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Teen Driving Safety

Don’t learn these lessons from experience: Teen drivers should know about electrical road hazards before getting behind the wheel

For an inexperienced teen driver, wrecking the family car is almost a rite of passage. The only way for young drivers to gain experience is to get behind the wheel and put miles behind them.

Some dangers, though, cannot be learned from personal “experience.” Take this example: an accident involving a utility pole. How the driver and passengers handle themselves in those moments after the car comes to a stop may mean the difference between life and death.

“Stay in the car, stay in the car, stay in the car” is the mantra SCI REMC wants young drivers to remember.

When a power line is involved, even a minor accident can become tragic. Staying put for all involved and warning others to stay away, too, cannot be stressed enough. You should only get out after a qualified first responder arrives on the scene and says it’s OK.

Staying put may go against a driver’s first inclination; you want to get out and check the car and see if everyone around is OK. Teenagers, especially, might worry that “Dad is going to kill me!” But stepping out of the car immediately after striking a utility pole may kill you — for real. Here’s why:

  • Power lines fall. When a pole is struck, power lines and hardware can break loose from their insulated perches on the pole.
  • Fallen power lines can still be energized. Even touching the ground, they can still carry 7,200 volts or more, although they may not spark or buzz.
  • Power lines are not insulated. Unlike the power cords on appliances we use, overhead power lines are bare strands of metal wire. This means grabbing one, grazing up against one, or touching something that’s touching it can kill you.
  • Fallen power lines are hard to see. They may seem easy to see up on poles, silhouetted against the sky, or glistening in sunlight. But when knocked down and twisted with tall grass or trees as a background, especially at night, they are almost impossible to see.
  • Electricity seeks the quickest path to ground. You become that path if you get out of the car and touch a live power line and the ground.
  • If you are alive, you are safe. Immediately after a collision with a utility pole, you may not know if power lines have broken loose and are on your car. If you are alive, you are not creating that deadly “path to ground.” But fallen power lines might be touching and energizing your vehicle or the ground near you. If so, and you step out onto the ground, the electricity flowing around your car will go through you to the ground.
  • Call 9-1-1. After hitting a pole, call 9-1-1. Tell them you hit a pole. And wait patiently. Tell others to stay back. Wait till you know it’s safe before exiting.

Do’s and don’ts after hitting a utility pole

  • DO take a minute to calm down before doing anything.
  • DON’T open the car door or reach out the window.
  • DO call 911. Tell them you’ve struck a utility pole and that power lines might have fallen.
  • DON’T step outside. If a power line has fallen onto your car and is still energized — assume it is — it is energizing your vehicle. If you are alive, you are not currently in harm’s way. But you create a path if you step from your car to the ground. The unknown voltage can kill you.
  • DO yell for help if you do not have a cell phone or cannot find yours after the crash.
  • DO tell passersby to call 911 and to stay back. They might walk right into a fallen, energized line.
  • DO yell to rescue workers approaching your car that live power lines might have fallen. Even they sometimes need to be reminded of the dangers.

Distracted driving 

Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, messing with the radio or navigation system — anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving. Texting is the most alarming distraction. Texting while driving increases your risk of crashing by 23 times.

Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.

What should you do? Keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel — all the time. Wait to send the text; it’s not worth risking your life.

Sources: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Indiana Department of Transportation