Quoted message said:Just curious about this. When someone is in a car/truck they are told the all those rubber tires
protect them from being a crispy critter if lightning strikes.
Yes, but as has been said, it is the steel cage.
Quoted message said:Would the same apply to a bent
No.
Quoted message said:if the lightning hit you and not the bent you are on, then it is game over.
Yes.
Quoted message said:But if the lightning hits the pavement of something very close...would your tires protect you.
Maybe, but don't count on it. Depends.
The best thing to do is go read a hiking and backpacking advice page, they all repeat the same
things. Working with lightning strikes, and working in fire lookout towers, I have had my ears open
to lightning wisdom for years. I have ben around lightning purdy close. With my first command, a 5-
man fire crew, I was so gung-ho that I had a mutiny. I wanted to get out there and put out the
strike while the lightning was still hitting all over the slope. Sheesh. My crew wouldn't get out of
the truck. :-(
Other times, I have run for my life, with bolts landing all around.
1) Run, don't walk, to the nearest low place.
2) Get away from your bike, fast.
3) Grab everything metal on you, or in your pockets, chains, watches, coins and fling them away
from you. Quickly. How far? Dunno... how far away do you want the lightning?
4) If you hair is standing on end, don't assume it is from fright. It maybe because you are about
to become a conductor for more than you can handle.
5) DON'T lay on the ground! Kneel, just the legs from knee to feet should touch the ground. Keep
head down, keep hands off the ground, on the legs/knees is OK I think.
Metal isn't just a conductor, it can be an actual attractor as charged metal emits ions which can
stream up and become like a flagpole-high conductor screaming "Pick me! PICK Me!"
A human body is a better conductor than the ground in most cases. If you lie down, the strike near
you is likely to flow through you as it moves outward from the strike point. Thus only the legs on
the ground so current doesn't flow through your heart or brain. Most cattle that are killed by
strikes are lying down. Blood has about the same concentration of salt in it as does the ocean. Salt
water is an excellent conductor. Salt, in water, disassociates into polarized ions and becomes a
good conductor. Sweat mixed with rain water might feel similar to a lightning bolt too.
Don't hide under a tall boulder. I like to climb rocky peaks. On top, I sometimes find boulders with
a void under them, as in a rock pile. I like to collect the melted sand that is down there from
lightning shooting out of the bottom of the boulder towards the ground (or the opposite way,
whatever).
Not so long ago several of this last TV watching generation were up on Half Dome (100 miles from
here). A Thunderstorm cloud came floating by, shooting sparks. They hooted and yelled and danced up
there on the lip above 5000' of nothing. Lightning did what lightning does. Out of four or five, I
think 2 died. Think 2 were paralized partially. Think only one had minor injuries. One that died was
on the rock having convulsions and rolled off the edge. It isn't clear why no one helped him, maybe
they weren't in good enugh shape to do so. I think the survivor was a girl who was a way back
yelling at them to get back and try to find a safe spot.
TRIVIA:
Q. What, aside from burns, are the most common injury from non-fatal lightning strikes?
R. Nerve damage. 3rd most common? The tips of your toes blown off.
Old Geezer: Are you here? Bet you could add something here from your store of knowledge and wisdom.
(Old Geezer is an avid hiker)
