Amber lights=Trouble, period! Storm spotters are a valuable asset to the NWS, but whacker chasers are not. Let's see what happens when those lights are on and your speeding past a LEO or worse yet crashing due to either excessive speed for the conditions or distracted driving. What's next, chasers adding strobes, sirens, red & blue lights. Wait a minute, that's already happening.
My Storm Chasing/Skywarn Spotting Vehicle
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Drachen_Fire
Member
Lookout, here comes another RR whackercop.
Amber lights are useful for not getting crushed to death, when pulled off the roadside. I've explained this utility online for 15 years now, and always got toasted for it.
And I don't care, because my way is correct.
Amber lights are useful for not getting crushed to death, when pulled off the roadside. I've explained this utility online for 15 years now, and always got toasted for it.
And I don't care, because my way is correct.
Only if your definition of "correct" means "not correct."
Multiple studies show that flashing lights on the side of the road attract drunks and sleepy drivers.
Multiple studies show flashing lights attract OUI and FATIGUE drivers is correct, know from personal experience, not just once, 31 years as a FF have had equipment, pumper, ladder truck struck several times in my career, in all of these situations the driver was one of the two.
Drachen_Fire
Member
1 - Drunks and sleepy drivers are generally a nighttime thing.
2 - You don't chase at night. You just don't.
2 - You don't chase at night. You just don't.
Well, don't if you don't know what you're doing. Correct.
Which makes me wonder even more - where are you parking that's so dangerous that you need lights in the day?
Which makes me wonder even more - where are you parking that's so dangerous that you need lights in the day?
Even LEO's with all their lights on still get hit while performing traffic stops. Your little flashing amber light is not going to prevent that PERIOD!. Rdale hit it right on, where are you parking that's so dangerous? Unless your broken down there is no reason to be stopped on the shoulder.
There is also a diffrence between being a SKYWARN SPOTTER and a STORM CHASER. Its like a few has pointed out. Skywarn spotters are to report in when its safe to do so to report conditions in there area. Storm Chasers are people that have been to school for this crap and know what there doing. They just didnt take a 2 hour class and now have the title of a Storm Chaser. They have the title of a Skywarn SPOTTER.
Also its like a few others have said why do you need lights on your vehicle?
Storm Chasers also dont use there own money to a point to outfit there vehicles. They are sponsored by a local news station to do storm chasing for them.
Also its like a few others have said why do you need lights on your vehicle?
Storm Chasers also dont use there own money to a point to outfit there vehicles. They are sponsored by a local news station to do storm chasing for them.
Cod - I appreciate the effort but that's ALL wrong.
There is no storm chaser school. There is no requirement to have any education.
And there CERTAINLY is not sponsorship dollars rolling out to equip vehicles.
I think you're confusing with storm researchers?
There is no storm chaser school. There is no requirement to have any education.
And there CERTAINLY is not sponsorship dollars rolling out to equip vehicles.
I think you're confusing with storm researchers?
Techholder88
Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2008
- Messages
- 34
Wow, such hate for the guy all over a lightbar. At least he bought a quality light (Sho-me is decent but I prefer Whelen) and not a cheap ebay chinese POS. I think it looks good, real simple and not whacked out like some of the chasers I have seen. If I were to tear anything apart about your install it would be the placement of your interior electronics. I would personally rip out the middle seat and put in a console but its your truck and your life, do what you want with both. Now to address a couple of the members concerns:
No permit required for MN or several of the states around him
This answers the question above. If the OP is staying in state, he should have no trouble.
Well, for the most part, the Midwest does not care about Farmer John using amber lights on his tractor without a permit to try to prevent an accident. I think that is what the OP is doing here.
Does the OP work construction when he is not spotting/chasing? I wouldn't own a 1 ton truck if I weren't a welder, construction worker, or someone who routinely towed equipment over 10,000 lbs. I'm sure the OP has a reason for owning the 3500 but perhaps he uses the amber light for reasons other than watching storm clouds. An Amber light is to indicate caution and it is the BEST color for traffic control. See below in my post for a presentation about that.
This is where community policing comes in handy, either report the whackers to law enforcement or politely show them what the laws are and they might think twice about it. I know several people who have been ticketed or just had a nice butt chewing from the Highway Patrol for reckless driving or using the wrong color for lighting and they have since changed their habits so to speak.
Few people get sponsored. There is not enough money made at the news media to employ 60 chasers to go get a few storms. Thus most chasers buy their own equipment and either do it as a hobby, or sell their video to pay for expenses. The fact that the media stations are paying big bucks for the footage is what has attracted more people into the hobby and has made it more dangerous on the roads.
This is very true.
How many DUI drivers are you going to run into while storm spotting though? I know that DUI drivers can strike anywhere at any time and any day (I would know, I was almost killed by one at 330 PM on a Sunday), however most of your DUI arrests occur at night usually shortly after the bars close.
