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05-09-2015, 08:25 PM | #1 |
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Thunderstorms? Lightning?
I've no desire to get caught in rain...my glasses don't have wipers...but I do have a question. I understand that auto tires will insulate you from lightning, but what is safe if you get caught in a storm on your seg? Common sense says avoid if at all possible.. But some of these storms are coming up pretty fast and I'm not always that close to either home or shelter, so safety tips would be welcome.
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05-10-2015, 07:01 PM | #2 | |
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With an approaching storm, you must get OFF the Seg and get away from it. Standing upright, it's like you are standing on a ladder. You're a prime target for the "leaders" which are looking for the easiest path to the earth. Don't shelter under trees, as they can sometimes quite literally explode when hit by lightning, driving splinters of wood into anything nearby. If you are caught in a storm with lightning and you really have zero shelter, such as being in a field, crouch down with your arms wrapped around knees, and feet positioned so that they touch each other. It's better to do this in a depression in the earth, if you have the option. There are arguments that say laying down prostrate is a better solution, but I subscribe to the "potential difference" theory. Lightning which strikes the earth electrifies the area around. The point of strike has the highest instantaneous voltage with respect to the earth, and the voltage drops as the distance increases from the strike point. If lightning strikes the earth near to you, and your feet are far apart, there will be a large voltage across your body, and electrical current could flow through your body. This might actually be worse that being struck directly. With your feet close together, there will be relatively less voltage across your body. BTW, there seems to be agreement that umbrellas are good for shedding rain, but you don't want to be holding one in a lighting storm. Most storms don't come out of nowhere and start flinging off lightning bolts within seconds or minutes. It takes time for the storm to build. Get yourself a good warning application, such as Storm for iPhone, which notifies you when lightning or precipitation are approaching. If you're going gliding in storm season, maybe make a plan for where and how you would shelter safely, and, perhaps pack a folded plastic trash bag for rain protection. My research says that if the lightning flash-to-thunder time is less than 25 seconds, you're already in the potential danger area for a lightning strike. |
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05-10-2015, 07:33 PM | #3 |
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Obviously I'm not a physicist... But I've been leery of the danger. Accurate or not, Being a rolling lightning rod is not an attractive idea. Around here the warning is that if you can hear the thunder, get inside. As I left church this morning it was just starting to mist. It was sprinkling and thundering before I was out of the parking lot. Fortunately I've less than two blocks to go and didn't even get wet since the bulk of the storm waited until I got in the house. I do carry a folded raincoat packet but would have had to stop to put it on. The storm was a bit earlier than had been forecast....
Thanks for the response. Things I didn't know... And thinking about this, I'm curious...would going down a street between buildings and tall trees be a slight safety factor? Would the fact you are moving add danger? As my brother puts it: "I do wonder about the oddest things!"
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05-10-2015, 08:26 PM | #4 |
Glides a lot, talks more...
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Pelham, NH, USA.
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Interesting things to concern yourself with...
It is exceedingly rare to be struck by lightning, and rarer still to do this while on a segway. I will not comment on the advice previously given, and have no reason to believe that any of it is faulty, but you may wish to consider that I do not think it particularly likely that you will get struck by lightning, even though you clearly can do things that may or may not make your odds change. I believe it is kind of like asking for advice on how to with the lottery, or some other thing that have the odds fantastically stacked against you. I suspect that some people go thru their whole lives, climbing metal ladders in the rain, playing golf in the rain, and doing other things that logically seem to increase your likelihood of being struck by lightening, yet never get hit. I further suggest that others who do not do these things, who logically seem less likely to get struck, do occasionally get struck. I wish you luck, and wish you a lightening strike free life, if that is your wish.
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Karl Ian Sagal To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. "Well done is better than well said." (Ben Franklin) Bene factum melior bene dictum Proud past President of SEG America and member of the First Premier Segway Enthusiasts Group and subsequent ones as well. |
05-11-2015, 01:01 AM | #5 | |
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05-11-2015, 06:56 AM | #6 | |
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Now, at this point, I guess it would be appropriate to suggest that you do not do what those cattle were doing. Were they walking down streets with tall buildings? Were they moving? Were they using umbrellas or segways? Perhaps, you may wish to do a more local analysis. Where do lightening strikes in your area happen? (Around here, there are power lines on the the typically wooden telephone poles, and if one of the poles gets hit, it is either at a mounted transformer (which has a direct path to ground) or near it...) If most of your local strikes occur in the cattle fields and not the streets you frequent, your odds are better. If most of the local lightening strikes are in the cities and towns, and less in the farm fields, then not doing the what the cows did may not help you. Of course, it did not help them either... I am sure if you look hard enough, you will find some poor soul who wants to be struck and has been trying for years, unsuccessfully. If you find someone like this, perhaps you should hang with them. Conversely, you may run an ad, asking for those who have been struck, or relatives of those who have been struck, and stay far away from them. Anyway you slice it, I wish you luck in your anti-quest.
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Karl Ian Sagal To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. "Well done is better than well said." (Ben Franklin) Bene factum melior bene dictum Proud past President of SEG America and member of the First Premier Segway Enthusiasts Group and subsequent ones as well. |
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