On average, one person dies or is seriously each month as a result of contact with an overhead power line while driving or operating road transport, road haulage or tipper/HIAB type vehicles. In the last five years, there were over 500 near-miss incidents involving road transport and haulage or tipper type vehicles and overhead power lines where serious injury or death was a possibility.
In response to the scale of such incidents, Energy Networks Association (ENA) and GB’s electricity network operators have once gain joined forces to provide advice to the above target audience as part of the Look Out Look Up safety campaign – the key objectives being to:
- Raise awareness of the risks of overhead power lines
- Increase understanding of how to deal with them safely
- Motivate people who may come into contact with power lines to adopt safe behaviours
- Encourage people to recognise 105 as the national number for power emergencies across the UK.
New ENA research reveals that lorry drivers do not know how to avoid fatal injuries when working near overhead power lines. The research is accompanied by a newly-launched film that highlights the dangers of overhead power lines and a call for workers to familiarise themselves with safety advice and call 105 if an incident occurs.
On average, one person in the UK dies or is injured each month as a result of contact with overhead power lines. Data from the Health & Safety Executive shows that one in four of these cases (26%) will involve a lorry driver, making road haulage workers at extreme risk of injury in the workplace.
For more information on the Look Our Look Up campaign, and for further resources, click here.