Motorcyclist hit by lighting. Never heard of that before.

[vanavyman]

I guess the old wise tale that if you were in a vehicle with rubber tires you were safe from lightening isn't true. Sad story.  

https://www.news-journalonline.com/news/20190609/troopers-motorcyclist-killed-on-i-95-was-struck-by-lightning

Troopers: Motorcyclist killed on I-95 was struck by lightning

Lightning struck and killed a motorcyclist Sunday afternoon as he was heading south on Interstate 95, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

An out-of-state tourist, who happened to be a trooper with the Virginia State Police, was traveling along the highway when he saw the lightning strike the motorcyclist’s helmet a second before the crash, said Capt. Kim Montes, a spokeswoman with FHP.

The motorcyclist, a 45-year-old man from Charlotte, N.C., was pronounced dead at the scene around 2:11 p.m. Troopers have not released his name.

All three lanes of southbound I-95 were shut down after the crash in Ormond Beach, between the State Road 40 and U.S. 1 exits, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

One of the lanes was reopened to traffic shortly before 3 p.m.

The Ormond Beach Police Department and Volusia County Sheriff’s Office responded and cordoned off the area before the investigation was turned over to FHP.

[..]

 

[old2soon]

           I KNOW cars big trucks airplanes and people have been struck by lightning. Trees buildings boats on the water have also been struck. While it IS the first I've heard-M/C lightning strike-I'd be surprised if that was The first. R I P Bro. Sad really-cages and now Ma Nature out to git us!   RIDE SAFE.

[Valkorado]

It happens.   Heard of several in Colorado over the years.

https://www.denverpost.com/2006/06/21/motorcyclist-dies-after-hit-by-lightning/

And this "lucky" guy:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/man-struck-lightning-crashes-motorcycle-fast-lane-miraculously/story?id=33131941

I remember a couple years back hearing of a retired fire chief riding in Colorado who got pelted by a bolt and died,  but I can't find the story.   Eyewitnesses said his helmet was blown in half.    ???

Riding in the rain is one thing,  but riding in heavy electrical storms is something I try to avoid.   Been there, done that more than once.  No likey likey.

[Jess from VA]

I vaguely remembered these facts but had to check them.

About 100 lightning bolts strike the Earth's surface every second.  That's about 8 million per day and 3 billion each year.

On average, lightning strikes are fatal to about 10 percent of people who are struck. The remaining 90 percent survive, however they often suffer from an array of long-term, often debilitating symptoms.

Considering humans roam the earth like a big anthill, it's really surprising there are not more deaths and injuries.

However:  Roy Cleveland Sullivan (February 7, 1912 – September 28, 1983) was a United States park ranger in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.  Between 1942 and 1977, Sullivan was hit by lightning on seven different occasions and survived all of them.

You know, after five or six times, I think I would have gotten a new job.  

It's surprising that any fellow rangers would ever even go near him outdoors.

[hueco]

RIP. Fellow rider. When your name is called there is nothing you can do about. Like about a little over a month ago when I center punched a deer with my 1995 Road King running 45 miles per hour not wearing a lid. (Dumbass). Could have been, but, just wasn't my time.

[Glaserbeam]

I work for Motorcycle Safety Foundation and did research on lightning strikes for an article we submitted to American Motorcyclist Magazine:

There is a myth that being in/on a vehicle with rubber tires somehow insulates the occupants from lightning.  Cars and trucks provide occupants some protection from lightning strikes, but that is because the current travels across the exterior metal skin of the vehicle and into the ground, not because the tires offer protection.  Occupants are in contact with the fabric and plastic parts of the vehicle, so they are insulated from the exterior unless they’re touching metal parts such as the ignition switch, shift knobs or door handles. 

Vehicles not fully enclosed by metal, including convertibles and motorcycles, are dangerous to operate in conditions where lightning is likely to occur.  If lightning strikes an open-top vehicle, the electric current can connect directly with its occupants, especially if the occupants’ heads extend above the top of the vehicle.  It’s rare, but it does happen:  two motorcyclists in Colorado were struck and killed by lightning bolts in the past 16 years. 

If you’re riding and see lightning, find an underpass or parking structure in which to wait out the storm.  Don’t park under a tree; trees attract lightning due to their height and moisture content and can transmit the charge to you, and branches can be split by lightning and fall on you.  If you can’t find shelter, make a U-turn and ride away from the storm. 

And if you haven’t started your ride and are aware of an approaching thunderstorm, delay your ride until at least 30 minutes after the storm has passed and you’ve heard the last round of thunder.
(Source:  National Weather Service)

[3fan4life]

Got caught in a bad thunderstorm while riding on the Skyline Drive several years ago.

