Motorcycle in a thunderstorm

Soldato
Joined
3 May 2012
Posts
9,529
Location
Wetherspoons
So: thinking that having rubber tyres will protect you in a thunderstorm is a complete myth, the air is a poor conductor of electricity, and lighting will travel through miles of it, a few inches of rubber won't make any difference.

Being in a car protects you, because the body of the car acts like a Faraday cage, and the electricity flies around you. You are not protected on a motorcycle, or a convertible car for that matter.

The mortality rate for motorcyclists being hit by lighting is around 50%, and aside from the electrical damage to you, chances are you will get knocked off the bike, and suffer injury resulting from that, and there is a good chance it'll cause your fuel tank explode.

From 2006 to 2013, 261 people were killed in the US from being struck by lightning, of which, 4% were riding a motorcycle at the time. Which is actually quite a huge percentage of you think about the average of people who would be riding a motorcycle at any given time and place.
 
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