Chasing injury and incident data

[Dan Robinson]

A data set I thought would be beneficial to compile would be injuries chasers have sustained during a chase day (from the time one leaves their home or hotel to the time they return). For the purpose of this data set, an injury is defined as any one that is significant enough to require medical attention of some kind (from roadside first aid to an ER or doctor visit).

I'm interested to see if this data will reflect what the real risk percentages are in the activity of storm chasing. I have a pretty good idea of what to expect, but I'd like to see real numbers to back it up.

The following are the basic risk factors that I know about (as in, I've heard of each of these being a factor in known incidents):

* Car accidents due to:
---- Wet roads
---- Hail on the road
---- Encountering debris on the road
---- Encountering animals on the road
---- Driving too fast for a road configuration (sharp curve, sudden transition to a muddy road)
---- Distracted driving (computers, cell phones)
---- Poor visibility (dust, fog or heavy rain)
* Direct hail impacts (cuts or bruises)
* Glass injuries from vehicular window hail impacts
* Lightning injury
* Sunburn
* Hypothermia
* Bee stings, insect bites
* Animal bites
* Equipment-related injuries:
---- Electric shock
---- Cuts from tools, changing tires, vehicle maintenance, etc
---- Joint or muscle strain from lifting objects or equipment
* Tornado impacts

Ideally I'd like to classify injuries by their severity, IE from those requiring medical care/doctor visits to those only requiring on-site first aid.

My goal is to quantify what the actual risks to chasers really are, as I think this would be helpful in gaining a perspective both for ourselves and people outside of the hobby. If I'm able to compile enough data, I'll produce some charts and graphs and post them here.

If you would be willing to share any incidents or injuries you have experienced during a chase day, please post! If you'd rather keep your info private, please PM me - I will only use the information in a final tally (with no names or details disclosed).

Interestingly enough, I do not remember ever sustaining any notable injuries myself during a chase in my 16 years of the hobby.

[Jason Boggs]

I've never sustained an injury from storm chasing in 10 years of doing it. I can say this though...watch out when standing in the bed of a truck! It can be a doozy!

[John Farley]

Up to now, in 13 years of chasing, no injuries for me, either. One thing I worry a lot about that I do not see on your list is trees or tree branches, or other debris, falling onto the chase vehicle. Usually there are several (non-chase) fatalities each year from trees or branches falling onto cars, often from non-tornadic winds.

[Danny Neal]

One that comes to mind is food poisoning or eating something that upsets your stomach.... although many of us really haven't had to be hospitalized or even required EMS care..... it can put a huge damper on a chase.

[Christian Matthys]

Er, how about suffering from hemorrhoids ? :)

PS: In my eight years of chasing, I've luckily never suffered from any injury..

[John Olexa]

1 injury for me.
While out shooting lightning one night I stepped in a hole and sprained my ankle (First degree) :( Some ligament stretching but no tear. Hurt like heck! LOL

[scott r currens]

I've been on 261 chases with no injuries. Although I'd have a long list if you consider injuries to my ego.

[Brian Stertz]

I have had a few baseball sized hail body impacts (bruises) from that Brady NE day 5/17/00 and the Edgar NE experience on 9/22/01. The first one was take it for the video of a lifetime...second one was not felt until the next day on the drive home to Tulsa. Had 3 pretty sore spots on my back and shoulder. That was one serious memory that still lingers today...get nightmares at times. Also had one wipeout on my chaser record...that was the Almena day on 6/3/99. The RFD pushed Jeff's van over the brink but miraculously did not flip. Snail snot roads claimed several chasers that day as I recall. We went from a hardtop to a seriously slick mud/gravel road in the matter of a few hundred yards...painfully as the beautiful large tornado crossed the road about a 1/2 mile ahead of us. Jeff and Pat carried on the chase by foot getting good video as it eventually roped out in classic fashion.

[John Massura]

"Casual" chaser here, about 12 years now, I'm going to estimate maybe 100-120 chase days. Zero injuries.

[John Olexa]

Although I'd have a long list if you consider injuries to my ego.

:D:D:D Now if we add those, same here!!:D:D:D

[Shane Adams]

I've never been hit by lightning, a hail stone, thunderstorm winds, debris, a tornado, or been a flood victim.

Anything else is an injury due to driving, or eating food, or falling, etc etc...the fact chasing put you in those situations does not make it the cause. I won't elaborate on this because I've done it a million times already over the years.

[Aaron Kennedy]

Couple bad cases of chiggers for me.

