I strongly agree with one point in your post: Storm chasers should be given lights and sirens. The storm chasers aren’t the problem, though; the problem is all those idiots driving around when they should be taking shelter. There should be NO traffic except storm chasers and emergency vehicles, when a tornado is in the area. And if storm chasers had lights and sirens, they would be able to see each other’s vehicles better in these stormy situations, which would definitely help them avoid accidents like these.
CedarDave, these people aren’t “hobbyists”; they’re volunteers, putting their lives on the line to gather valuable information for the National Weather Service. They HAVE to speed and drive recklessly to survive, because tornadoes are very unpredictable. If a tornado suddenly changes direction and heads toward you, you’d better clear out fast, or there would be a lot more than 3 fatalities in a single storm season.
I thought storm chasers had emergency lights on their vehicles.