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Electric line safety: avoid, stay put, or do the shuffle?

Consumers Energy is reminding farm operators to take notice of electrical lines this harvest season.

Public Safety Advisor Chelsea Dodge tells Brownfield if equipment does become entangled, stay put until help arrives.

“In worst-case situations, we want people to be safe, so if they have to jump off the equipment, we want them to jump off and land with both feet on the ground. If it’s too hard to land with both feet on the ground, land with both hands and knees on the ground.

But in an emergency, Dodge says a shuffle can be lifesaving.

“The difference or the differential between the electricity is what causes a lot of serious electrocutions,” she explains. “We want to make sure that we’re avoiding that big differential between our feet, so the small shuffles really allow us to make sure that we’re not creating that differential in electricity.”

She also recommends reporting any utility issues farmers might find while in fields during the harvest season.