Our number one focus is keeping our customers safe!
How safe is storm chasing? Many people assume that severe weather presents storm chasers with great risk. While severe weather is dangerous, experienced storm chasers use their skills to get near tornadoes and severe storms without getting into their path. While the weather can be hazardous, no storm chaser has ever been killed due to the weather while on a chase.
Instead, the primary risks we will be faced with on a chase are the risks of driving on public roads for many miles each day. We take a number of precautions to mitigate this risk. We use 15-passenger vans on our tours, however the back row of seats is removed and our occupancy is limited to eight people per van (including guides). Limiting the occupancy reduces the rollover risk significantly. We also maintain our vans meticulously, including daily tire pressure and condition checks. Most importantly, our drivers are professionally trained in the safe operation of 15-passenger vans at the OSU-OKC Precision Driving Training Center*.
What if someone is hurt on the tour?
Our guides are professionally trained by the Red Cross in administering first aid*. We aren’t doctors, but we will assist where we can until an ambulance arrives or until we can get to a hospital.
If we encounter other people who need medical assistance, whether due to a tornado, traffic accident, or any other reason, it is our policy that we will stop and assist them to the best of our ability. Unfortunately, this may result in missing the next storm. While we will make every effort to see as many severe storms as possible, we believe that providing emergency assistance to those in need is our first responsibility as storm chasers.
*Our primary guides are trained in the safe operation of 15-passenger vans and in first aid prior to the first tour of the season. In the event that one of these guides is unavailable due to illness, injury, separation from the company, or for any other reason, we will use a backup guide who may or may not have received this training.