Unfortunately DUI drivers are attracted to red/blue lights but not so much to Amber. I'm not sure where I heard that but here is a presentation that will help explain my point.
http://www.i95coalition.org/i95/Por...nt-toolkit/documents/Guide/Guide_Clear_RF.pdf
why do you need lights on your vehicle?
It is to indicate the presence of a traffic hazard requiring unusual care in approaching, overtaking, or passing. Lets see, a person (or persons) standing outside a parked car
5 feet off the roadway looking at a Tornado heading this direction. Presence of a traffic hazard? I think so.
As long as the OP is being responsible with the usage of his lighting and the operation of his truck, why dog him about it? If you want to beat someone up about their lighting setup, look no further than here:
Official "Whacker" or "Screwed Up Install" Thread
I will probably get s@!# on for making these statements but that's just my 2 cents. Trust me, there are worse out there.
No permit required for MN or several of the states around him
This answers the question above. If the OP is staying in state, he should have no trouble.
Well, for the most part, the Midwest does not care about Farmer John using amber lights on his tractor without a permit to try to prevent an accident. I think that is what the OP is doing here.
Does the OP work construction when he is not spotting/chasing? I wouldn't own a 1 ton truck if I weren't a welder, construction worker, or someone who routinely towed equipment over 10,000 lbs. I'm sure the OP has a reason for owning the 3500 but perhaps he uses the amber light for reasons other than watching storm clouds. An Amber light is to indicate caution and it is the BEST color for traffic control. See below in my post for a presentation about that.
This is where community policing comes in handy, either report the whackers to law enforcement or politely show them what the laws are and they might think twice about it. I know several people who have been ticketed or just had a nice butt chewing from the Highway Patrol for reckless driving or using the wrong color for lighting and they have since changed their habits so to speak.
Few people get sponsored. There is not enough money made at the news media to employ 60 chasers to go get a few storms. Thus most chasers buy their own equipment and either do it as a hobby, or sell their video to pay for expenses. The fact that the media stations are paying big bucks for the footage is what has attracted more people into the hobby and has made it more dangerous on the roads.
This is very true.
How many DUI drivers are you going to run into while storm spotting though? I know that DUI drivers can strike anywhere at any time and any day (I would know, I was almost killed by one at 330 PM on a Sunday), however most of your DUI arrests occur at night usually shortly after the bars close.
Unfortunately DUI drivers are attracted to red/blue lights but not so much to Amber. I'm not sure where I heard that but here is a presentation that will help explain my point.
http://www.i95coalition.org/i95/Por...nt-toolkit/documents/Guide/Guide_Clear_RF.pdf
why do you need lights on your vehicle?
It is to indicate the presence of a traffic hazard requiring unusual care in approaching, overtaking, or passing. Lets see, a person (or persons) standing outside a parked car
5 feet off the roadway looking at a Tornado heading this direction. Presence of a traffic hazard? I think so.
As long as the OP is being responsible with the usage of his lighting and the operation of his truck, why dog him about it? If you want to beat someone up about their lighting setup, look no further than here:
Official "Whacker" or "Screwed Up Install" Thread
I will probably get s@!# on for making these statements but that's just my 2 cents. Trust me, there are worse out there.
If it's that hazardous - he's in a bad spot. Get 15 feet off the roadway. Lights won't mean a thing there. If someone's going to hit you, lights won't affect that.
Techholder88
Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2008
- Messages
- 34
If someone IS going to hit me or one of my passengers, you are correct. Lights will not affect their movement by initiating corrective action to avoid me, my passengers or my truck. However it reduces the risk of a person hitting me by catching their eye and coercing them to make a correction. When I go out to watch storms I do try to find a driveway, a flat spot that I won't get my truck stuck in, or a parking lot if I am in an urban area. However the best spots to pull off and get a good vantage point often are either non-existent, too close to the storm, or taken by other chasers. Sometimes 15 feet off the road is on the other side of the fence to Farmer Johns field. Although we cannot reduce the risk of someone hitting you on the side of the road to zero, we can reduce the risk to slim by pulling off the road where safe, activating our emergency lights, wearing ANSI Class II or Class III reflective vests, and using common sense. I cannot stop someone who is going to be staring at their phone texting away and not paying attention, but I can at least tell the investigating officer that we took all necessary measures to reduce the risk of an accident.
Drachen_Fire
Member
Don't you know? If you can't bend space and time to always find a perfect parking spot on a country road at any time, you are a whacker, and a danger to society!
This 2005-era Hamsexy garbage got old really quick back then, and it's just as old now. To me, if a policeman (or especially a citizen) has nothing more to do than trash someone over a lightbar, then they have bigger problems than boredom.
This 2005-era Hamsexy garbage got old really quick back then, and it's just as old now. To me, if a policeman (or especially a citizen) has nothing more to do than trash someone over a lightbar, then they have bigger problems than boredom.
If you have to use lights to warn people of you being parked, then maybe you are parking where you should not be parking. Parking well off the road, in a driveway, or a parking lot is safe and no lights are needed.
Drachen_Fire
Member
The world isn't perfect Travis.
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