[Stephen Locke]

chiggers. chiggers. chiggers. Did I mention Chiggers? I suspect an allergy. Benydral is the cure but only after the days drive is over as Benadryl is a
d-o-w-n-e-r.

[Joey Ketcham]

In 12 years of chasing I've never suffered an injury during a chase. The only thing I ever did was chase one when I was pretty sick, but it was a local chase.

[Nathan Edwards]

I pretty much passed out whilst driving due to a really acute case of food poisoning mid chase last year. Came back to my senses with 2 wheels off the road at 60mph and quickly pulled into the next motel I saw to spend the rest of the night in a state of semi consciousness interrupted by bouts of projectile vomiting (too much information?) I'd put that down partly due to storm chasing as I'd never really eat the sort of food which caused it if I hadn't been in a chase situation. A couple of cups of popcorn chicken throughout the course of the day was the likely culprit and I'm sure I'm not the only one to suffer from gas station food related illnesses over the years ;) I've never been physically injured storm chasing however.

Note that in this case I did not seek medical attention, but most certainly should have done as I was in a really bad way.

[Danny Neal]

I had a couple of migraines while chasing..... luckily I wasn't alone on the chase or else there would have been problems! Those knock me on my ass faster than a tornado kick to the face.

[Chris McBee]

I took a small shard of glass to the palm of my left hand on May 29, 2004 near Piedmont, OK. Didn't seek medical attention, just found a grocery store and bought some antiseptic and large band-aids.

Also twisted my ankle once getting out of my car on the side of highway. I have no idea of the date or location. Somewhere in western OK.

[Dan Robinson]

Here is the link to the data so far:

http://stormhighway.com/blog/april2309a.shtml

Even though it's debatable that things like car accidents and food poinsoning are chase related, I'd still like to include them in this data set. Doing that would show how weather-related dangers compare to non-weather related dangers.


Thanks for the responses so far! More data would be appreciated!

Information needed

- Type of injury or incident
- How the injury occurred (what was the cause)

- Chasers who have NEVER had an injury or incident

Criteria

For the purposes of this data set, 'injury or incident' refers to one where either:

- some type of medical attention was administered, ranging from simple roadside first aid to an ER visit, doctor appointment or hospitalization.
- the resulting injury or condition impacted the chaser's ability to continue traveling (IE, food poisoning, severe pain, immobilization, etc).

In other words, for the purposes of this survey, something akin to bumping one's head on the doorframe, getting hit with a hailstone or getting stung by a bee would not count, unless it caused an injury or condition that either needed medical attention or caused the chase to be suspended or postponed.

- The injury or ailment must be from an external causative factor encountered while on the chase. IE, unrelated to a pre-existing chronic illness or exposure to an infectious agent before the chase began (headaches, coming down with the flu, etc).

[Colt forney]

On the May 29th, 2008 Kearny Nebraska storm I ended up losing my passenger side window to intense RFD winds with hail to around golf ball. Got a decent cut on my forearm that probably could of used a couple stitches, but didn't seek any medical attention. I got the cut when I was getting out of my vehical, I rested my arm on the center console onto a piece of glass.

[Jason Foster]

I have had no injuries that affected my chase, needed anything more than a band aid or a ice pack on the forehead.

However, while I didn't exactly suffer any noticeable wounds or lasting pain, the lightning strike (indirect, but very strong) I took in 2004 was quite painful, way more than your normal shock, even than 110v outlet. I always joke that it was that strike that lead to my kidney failure....because kidney failure is one result many strike victims have encountered. Usually though other organs, brain damage and other problems occur along side, which I did not have.

[Dave Gallaher]

Chasing since the late 1970s, no injuries or accidents--other than driving a rented Plymouth K-car into a flash flood in Texas at high speed. Had to be towed out and missed the rest of the chase. Car eventually restarted, but the LED clock presented only weird symbols from then on.

[Karla Dorman]

Newby at chasing, only four years, and not that frequently. No injuries, but does nearly getting hit by lightning count?!? Happened last year, trying to capture lightning while sitting on a bench on the porch at a local restaurant - lightning hit the power pole across the street, could feel something inside me leap towards it - transformer fireworked - and I missed the dang thing!! *sigh* Got the puff of smoke coming off, after.

[nmjameswilson]

I chase by myself more than i should and that's when the problems can happen. I have a big 4x4 truck that has keep me on the road while not paying attention and driving off it. Trying to navagate while driving has lead to a few just off the road incidents. No injuries yet ...