Motorcyling safety tips when dealing with lightning

Spring and summer motorcycling often brings the threat of severe weather. If you ride with any regularity, you will be caught from time to time in bad weather.

Fishermen, golfers, athletes at outdoor venues, and motorcyclists are all at a higher risk of injury and death due to lightning strikes than the average population. With common sense, knowledge, and a plan, you can reduce your risks.

The following safety tips are from the National Lightning Safety Institute:

Plan When you first see lightning or hear thunder, activate youre your emergency plan. Now is the time to go to a building.
If outdoors Avoid water, high ground, and open spaces. Avoid all metal objects including electric wires, fences, machinery, motors, power tools, etc. Where possible, find shelter in a substantial building.
Suspend activities Wait at least 30 minutes after the last observed lightning or thunder.
Hair standing on end If you feel your hair standing on end, and/or hear crackling noises you are in lightnings electric field. If caught outside during close-in lightning, immediately remove metal objects (including hats and helmets), place your feet together, duck your head, and crouch down low in a baseball catchers stance with hands on knees.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in their message on Lightning Safety also includes motorcycle specific recommendations.

Your first and only truly safe choice is to get to a safe building. If you are on a motorcycle and cannot get to a safe shelter, follow these last resort tips. These will not prevent you from being hit, just slightly lessen the odds:

Do NOT seek shelter under tall isolated trees. The tree may help you stay dry but will significantly increase your risk of being struck by lightning. Rain will not kill you, but the lightning can!
Do NOT seek shelter under partially enclosed buildings like picnic shelters.
Stay away from tall, isolated objects. Lightning typically strikes the tallest object. That may be you in an open highway.
Know the weather forecast. If there is a high chance of thunderstorms, change your plans.
Stay away from metal objects, such as fences, poles, umbrellas, and backpacks. Metal is an excellent conductor. The current from a lightning flash will easily travel for long distances.

Protect yourself when on a motorcycle:

Carry a portable Weather Radio or listen to commercial radio.
If you see threatening skies in the distance and you are passing a safe location, pull over and wait 30 minutes after the last thunder crack.
If you can turn around and get away from the storm, do so!
DO NOT ride into a lighting storm!

If you absolutely cannot get to a safe building, here are some last resort choices:

Wait out the storm below an overpass. DO NOT touch steel girders. Move away from your bike. Remain on dry surfaces if possible. Overpasses are engineered structures and are likely to be properly grounded. Although an overpass is likely to be higher than the surrounding landscape, if it is struck by lightning, the electrical current will likely be channeled safely into the ground.
High tension wires: If high voltage electrical tension wires cross the road, you may want to seek shelter directly underneath these wires. Do not get too close to the large metal towers which hold up these wires. "The essential to budget travel is to prepare ahead. When it happens to family trips, globetrotting, well-deserved vacations and/or going to see new spots we have never been before, the actuality of cost and budgeting is often in the back of our heads. Considering and expending our travel budget properly is a main concern for most families. Minimizing expending and prices, while still delighting your vacation to its fullest, is the key to confirmed achievements and fiscal responsibility. Your pocketbook and family will thank you! The thought behind protecting money while travelling is simple: Even if your personal funds is really limited, you can still take a break and enjoy life! Simply put, life is just too short to never step out of the door or leaving the homestead! Also recalling that while traveling, regardless of whether on a resources or not, even the smallest of things can all add op to a large vacation or travel bill!..". Stay at least 50 feet away. Electric companies design these high tension wires for lightning strikes. If lighting should strike the wires or towers, the current is designed to safely go deep into the ground.
If you are caught in the open and lightning is occurring within five miles, STOP riding, get off of your motorcycle, find a ditch or other low spot and sit or lie down.
Motorcyclists should move at least 50 feet away from their bike.

In group ride situations, the leader should have a plan for the entire route. Determine how far the group is away from a safe enclosed building and be ready to abort the ride and head to the shelter as soon as you hear thunder, see lightning, or see dark threatening clouds. Wait 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder before leaving the safe location. If the group is particularly large, you will need more time to get all members to safety. The NWS recommends having professional lightning detection equipment so your group can be alerted from significant distances. When groups are involved, the time needed to get to safety increases. Your entire group should be in a safe location when the approaching storm is within five miles.

Erring on the side of caution may just mean you will live to ride another day.

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