According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, tens of thousands of accidents each year occur when power poles are struck by cars or large equipment. Each one of these accidents has the potential to bring down power lines. Surviving the accident itself might not be enough to stay alive without awareness of the right moves to make.
Exit your vehicle after the accident only if the car is on fire. Otherwise, the car is the safest place to be. Exiting the vehicle can create a path for current to flow.
- If someone stops to help, roll down the window and warn them not to touch the car or the power line and to stay in the car. Even if the fallen power lines are not sparking, they can kill you if you touch them or the nearby ground. Always assume the lines are energized. Wait in your car until your cooperative’s qualified electrical workers turn off the power and tell you it’s safe to leave the vehicle.
- If you need to leave the car because of fire or other danger, open the door and jump away from the vehicle so no part of your body touches the vehicle and the ground at the same time.
- Make sure to jump with both feet together so that your feet land on the ground at the same time. After you land with both feet together, shuffle away, keeping both feet constantly in contact with the ground. This will minimize the potential for strong electric shock.
If you come to witness an accident involving toppled power poles and lines, do not try to help someone from the vehicle. If you do, you may become a path for electricity and could be injured or killed.
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