Wife got Shocked riding her bike. TC?

[southtj]

On Sunday the wife and kid and I were riding our bike on one of the trails around town. The wife on her new bike and me pulling my daughter on a trail-a-bike. As we are passing under some power lines I hear my wife behind me yelling "ow, ow, ow" and I look back and she is jumping off her bike. I thought maybe she had been stung. I stopped my bike and and while turning around to look I put my hand on my seat and I get a small shock. I touch the metal of my seat a few times and each time I feel a little tingle. My wife however said that she was SHOCKED. She felt it go from her bike seat and down both legs and also in her arms. One of her legs was hurting the rest of the day. Luckily my daughter never felt a thing.

Is this normal or just a freak situation. Should we report it to the power company?

 

[Abutterfly]

Wow. That is really bizarre. I would notify someone for sure. Glad she and the little one are okay and I hope it doesn't happen to anyone else.... Something is definitely not right.

On a crazy note....

P.S. there are some days when I would pay for a seat that gave me a little "charge" every now and then.....urple: :shock: I think I saw one of those in one of those weird catalogs once, on the page that was right behind the "love swing". 8) I mean, a friend once TOLD me about that kinda stuff.

I know.. one of these days I will be permanently removed from the board....until then.......you will have to put up with me.

 

[90Xjay]

that transmission line is going to ground there.
I would report it asap

 

[redrooster]

That's not normal. Did her hair stand up?

 

[mud4feet]

TC??? Some learned info??? IMHO, college degrees don't mean much, but hands-on experience is irreplacable. TC????

 

[Sparky-Watts]

Find out who owns the transmission line and call them ASAP! If you don't know, call 911 and have the local fire dept check it out. That may be a better plan, anyway, get someone out there faster if you call 911.

 

[Sparky-Watts]

P.S. there are some days when I would pay for a seat that gave me a little "charge" every now and then.....urple: :shock: I think I saw one of those in one of those weird catalogs once, on the page that was right behind the "love swing". 8) I mean, a friend once TOLD me about that kinda stuff.

I know.. one of these days I will be permanently removed from the board....until then.......you will have to put up with me.

:shock: :redface:

:lol: :lol: :lol: I'm so glad you decided to come back and start posting again! You just made my day! :lol:

 

[southtj]

That's not normal. Did her hair stand up?

No, no hair standing up that I could tell. I guess I'll see if I can find someone to call. Man I hate calling the city. I'll keep you posted.

 

[redrooster]

Probably need to call your electrical provider. Look in the front of the phone book, there is normally a number to report downed power lines. Try that one.

 

[TwistedCU]

Wow... missed this thread.

It must have been a really humid day, but what she was experiencing was most likely static electricity. Not real common to feel it to the extent of reacting that way on the ground level, but yeah, it's more than feasible.

If you stand under high power transmission lines (not the stuff on wood poles) on a really humid day you can usually hear them crackling. Sounds like rice crispies.

 

[firemanharry]

I remember seeing flourescent light bulbs flicker if you held them up at night around those lines. Pretty cool as a kid.

 

[TwistedCU]

I remember seeing flourescent light bulbs flicker if you held them up at night around those lines. Pretty cool as a kid.

Yeah, same thing.

Has she got a filament :?|

 

[southtj]

Yeah, same thing.

Has she got a filament :?|

She doesn't have a filament, at least none that I've seen. It was pretty humid and over 90 degrees and she was very sweaty so I'm sure that helped.

I sent an email to the Chief Ranger for that city as we were in a city park and here is his reply.

Dear Todd,

Thanks so much for writing. We are aware of this situation. When visitors are under the MLG+W Power lines on the WRNA Trail they have reported static electricity incidents when touching metal. The power lines are regulated by MLG+W and they have a power easement along the trail. I am attaching an article that explains the phenonom you and your family experienced. You may want to contact MLG+W regarding your concerns.

Thank You,
David Halpern
Chief Ranger
City of Germantown

Here is the attachment he was talking about.

Needless to say, I have to find us another trail to ride.