Tuesday 7 May 2013

Don't Crawl Along Power Lines When Drunk

It seems like an obvious warning however a link to a short video shows a man who is in a drunken state who has managed to climb up a utility pole and proceed to slide himself along a power line.

With the first bank holiday of the month now over, how many of us have hazy memories of the weekend induced by drink? Hopefully no one was tempted to go and climb an electricity pylon or pole but just in case you were......you now have advance warning not to attempt this ever.

In a scenario that resembles a stunt in a movie (or a child in a playground, depending on how you view the story,) the man fell from the power line – unharmed – into a safety net that had been placed there by fire fighters. Much later and this story may well have had a different ending.

If nothing else, our blog post today will hopefully serve as a warning to anyone who is ever tempted to climb pylons. How the man got up to the power lines in the first place is a mystery, had he have touched a power line over here in the UK which can carry up to 5000 volts per metre he would have been killed instantly. Miraculously, the power to these power lines was turned off whilst the rescue took place, this man is very lucky indeed.

In the UK, UK Power Networks, educate people continuously on the dangers of climbing pylons. This is particularly beneficial to children who may find climbing a pylon tempting in the face of boredom or as a prank amongst friends. Pylons are clearly marked with a yellow label which says 'Danger of Death' if you see this sign and you are not in the area to carry out an authorised job then you should stay well away.

Despite safety platforms which are surrounded by barbed wire and located around 100 feet from the ground, some youngsters are still managing to get above it. Whilst the majority of people know not to go near electricity pylons, it seems they are a target for those under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

It is also worth noting that power lines need to be avoided when carrying out work and other leisure activities such as flying a kite. Many accidents occur every year from power lines where no account has been taken for their presence. Work with cranes, tipper vehicles, scaffold poles and ladders have all been inadvertently been in contact with power lines in the past.

The video showing the man visibly bouncing on the overhead cables which was filmed only last month had a lucky escape. Although he was not in the UK, it does not take much electricity to kill. Mains electricity the UK is 230 Volts, however it can take far less than this to actually kill you.

With many stark warnings surrounding electricity safety in the home, this video serves as a warning at the other end of the spectrum!

The video can be viewed by following the link - http://bbc.in/XVKhil


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