Author Topic: Motorcycle and lightning don't mix (Read 2955 times)

78 k550 · « **on:** June 22, 2006, 08:30:13 AM »

Hey All,
Just heard on the news this morning a guy got struck by lightning while riding his bike on the highway here last night. Bummer to hear of this stuff.

Paul

cbjunkie · « **Reply #1 on:** June 22, 2006, 08:31:30 AM »

so...is that it? what happened...?

78 k550 · « **Reply #2 on:** June 22, 2006, 08:33:17 AM »

Sorry,
yup killed him instanly I would imagine. Not sure if the lightning killed him or the impact againg the median.

Paul

eldar · « **Reply #3 on:** June 22, 2006, 08:43:11 AM »

Kinda odd how it would go for him. Unless it was really wet out, he should have been insulated by his tires.

cbjunkie · « **Reply #4 on:** June 22, 2006, 08:50:36 AM »

lightning doesn't ALWAYS kill the strikee - there are documented survivors...

Gordon · « **Reply #5 on:** June 22, 2006, 08:56:18 AM »

They didn't go into specifics. Just said a witness saw a lightning strike and then saw the biker lean over and hit the cement highway divider. It may have just hit the ground near him which would be enough to temporarily blind him as well as causing major disorientation, causing him to lose control and hit the wall. Just a thought. BTW, I believe the ground was dry.

Dave Wyatt · « **Reply #6 on:** June 22, 2006, 09:23:10 AM »

I had lightning strike near me one day during a very hard rain. Just as I was turning into the drive at work, I heard one hell of a boom and was shocked through my left index finger that was on the clutch lever. My finger was numb for about an hour after.

eldar · « **Reply #7 on:** June 22, 2006, 09:25:43 AM »

OK if the ground was dry, then with what I have heard, I would say it hit the ground and he lost it then. If there was more of the article, it should say if he was actually hit. That, dave, is why I was wondering if it was dry or wet. You get water on things and theres your conductor. Unless it was extremely pure water, then that would not conduct but we all know rain water is not pure.

Rushoid · « **Reply #8 on:** June 22, 2006, 12:07:07 PM »

I'm pretty sure that motorcycle tires aren't enough of an insulator against lightning. That's a lot of voltage to stop. If it can jump from a cloud to the ground, it can jump a few inches from your bike. I think the main reason people are told that their cars will protect them from lightning is because it's a metal cage that dissipates the potential. There are still cases of people getting hit while inside their cars though.

Chris Schneiter · « **Reply #9 on:** June 22, 2006, 02:33:41 PM »

"Motorcycles and Lightening, very, very Frightening! Sing! Galleleo, Galleleo, Figaro!" Jeez! we're poetic today!

Ernie · « **Reply #10 on:** June 22, 2006, 03:24:48 PM »

i saw a nine year old boy in southcarolina get hit in the back a few years ago,he was badly burned back hands and feet but he survived and amazingly a year later was perfectly normal aside from some scars, playing like any kid

thankfully

Gordon · « **Reply #11 on:** June 22, 2006, 04:06:43 PM »

Well, here's the current CNN article on the incident, although it doesn't really add any new information.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/22/motorcycle.lightning.ap/index.html

cb650 · « **Reply #12 on:** June 22, 2006, 04:30:11 PM »

The local news this morn was showing a 18" x 8" hole in the asphalt. Had a couple witnesses that said he was hit. Dry out but we have had a bunch of dry lightning lately.
Sucks it happened but where is the bs about havin a helmet on or not.

