Oklahoma storm chasers oppose licensing bill, fear increased danger
Oklahoma lawmakers are considering a controversial bill that would require storm chasers to obtain a license and equip their vehicles with tracking devices, lights, signage, and sirens to be identified as emergency vehicles during severe weather events.
The proposed legislation would also allow storm chasers, whether private or affiliated with media outlets or universities, to travel on closed roadways.
However, the bill has faced significant opposition from both lawmakers and storm chasers.
Bary Nusz, a storm chaser with over 40 years of experience, expressed disbelief when he first heard about the bill.
"When this first came up I thought it was a joke. You know you see things posted online and you're like 'okay that can't be real,'" said Nusz.
Nusz warned that the bill could make storm chasing even more dangerous.
"It would make it more like what you saw on 'Twisters'. You know where they're just driving through fields and doing crazy stuff. You know blaring and going through fences and disregarding everything, it would make it more like that and they'd have permission to do it," he said.
He added that reckless driving while storm chasing is already an issue, and House Bill 2426 would remove repercussions for dangerous drivers.
"To have them not have the consequences of that, taking those consequences away and encouraging to do it even more, that's going to get people killed and it's going to cause some bad accidents and it's just going to be bad for everybody," Nusz said.
The bill does state that the state of Oklahoma could issue a fine of no more than $500 and specifies that the provisions do not protect drivers from the consequences of reckless disregard for the safety of others.
Nusz argued that this is insufficient and suggested, "I would just throw it away."
In response to the pushback, the bill's author has ordered an interim study to gather more information before proceeding further. The bill will not be in effect this storm season.
