THE National Grid is urging farmers to watch out for overhead power lines.
The company said it is called to incidents every year in which farm vehicles collide with overhead power lines.
“One of them was near Whimple where a tractor trailer hit an electricity line pole,” a spokesperson said.
“The tractor driver didn’t realise he had clipped the pole with his trailer and continued dragging it for another six meters until it came down on top of him, with a steel cross arm penetrating the cab roof.
“The driver escaped uninjured by jumping clear of the vehicle and taking leaping strides to safety – a technique he had recently learnt on a farm safety course.”
The National Grid has outlined several steps farmers can take to stay safe.
The first is to never raise elevating equipment, such as spray booms, cabbage harvesters and trailer bodies, under or close to overhead power lines.
Also, materials should not be moved or stored under, or close to, overhead power lines, as this reduces the safe clearance distance beneath the overhead lines.
You should stay away from the area around a fallen line as the soil, equipment and other objects could be live.
If contact is made with a power line, you should stay in the cab and try to drive clear. If that is not possible, you should stay in the cab and telephone 105, only leaving the machine in an emergency.
When leaving the vehicle, you should take care not to hold the machine and touch the ground at the same time, the National Grid said.
You should then take leaping strides so one foot is clear from the ground at all times – or “bunny hop” away with both feet kept together.
Farmers are also encouraged to use the What3Words app to pinpoint the exact location of an incident.
With this information, network engineers can isolate the power in seconds using remote technology, thereby reducing the risk of accidents and threat to life.
Farmers can find out more about the National Grid’s safety advice online at www.nationalgrid.co.uk/customers-and-community/health-safety/farming-safety.