Florida motorcyclist killed-lightning

[driftpin]

There may be more to this story posted by a UK website:

A motorcyclist died in a freak accident after lighting struck his helmet as he was driving on a highway. The unnamed 45-year-old driver was hit by the bolt of lighting as he rode on Interstate 95 on Sunday afternoon in Volusia County, cracking his helmet and causing him to beer off the road.

Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2019/06/10/moto...y-lightning-while-riding-9895434/?ito=cbshare

Always sorry to hear of a premature death. A typo, I assume, but an unusual turn of a phrase.

 

[Falcon67]

Read that on CNN - wasn't clear if the lightning caused the death or he was stunned and the uncontrolled flight into terrain caused the death. Sad and certainly a totally freak accident.

 

[KBigg]

Sad. At least he didnt spin out on yard trimmings

 

[driftpin]

Sad. At least he didnt spin out on yard trimmings

One is an 'act of god,' the other is the result of the behavior of a negligent jerk. When people do things which cause others to be hurt, that's negligence. When they do it with the intent to hurt someone, that's criminally negligent.

Someone spreading motor oil on a curved road, or tacks thrown onto the road.

 

[Dodge]

Sad. At least he didnt spin out on yard trimmings

Did you really have to add that??? Totally uncalled for, IMO!

 

[wssix99]

This happened to me in a car, once. The tires "insulate" but there's so much other radiation, it doesn't matter much. All of my muscles straightened and all the hair on my entire body stood on end. Fortunately, I was at a stop at an intersection and only rolled in a bit.

Had I been rolling (or God forbid) or on a bike, I would not have been able to maintain control.


Then my house got struck directly the other week on Memorial Day during a Tornado Watch. The wife was outside 200 feet away and I was in a windowless room. I didn't get a jolt this time, but there was so much radiation flying through the house, (EMP) I still saw a flash of light. All underwear (the wife's and mine) are ruined. We even had current's induced in the corner bead and shot sparks out of the drywall in some places.


Sometime soon, I'm going to spend some time to figure out which God I've pissed off and see if there is a pathway to make peace with them; somehow. Next time, I have a feeling I'll be walking around outside when this happens...


BTW - If you plan on living through a lightening strike, ditch State Farm. They totally ****. I'm now in week 3, had my AC and hot water taken out and have yet to see an insurance adjuster. I have a feeling that I'll be seeing my lawyer before I see the adjuster.

 

[Stuart in MN]

40 years ago a buddy and I were on a motorcycle trip to Glacier Park; one day we were riding in a rainstorm, and lightning hit the ground right next to us as we were going down the highway. We weren't harmed, but it did scare the **** out of us.

 

[WVBrady]

This happened to me in a car, once. The tires "insulate"

More importantly, if you are in a car with steel body, the steel acts as a "Faraday Shield" and the current runs on the surface and the field inside the car is near zero.

I still saw a flash of light.

Receptacles will flash over and limit the max voltage.


BTW - If you plan on living through a lightening strike, ditch State Farm. They totally ****. I'm now in week 3, had my AC and hot water taken out and have yet to see an insurance adjuster. I have a feeling that I'll be seeing my lawyer before I see the adjuster.

Do they call it "an act of God" and refuse to pay based on that determination?

 

[BMW Rider]

This happened to me in a car, once. The tires "insulate" but there's so much other radiation, it doesn't matter much. All of my muscles straightened and all the hair on my entire body stood on end. Fortunately, I was at a stop at an intersection and only rolled in a bit.

Had I been rolling (or God forbid) or on a bike, I would not have been able to maintain control.


Then my house got struck directly the other week on Memorial Day during a Tornado Watch. The wife was outside 200 feet away and I was in a windowless room. I didn't get a jolt this time, but there was so much radiation flying through the house, (EMP) I still saw a flash of light. All underwear (the wife's and mine) are ruined. We even had current's induced in the corner bead and shot sparks out of the drywall in some places.


Sometime soon, I'm going to spend some time to figure out which God I've pissed off and see if there is a pathway to make peace with them; somehow. Next time, I have a feeling I'll be walking around outside when this happens...


BTW - If you plan on living through a lightening strike, ditch State Farm. They totally ****. I'm now in week 3, had my AC and hot water taken out and have yet to see an insurance adjuster. I have a feeling that I'll be seeing my lawyer before I see the adjuster.

