How well do you know powerline safety: It’s worth your life

By Doug Carter, Rankin County Extension Agent

Power Line Safety

    Every year, farm workers in the U.S. are electrocuted. The most common causes are portable grain augers, tractors with front end loaders, oversized wagons, large combines, fold-up cultivators, irrigation pipes and other equipment that comes into contact with overhead power lines.  

    When I was young, I knew of a young man that got a live power line hung between his tractor muffler and the tractor cab. It seemed the power line rubbed the top of his muffler as it drug across it, and it was hung between the muffler and the cab.  

Always:
1)    Watch out for overhead electrical lines.
2)    Know where they are located.
3)    Treat all overhead power lines as though they can kill you.
4)    Keep all tall equipment, irrigation pipes, and hay storage equipment away from overhead lines.

One might wonder what to do if their vehicle or equipment comes into contact with a power line. If you are on equipment that comes into contact with a power line, do not exit the equipment.  When you step off the equipment, you become part of the electricity’s path to the ground and will receive a potentially fatal shock. Wait until utility workers have de-energized the line and confirmed it is safe to exit.

If the vehicle is on fire and you must exit, jump clear with both feet together.  Hop as far from the vehicle as you can with your feet together.  Keep your feet together to prevent current flow through your body, which could be deadly.  

Power Line Safety Applies to Everybody!
1)    Consider every wire on the ground to be energized and dangerous.  Most people do not know the difference between telephone lines and power lines.  To be safe, stay away from both.
2)    Never touch downed power lines with other objects, such as brooms, boards, limbs, or plastic materials. Only qualified electric utility workers should attempt to move downed power lines.  
3)    Never touch anything (cars, trucks, fences, people, etc.) that is in contact with power lines.
4)    Never drive over downed power lines.  Even if they’re not energized, they can get tangled in your vehicle.
5)    Do not attempt to cut or remove a tree that is or could become, entangled with power lines.  Contact your power company for assistance.
6)    Always call the local 811 utility locator prior to digging to avoid unexpectedly striking an underground electrical line or any other utility line.

Source:  MSU Dawg Tracks, Mississippi State University Extension, May 2025, “Power Lines”