One for the books

[woodchuck]

Today my brother and his wife and I and my wife went for a short ride to go for supper. With all the trees down from Irene and electrical wires on the ground it seemed that we had to plan our ride to go to our favorite restaurant. We thought the road we picked would be open because no signs showed that it was closed.
About two miles down the road we came upon downed wires and we rode over them. It seemed the wires didn't bother my brother. As soon as we went over the wires my wifes right leg started to tingle and on her right hand the index finger started to go numb. I didn't know this happened to my wife as she never said anything to me.
About two miles down the road between the 3rd and 4th fingers on my left hand started to get electrical shocks as soon as I grabed the clutch. If I made a fist, it seemed to help but I had to shift. This lasted for a while. As far as the went it didn't bother the at all. Just wondering if this happened to anyone here.

[Firefly]

Consider yourself very lucky - you could have easily been killed. We had a wind storm awhile back here in town where a woman stepped on a downed power line and died.....

[ARtraveler]

You folks were lucky. They say that with rubber tires you are grounded--but it does not appear that was the case here.

Any electrical experts out there?

[Firefly]

You folks were lucky. They say that with rubber tires you are grounded--but it does not appear that was the case here.

Any electrical experts out there?

Without being grounded you'll still feel it---- just probably won't kill ya....

[wyliec]

I'm glad everyone is okay; but, what possessed you to drive over downed power lines?

[retread]

Generally, the power lines that run through residential areas (that are connected to the "cans" on the poles) carry 13,000 plus volts. If the ground is damp, not wet, just damp, 20 feet away is too close. If you see wires down, don't go for a closer look, call the power company. Chances are they will already know, but safe is better than the alternative.

john

[chickenhoose]

If you were in a rural setting you more than likely drove over a line that was energized at 7200 volts. That is the standard distribution voltage used in rus systems. You are very lucky it did not burn or blow the tires with instant contact. If it was a 3 phase system you may have felt what we call backfeed that is a percentage of the original, still deadly.
If you ever get stranded in this circumstance call 911 get power co reported,stay on spyder unless it becomes on fire if that happens jump off keeping both feet together and hop from the bike like a bunny. We are dealing with equipotential issues here. This is like throwing a stone in water and watching the ripples, each ripple represents different voltages. It is the different potentials that kill you. This is why you keep the feet together.

[NancysToy]

The wires you crossed may not have been powered, they could even have been telephone or cable wires that had a powered wire laying on them somewhere. Never cross a downed wire, no matter what the apparent type, and never get within 50 feet of a downed power line. They can jump and arc a long distance, and power can come back on unexpectedly...even if they appear dead at the moment.

[daveinva]

As the saying goes, try playing the Lotto, because you're the luckiest guy in the world.

Or, conversely... you just used up all that luck.