Normally, thunderstorms don't bother me much.

I kind of like lightning.

But, being in a thunderstorm when you are actually inside the clouds is an eye opening experience.

After several bolts of lightning zipped past me, I was more than glad to seek shelter in one of the welcome centers.

[F6Dave]

In 2007 my daughter and I were riding home from Inzane in Johnson City, TN.  We were riding with Misfit, his daughter, and a few others.  As we approached Nashville on I-40 we saw a massive thunderstorm ahead.  We pulled onto a wide shoulder to put on raingear and think about waiting it out.  As soon as we got off our bikes, a lightning bolt hit.  It couldn't have been more than a few feet away as there was no delay between the flash and the sound.  We all looked around, thinking one of us may have been hit.  Luckily everyone was still standing.  I've never been that close to being struck by lighting.  It was terrifying.

[Jess from VA]

Try being out in the middle of Lake Erie beyond sight of any land in a raging, howling lightning storm, and the highest thing in sight in any direction for miles and miles is your big aluminum mast.  

And it's amazingly wet out there.

There's a cable you can raise to the top, and plunk over in the water, but it doesn't really make you feel any safer at all.  

Hand me that whiskey bottle again, I'm cold.  

You're only 16.

I'm taking small sips.      

I was the deckman.

[Gryphon Rider]

Yeah, rubber tires offer no protection from a lightning strike.  If they did, dump trucks touching power lines wouldn't be an issue, yet the one time I saw a dump truck touching a power line, the current popped the tires.

[valknation]

Yikes! I know where I'll be headed next time I'm passing through a thunderstorm. To the nearest shelter possible!

[0leman]

Having worked in the Forest for over 30 years, I have gotten caught more than once by afternoon thunder storms.   I have seen 100 foot tall pine trees destroyed by lightening.  Thankfully never got hit by the lightening.  I even wore a metal hard hat in those days.

I try to not ride during thunder storms that hit us this time of year.   I was out and about a week ago on m Valk.  Made it home just before three cells hit out area.  Lots of lightening hit the ground.

 

[Jess Tolbirt]

back in 95 or 96 my wife and I, she was on a rebel 250 me on a wing, left branson headed for Festus and got caught in the worst storm they had-had in years,,finally we went into a car wash and waited out the storm,,left her bike at the police station and went home..i dont know if the storm is what scared me or me worrying about her on that little 250 but never again...i went back the next day with a trailer and picked up her bike

[RP#62]

Think you're exposed on a bike

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-giraffes-killed-billion-one-lightning-strikes-florida-wildlife-park-n1016556

-RP

[Bighead]

Several years  ago a buddy and I were riding in North Mississippi along US hwy 72 and a thunderboomer poped up and before we hit it I told him there was a gas station about a mile and a half on the left.  He nodded OK and we proceeded to said gas station. Well about 100 yds from turn to said station lightning hit the ground no more than ten yds from us and the jolt and electrical surge was great enough to knock my hand off the handle bars. Hurt like a bitch. My elbows hurt for two days after.  He said his did also. Was very colse and thankful that it didn’t actually hit either of us.

[mauigts]

I had and experience riding g I to the N. Entrance to the Grand  Canyon,  with the girlfriend,  on a Valkyrie.  Saw the lightning storm at the top of the switch backs, but figured I would have forest cover (trees). Upon getting to the top of the ridge, it started raining heavy, then hailing, w/ heavy lighting. I also realized that due to a previous forest fire, there WAS, no cover as the trees were all burnt down to a 3' stump. A d if anyone has entered the N. Side of the Canyon, then you also know there is no shelter, gas station, or bridge anywhere to be found until you make the 21 mile trek to the park.
She said I HAVE, to put on the rain gear, which meant stopping right on the road, in the rain, at that moment.
As we stopped, the lighting was striking all around us..... to the point where both a strike left me blind for approximately 5 to six seconds, and the hair on my arms would start to stand up, just before a bolt, and that last minute sound of a small hiss/buzz a millisecond before the camera flash.
All the while, your beloved other is vocalizing her displeasure with the hail and rain, while suiting up, a d discounting your efforts to tell her, Babe, really we need to be moving, and not standing here with our feet on the ground, when lighting is striking tree stumps 3' high all around us. Temps in the low 30's.
Finally got moving again, rode maybe 5 miles, lighting stopped, temps warmed, quit raining, and made it to the park entrance. Bought a beer for both of us, sat by the rim, dried out with temps back up in the mid 60's,  and managed to make it back down to Paige, for the night. She never knew how close it was,........ I will always remember JUST, ... how close it was. Gotta love me, when you tell them, really, this is a time we need to pick it up a little.