Tires do not provide any insulating quality whatsoever, Lightning just passed through thousands of feet of air, a half inch thick piece of carbon impregnated rubber is no match. The actual protection that a car offers is that the metal body makes a good conductor for the energy to pass through and around the occupants. No such deal on a motorcycle, the highest point is the riders noggin and the full current will pass through him/her on its way to the ground. That's why I really try very hard to not be out on my bikes in a thunderstorm.

 

[pcmeiners]

You do not need to be in a thunderstorm to be hit by lighting. You could be hit when the storm is miles away, when the sun is shining in your area.


"Thunder can be heard up to 25 miles away, and lightning strikes have been documented to occur as far as 25 miles from thunderstorms – known as a “bolt from the blue.” So if you can hear thunder, you're close enough to be hit by lightning, and sheltering indoors or in an enclosed car is your safest bet."

Closest I got to this was special modems ( on ships) I was working on were damaged by storm EMP (electro motive pulse from lightning) roughly 10 miles away, lost 2 modems at the same time.

 

[ZRX61]

Was about to cross a bridge on a GPz1100 B2 when lightning hit the bridge... & that was the end of the computer for my fuel injection..

 

[theoldwizard1]

"When you number is up, it's UP !"

 

[Showkey]

Extremely rare for any motorcyclist to be hit by lightning while driving down the road because the two cycle tires are great insulators which make them much more challenging for lightning to make and complete it's connection


This motorcyclist must have pulled over due to the rain or whatever and had his wet shoes on the ground and that's when the lightning definitely biolocated him. *If after pulling off the road and he would of ran into the nearby woods and just lay down on the ground and waited the storm out then he probably would of lived to see another da it.

It so rare ......that for a practical matter, nobody pulls over to lay in the woods.

The next problem while laying in the woods an indirect strike to a near by tree ........and.......your just as dead.

Maybe in a lightening storm .........ride faster.

 

[Old Man Roger]

2 Giraffes at a local zoo were killed by lightning last month. The number of lightning strikes in south Florida is amazing.

 

[WIHD]

should this be in 'free parking'?

 

[JR 42]

Different types of lightning including ground to air lightning, air to ground lightning, ball lightning etc. This person was probably taken out by air to ground lightning.


Extremely rare for any motorcyclist to be hit by lightning while driving down the road because the two cycle tires are great insulators which make them much more challenging for lightning to make and complete it's connection aka lightning strike. Natural occurring electrical current aka lightning, normally will not make contact with anyone unless they are in contact with the ground or something on the ground.


This motorcyclist must have pulled over due to the rain or whatever and had his wet shoes on the ground and that's when the lightning definitely biolocated him. *If after pulling off the road and he would of ran into the nearby woods and just lay down on the ground and waited the storm out then he probably would of lived to see another day.


Lightning tends to strike the tallest living biological energy within a certain radius of the lightning cloud convergence. So remember, if you can hear thunder then that's probably your first and last warning to stay far, far away from it.

Tires aren't great insulators.

https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-myths

Myth: Rubber tires on a car protect you from lightning by insulating you from the ground.
Fact: Most cars are safe from lightning, but it is the metal roof and metal sides that protect you, NOT the rubber tires. Remember, convertibles, motorcycles, bicycles, open-shelled outdoor recreational vehicles and cars with fiberglass shells offer no protection from lightning. When lightning strikes a vehicle, it goes through the metal frame into the ground. Don't lean on doors during a thunderstorm.

They mention laying down on the ground not working well either on that page.

WTF is "biological energy" in this context? Why would lightning be attracted to living things specifically?

Weird typo in the article. I beered off a footpath Saturday night... don't think that's what they meant at all.

 

[WVBrady]

Tires aren't great insulators.

https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-myths

They mention laying down on the ground not working well either on that page...

Weird typo in the article. I beered off a footpath Saturday night... don't think that's what they meant at all.

It is generally recommended to crouch low, but not spread out your feet. The current going through the ground causes a difference in voltage potential along the ground. If your feet (or other parts of your body) are contacting different places on the ground, the current will tend to run through your body, due to that potential difference.

Maybe he veered of of the footpath due to beer.