Mojo31

I'm sorry, it was meant in jest since it seems that all of the naked bike riders you hear about are on the west coast, for example, the lady in Ojai.

I was not intending to insult you, and apologize if I did.

Podagrower

I actually have some experience with this, although I wasn't on my bike. I watched a car take out an overhead power pole, in my panic, I stopped without running over the line so I guess that's my true answer. But once I traced the wires and realized it was the triplex service drop to the building that was on the ground and ripped off the XFMR I knew there was no threat.

Phone, fiber, coax on the ground are getting run over. Triplex I'm going to look and see if it's still hooked to the XFMR. Primaries I'm not getting near. When the overhead primaries to our XFMR got caught up in a tree during a hurricane, even though I knew the primaries were dead, I wanted nothing to do with trying to clear the line because I had no way of knowing (other than risking turning myself into a candle) when the primaries would be reenergized.

trailangel

You don't need to step on or touch high current power lines to be electrocuted. If you are a good ground, the current will 'jump' to you and ground out.
You are dead.

coupster

To all of you that want to go anywhere near a downed line, please go right ahead with my blessings and encouragement. The world will be a much better place with less yahoos and idiots.

rsbob 

Much appreciated. Emojis often help delineate humor from non, such as ->.

Have a a good day.

Troul 

Where's the "throw a spent CO2 cartridge at it" option?

Reynolds 

If it's low voltage, I'd probably go around it carefully. If high voltage, turn 180, get away and report it!

jack pot 

downed lines are common here on the east Texas coast when tropical storms pass thru. i saw a couple this year after Laura. Definitely a detour and report to 911

Milton Keynes

Only need an inverter if you're powering an AC device from a DC battery. What you'd need in this situation is a step down transformer going from 10 kV down to whatever voltage you need, plus a rectifier circuit to change it from AC to DC. [/electronics nerd]

Milton Keynes

They just want to win a coveted Darwin Award.

Maelochs

Luckily I always carry those things in my saddlebag on every ride ... I mean, who doesn't?

An inverter, though ... I have never needed a power inverter on a ride.

csport

Humorless nerd here.

Actually the conducting tires would make no problem. If the bike were full metal all the current would go through it, and the voltage drop between different points of the bike would be negligible. (Think of birds sitting on power line wires, all the current goes through the wire making no harm to the bird). The metal bike will shunt the human body. The reality may be different: possible breakdown between the wire and the foot, parts being insulated because of the paint, falling near the wire and getting killed by the step potential etc. Stop and call 911.

Definitely do not "carefully step over it" because of the step potential.

CargoDane

High voltages tend to quickly go through a thin layer of paint and the like. It might jump directly to the rim or frame if and when you put your foot down.
I agree though: Don't frigging step over it. Stop at a safe distance and call 911 as you say.
I'm reminded of people being electrocuted in fresh water harbours due to some boat in the vicinity having a faulty ground (ESD, Electric Shock Drowning). Some things are simply not worth it.

https://www.google.com/search?client...4dUDCAw&uact=5

Milton Keynes

Don't forget the possibility of getting the power wire wound up in your wheel or something, or a power pole falling and pulling the wire up right as you ride over it.

Smart people know how to deal with danger. Really smart people know how to avoid danger in the first place. If there is a wire down, stay far away from it. Don't assume it's not live just because you don't see sparks.

Troul 

if it smells of electricity, call the utility service maintainer.

MoAlpha

A downed line is potentially (ha) creating a field in anything it’s in contact with, e.g., the ground surrounding it. If it’s a big enough line, that means if your wheels or feet are far enough apart, there can be enough potential difference between them to hurt you. Same principle applies to precautions for ground strikes from lightning Unless it’s, like, a little residential line or something, I wouldn’t even go near it, much less ride over it. Imagine having one wheel on the live line and the other on neutral ground while you’re spread out in the same spatial axis on the bike! And rubber shmubber. Anything, including air, will conduct when it’s ionized enough.

BEC111

I ride the W&OD trail through Ashburn, VA where the internet roams. (70% of global Internet traffic flows through Ashburn.) the power lines along the trail power multiple megawatt data centers.

If one of those lines falls hot and you’re near it turn around, go back a few yards and call 911. Stay there and prevent others from riding past. If you can be seen and heard by riders coming the other way, do your best to get them to stop too.

ChrisWagner

Down power lines usually follow catastrophic events. As a Hurricane Katrina survivor, I learned to keep all public service utilities emergency contact numbers in my phone. When 911 services are slammed, contacting the electric utility directly can yield faster response times.

Milton Keynes

Especially when it's 13.8 kV on a standard residential line. If for some reason the electricity wants to make a path through your bicycle your thin tires are not going to insulate it that much. The electricity may even jump through the air around your tires.

bikecrate

A couple of years ago we had a windy storm pass through. However, nothing unusual for summer time in FL. The next morning was a bright, sunny beautiful day. A cyclist was on one of our local paths that morning and didn't see a downed power line. Instant death.

Maelochs

I had to quote this because I felt weird about "Liking" it. Something about the phrase "instant death," I guess.

Then again, it was Florida. The guy was probably trying to tow the line back to his house to get free electricity.

79pmooney

My second of my three (failed) attempts at ending my life (all not intended) happened when I managed to contact an apparently live electrical conduit with my sweaty right wrist while holding bailing wire in my equally sweaty left hand. Stopped my heart and breathing instantly. Paralyzed me, But I stayed fully conscious. Knew I had to break the contact and reasoned if I kicked hard enough I could unbalance myself and fall off the step ladder I was on. It worked. I got to about an inch past balance, then fell for what seemed like minutes before hitting the floor very hard flat on my back. The impact started my heart. Fascinating being completely aware of the state of my body the whole time.

We never duplicated the circuit. Probably 110V though it could have been 220V. Whatever, it was plenty.

Ben

MoAlpha

There's a video on the internet of some guy walking from car to car on top of an Indian train and contacting the overhead wires. I'm kind of sorry I watched it.

Maelochs

Good story. I bet it felt great.

Glad you didn't get hurt falling off that ladder.

Reflector Guy

On a related note, a few years ago we were doing some work in the subway in Chicago so we had to take the official Chicago Transit Authority subcontractor's safety class. Among other things, one of the items they taught us was the correct way to step over the electrified third rail. Then they took us out into the coach yard and made us demonstrate we'd paid attention and could do it successfully! Needless to say, that was one real serious group of guys who all had to go up there one at a time and step over the live rails for the instructor. I kept thinking, won't my steel-toe shoes cause it to arc or something? But fortunately none of us died.