since some chasers are trained in first aid and even first responder procedures, it is not uncommon for tornado chasers to be first on a scene, tending to storm victims or treating injuries at the site of a disaster in advance of emergency personnel and other outside aid.[SUP][36][/SUP] Jason Persoff, M.D., a physician and storm chaser, ended his chase to treat victims of the 2011 Joplin tornado and has provided first response and mass-casualty incident triage suggestions to chasers.[SUP][37][/SUP]
28. Moller, Alan (Mar 1992). "Storm Chase Ethics". Storm Track 15 (3): 8–9.
29. Doswell III, Charles A. (4 April 2009). "Storm Chasing with Safety, Courtesy, and Responsibility". Michael Graff. Archived from the original on 21 January 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
30. The Online Storm Chasing FAQ
31. Edwards, Roger (07 February 2002). "The Reality of Storm Chase Yahoos". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
32. Edwards, Roger; Doswell, Chuck. "Irresponsible Media Storm Chase Practices". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
33. Rich Thompson; Roger Edwards. "Cancer Within". Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
34. Crowther, Matt. "Some Chase Musings". Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
35. Olivier, Steve (2006). "Moral Dilemmas of Participation in Dangerous Leisure Activities". Leisure Studies 25 (1): 95–109. doi:10.1080/02614360500284692.
36. Burgess, Cindy. "The Weather Network". 2011.
37. Persoff, Jason (5 June 2011). "First Response Mode: May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado". Blogger. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2012
Chaser Safety and Responsibility suggestions (via Stormtrack):
http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/sho...estions&highlight=storm+chasing+ethics+safety
Here is the first post:
Dr Doswell gave the keynote speech at the Denver convention on chaser safety and responsibility. In a humerous but very serious fashion, he talked about dangerous chaser practices by new and veteran chasers along with your "average Joe" out to see the tornado. Dr Doswell also talked about his fears should there be a serious accident (ie lady with baby walking across street is killed by speeding chasers) He stated that any bad behavior becomes a reflection upon all of us.
Link to Dr. Doswell's often cited and quoted paper on safety
http://www.cimms.ou.edu/~doswell/Chasing2.html
Dr. Doswell asked that there be some discussion on how chaser safety can be nurtured and improved.
My thoughts: I don't think there is a way to enforce chaser safety through rules, membership in an association or sanctions. All chasers should strive to set an example of good chaser behavior. This should also be emphazied among tour groups since some participants are likely to be future chasers. When dangerous behavior is observed, I would suggest that the offending individual be privately e-mailed or contacted. As a last resort, a description of the situation, video clips or stills can be posted to ones website or a public forum. Nobody is perfect. I certainly would not be angry if someone contacted me about something I did.
Bill Hark