Ran into a downed power line

[Bskicrash1]

I meant to post this back when it happened. On one of my rides, I rounded a slight left corner and a downed power line came into my view. I hit it at 55 mph. I’ve included a screenshot from my dash camera and a picture of the damage to the windshield.

I had no time to react, and this was with both my bright auxiliary lights on. Last thought I had was that I was about to be decapitated or dragged off the bike. The mirror and PUIG windscreen hit the power line and deflected it over my helmet. The mirror was spun around after the impact. My helmet is white, and not a mark. I thanked GOD once I pulled over. I then went back to the wire and called in a down wire and directed traffic.

This is one of many incidents where I know I’ve been protected over the years.

 

[670cc]

Thanks for sharing the story of your experience.

What were the weather conditions at the time? High winds? Was this very early in the morning, where you might have been the first vehicle to pass by there for some time?

I've seen in the Smokies where if I ride out first thing in the morning after a storm, it is possible for downed trees to be blocking the roadway on lesser traveled roads.

 

[Bskicrash1]

It was approximately 11 pm. The conditions were partly cloudy and 45 degrees F. If there was wind, it was low speed, under 15mph I’d say. Anything more and I’d hear the wind turbulence with my windscreen. I may have been the first vehicle to pass in that direction. The opposite direction would have ran over the wire so it may not have been noticeable. The next morning when I was able to see the location in daylight, the wire was repaired. The length of wire between poles was abnormally long since it cut across the road and then up and over a small hill in the woods. It’s possible a branch downed it, but if that was the case, the linemen had already removed the tree. I now pay attention to power lines crossing over the roadways. I live in the country, so traffic is sparse. This was a county highway, so it would contain some traffic at this time of night.

 

[hulkss]

Same thing happened to a friend of mine. The cable was pushed up over his head by the fairing and windshield.

Another biker was following him fairly close behind. The cable dropped just behind his head and tore the trunk off his bike.

 

[the Ferret]

Geez who would expect a hazard like that? Glad you weren't decapitated.

 

[LearnedButt]

My helmet is white,

Underpants are not.

 

[dduelin]

Wow! Glad you came out OK and gave credit were credit was due.

 

[670cc]

Getting clotheslined by tree branches is something I’d worry about riding dirt trails through the woods. Snagging a low power line on the highway is fortunately something that we should rarely see. However, your story does illustrate the general protective element of having a tallish windscreen, both for potential bird strikes and low hanging objects. Thank yourself for mounting a sturdy, tall windscreen, and for wearing your helmet.

 

[Deleted member 1183]

Happened me on a forest fire road years ago during the course of an enduro. I rounded a bend and there was a steel rope across the track in front of me. My speed and the suddenness of proximity left me with little time to react. I braked hard and got flat on the tank simultaneously. I was going down one way or another and the rope caught the top of my helmet as I did so. You could see the marks of the rope on the helmet where it had gouged out a section, and I kept it for years to remind me of the close shave that I had.
It turned out that forest workers had used a tree on one side of the track to anchor an old tractor using its winch on the other side. After I dusted myself down I got some branches and hung them out of the rope to warn riders coming behind. It was just pure luck that I got away with it and that someone wasn't killed. I was first rider out on course that morning albeit not one of the fastest. I dread to think what would have happened if one of the fast guys had come around that same corner.

 

[TheIronWarrior]

Out my way there's a bunch of ATV trails that run in the cleared area around all the highways. There's a particular sign on my commute route that's braced with wire rope which I swear looks like it's crossing one of the trails. As far as I know, no one's hit it, and the area around it is pretty clear so it should be pretty easy to see and avoid, but every time I see it I think "someone's going to take their damn head off if they don't see it." People ride the trails all hours of the day and night, and it doesn't look like the cable is flagged or protected in any way.

 

[Lawyer4speed]

Dang! Good you’re OK. I hit one several years ago, BUT in my car where it hit the passenger mirror and knocked it clear off, going about 50mph-ish. Far different than hitting it while riding! Scary.

 

[Oldbear]

Wow. Close one. Great story. Glad you are okay and nobody got toasted. So scary. 120volts is no big deal, but taking the full 220 to your torso is enough to stop your heart. Good going directing others to safety.

Well written post too!

An overhead line would very likely have much higher voltage than 220v, (typical transformer feeding you home are 100/1 step down). Very lucky indeed not to have been toasted much less being knocked off the bike/decapitated. A Very great blessing he wasn’t killed!

 

[Giuseppe]

Happened to me, although it was a cable TV wire across the road, windshield deflected it up and over my helmet.

 

[Speedfilm]

I rode through a tornado once. Was on a Honda Hurricane ironically.

My truck was in the shop so i rode the bike out to get lunch. Bad weather was coming but it looked far enough away I figured I'd be back before it started raining. I was wrong. As I left the drive thru, lightning hit the building and it started raining huge drops. Went about a half a mile in the downpour and saw a car stopped with its hazards on. Since it was raining so hard, I figured the driver of the car just couldn't see and went around them. No sooner then I got past them, I realized why they had stopped, two downed power lines were flailing in the wind across the road.

Well at this point I was committed so I gunned it and luckily. I went right over both of them as they were briefly on the road. Just as I thought I was safe, I looked ahead and all I saw was a wall of grey a couple hundred yards ahead, like a wave breaking on the beach only vertical.

Looking to my left I saw a brick liquor store and thought my best option was to duck in behind the building only to realize the "wave" was now right in front of me. I tucked down tight on the tank and squeezed the bike with my knees as I entered the wall of wind. The bike shook like the biggest tank slapper in history, but I held on. Looking down at the road from my tuck I saw the painted line for my lane pass under the bike, then the center line and finally the curb coming up on left. I had to react, so I leaned over to the right and gassed it. The bike was still shaking as I saw the center line and finally my lane line come into view. Suddenly I was out in the bright sunshine but doing what felt like 60 and there was a huge tree down in the road. I was able to stop as my forks compressed against the trunk of the tree.

I guess I was in shock because I rode up into a parking lot and around the tree and went home like nothing had happened only to find my house had been damaged by the storm. Watching the news that night, I saw a film crew in front of a pile of rubble that used to be that liquor store and the employees had survived by taking shelter in the cooler.

Every time I recount that story, I get the jitters and cold sweats and was shaking the whole time I typed this post.