digger242j
Administrator
It's the time of year when thunderstorms are most common here. This has me wondering (actually, one specific flash of lightening the other day *really* got me wondering), about the risks involved with being on a piece of heavy equipment during a thunderstorm.
Supposedly, one of the safest places you can be during a thunderstorm is in your car or truck. I think many people believe the reason for that is the fact that you're sitting on top of four rubber tires, and they are thought of as insulation. I can vouch for the fact that that's just not true. I've seen a triaxle dump truck blow all four tires across the back, and one of the front tires when the bed was raised into electrical wires. I've seen a parked tractor trailer that was struck by lightning. (The story there--It was at an airshow a few years ago, and a storm blew in right in the middle of the feature act. There was a beer truck parked nearby, and the lightning struck the CB antenna. Several people sheltering from the rain beneath the wing of a nearby plane were knocked down, but there were no serious injuries. The were little bits of fiberglass antenna scattered over a wide area, and of course the radio was fried. I've never been able to decide if the Lord was expressing his displeasure at CBs, or beer...) Anyway, that all indicates to me that the "rubber" theory is not valid.
I've also heard that the reason it's safer in your vehicle is that you're surrounded by the metal of the vehicle, and that it will conduct the electricity, rather than *you* conducting it. If that's the case, it stands to reason that the same would be true for a large metal structure, like an excavator. The fact that you're sitting on metal tracks, and thus really well grounded, would seem to make it even better. The fact that you have a relatively higher profile than the average automobile would, however, be a disadvantage. A crane, with the boom elevated, would probably be really bad.
Obviously, the *safest* practice would be to abandon the machine at the first sign of lightning, much the same as people are chased out of the swimming pool by the lifeguards. That's probably not practical for most of us.
Certainly, you hear more stories on the news about boaters and golfers being struck by lightning than you do about heavy equipment operators. maybe that's just because operators are smarter about lightning than boaters and golfers (except for me of course).
Do any of you know, authoritatively, what the real level of risk is?
Supposedly, one of the safest places you can be during a thunderstorm is in your car or truck. I think many people believe the reason for that is the fact that you're sitting on top of four rubber tires, and they are thought of as insulation. I can vouch for the fact that that's just not true. I've seen a triaxle dump truck blow all four tires across the back, and one of the front tires when the bed was raised into electrical wires. I've seen a parked tractor trailer that was struck by lightning. (The story there--It was at an airshow a few years ago, and a storm blew in right in the middle of the feature act. There was a beer truck parked nearby, and the lightning struck the CB antenna. Several people sheltering from the rain beneath the wing of a nearby plane were knocked down, but there were no serious injuries. The were little bits of fiberglass antenna scattered over a wide area, and of course the radio was fried. I've never been able to decide if the Lord was expressing his displeasure at CBs, or beer...) Anyway, that all indicates to me that the "rubber" theory is not valid.
I've also heard that the reason it's safer in your vehicle is that you're surrounded by the metal of the vehicle, and that it will conduct the electricity, rather than *you* conducting it. If that's the case, it stands to reason that the same would be true for a large metal structure, like an excavator. The fact that you're sitting on metal tracks, and thus really well grounded, would seem to make it even better. The fact that you have a relatively higher profile than the average automobile would, however, be a disadvantage. A crane, with the boom elevated, would probably be really bad.
Obviously, the *safest* practice would be to abandon the machine at the first sign of lightning, much the same as people are chased out of the swimming pool by the lifeguards. That's probably not practical for most of us.
Certainly, you hear more stories on the news about boaters and golfers being struck by lightning than you do about heavy equipment operators. maybe that's just because operators are smarter about lightning than boaters and golfers (except for me of course).
Do any of you know, authoritatively, what the real level of risk is?
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