Terry

Bob Wessner · « **Reply #13 on:** June 22, 2006, 07:32:19 PM »

People generally believe that the tires provide some sort of insulating protection, but it's not so. There is a good chance someone will survive a lightning strike in a car because the lightning travels through/around the steel cage of the vehicle. As long as the occupant(s) are not touching anything that would be a conductor to the frame, they will probably have a good story to tell. Motorcycles on the other hand provide no protection and given the fact you are in contact with the frame, probably in several places (pegs, tank, cases), the story is much different and likely to be far more tragic.

eldar · « **Reply #14 on:** June 22, 2006, 07:37:46 PM »

Well rubber is an insulator and even bike tires will offer resistance and you are not likely to build up a charge that attracts lightning. Linesmen wear leather and rubber clothing and gloves to insulate themselves and the tires of their trucks insulate as well. Now it is always possible for freak things to happen but if there was a hole in the asphalt, I dont see how he was hit then. I think he was just really close to it and got caught by the concussion of the strike, which caused him to loose control and crash.

I suppose it matters very little on what exactly happened and we probabaly wont ever find out, what matters is that it was an unfortunate thing and my sympathies go out to his family.

Bob Wessner · « **Reply #15 on:** June 22, 2006, 07:41:38 PM »

Yes, it's true about linemen and the rubber gloves, but they don't have to contend with multi-million volt strikes, which is what a bolt of lightning can generate.

eldar · « **Reply #16 on:** June 22, 2006, 08:33:18 PM »

Thats true but they do come in very close contact with them. I studied power generation and have a degree in power plant operations, even though I went with computers instead.

In order for lightning to occur, you have to have a build up of electrons which then seek to equalize and thus you get lightning, wether it goes from cloud to cloud or to the ground. But I will still agree that it is possible to get whacked by it. Electricity is simple yet very complex. So you just never know I guess.

Besides, we dont need anything else gunning for us!

However, I looked at that article from cnn and I just dont think he got hit by the bolt itself. People SAW a flash of light and then he crashed. They did not say he HAD been hit. I think he was just in the wrong place. Still feel sorry for the guy, whatever happened.

Clutch Cargo · « **Reply #17 on:** June 23, 2006, 04:20:51 AM »

Cell phones, deer, ground hogs and now lightning. Why do we do this?

Mike

dusterdude · « **Reply #18 on:** June 23, 2006, 08:27:25 AM »

awww hell,eldars got book learnin,we in trouble now.

eldar · « **Reply #19 on:** June 23, 2006, 09:38:12 AM »

Dont worry, I try not to use it!
Dont worry, I am not trying to say Bob is wrong, Just that I think it is unlikely that he got hit directly.

82CB650SC · « **Reply #20 on:** June 23, 2006, 09:58:28 AM »

If it was that close i would bet it induced one hell of a jolt into the frame. I have seen it in telecom euipment were a near by strike will fry the electronic components by inducing a voltage spike through the wires.

eldar · « **Reply #21 on:** June 23, 2006, 10:17:08 AM »

Now that I could see. Not a direct strike but more of a dispersal hit.

Bob Wessner · « **Reply #22 on:** June 23, 2006, 10:31:17 AM »

Honest, I wasn't trying to make it a right/wrong thing, just wanted to dispel the myth re: tires. Thirty million volts and 10,000 AMP's are going to find their way to ground and tires won't prevent it. Whether direct or indirect probably doesn't matter much and it only takes 1/10th AMP across your heart to kill you. Best advice is just make sure you are not in a position where you become part of the path to ground.

Oh, and I agree lightning is quirky for sure. There have been cases of near strikes killing and direct strikes not. In the latter instance, it sometimes travels over the surface and you survive. Odd, just best avoided obviously.

eldar · « **Reply #23 on:** June 23, 2006, 10:38:08 AM »

Thats the trick though. Not like you can jump out of lightnings way! Maybe the Flash could!

82CB650SC · « **Reply #24 on:** June 23, 2006, 12:06:47 PM »

A wet strike is better than a dry strike. When wet the lowest resistance will be over the surface compared to a dry strike which the lowest resistance is internal. Best bet is to stay of the bike. You could go play golf instead.

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Author Topic: Motorcycle and lightning don't mix (Read 2955 times)

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