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In a wreck? Stay in the vehicle
Recent storms brought a lot of focus on staying away from downed power lines. However, every day, drivers are traversing roads with power lines on either or both sides of the road. There are tens of thousands of vehicular accidents involving utility poles each year.
When an accident occurs, sometimes one may not even know whether a utility pole was struck, or if someone else struck a pole and, as result, wires fall onto your car. The best thing to do when one is in an accident is to stay in the car until either you or someone outside the car can verify that no power lines are touching or on the car. Also, yell to others approaching your car to stay away until there is verification that no power lines are touching the car or that they have been de-energized.
Why is this important? Electricity is constantly seeking a path to ground. It is somewhat analogous to water that seeks to follow gravity by moving downhill. If you are in that path to the ground, you will be electrocuted. As long as you stay in the car with power lines touching the car, you are similar to a bird sitting on a power line.
The only time to get out to the car is if the car catches on fire, which only happens about two percent of the time. If in a fire situation, jump out of the car keeping both feet together and bunny hop, still keeping both feet together away from the blazing car. How far away varies as moisture in cracks and other factors play a role. Basically, hop to a safe distance away from the fire and keep your feet together until the all-clear that the power lines on the car are not electrified. Keeping both feet together helps to keep you at the same potential should there be electricity traveling through the ground, in a crack or through moisture otherwise.
Talk about this as a family with your teen drivers. There are many examples of where discussing this information has saved lives. It really does matter how one responds following an accident. Who knows how one will respond given shock or consciousness? But for those who are cognizant of the surroundings, this information may save your life or another person’s life that is in the situation.
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