Editor's note: The following refers to an effective community service video by Puget Sound Energy. It is creative and its message is unforgettable.
For whatever reason you are now
sitting behind your car’s steering wheel with a deployed airbag pushing against
your chest, what you do next is important because seconds earlier you smashed
into a power pole. Glancing outside you
see lines from the pole have landed on the hood of your car. Are those harmless telephone lines or raw
electricity conducting lines?
First
reaction is to get the hell out of Dodge City.
Well,
according to the Puget Sound Energy Company that could be a fatal
decision. Here’s why. If the power lines on your hood are live and
you’re still alive that means you’re not conducting electricity. But as soon as your hand touches any part of
the car and one of your feet touches the ground you automatically become a
living jumper cable. Chances are not
good you will survive your attempt to escape the accident scene.
Let’s back
up.
If you have
your cellphone with you (the same one you were texting on just before you hit
the pole) call 9-1-1 instead of exiting your car. Tell the emergency operators to send
help. Stay there until emergency crews
arrive.
But in the
meantime if your car is on fire, the next biggest decision in your life is
going to occur. To survive your situation
(burn to death or die by electrocution) you must exit by jumping from your car
with and landing with both feet together.
Why?
The ground
around the accident scene is probably electrically charged thanks to broken
lines falling on the ground around you.
If you land with both feet apart then you become the human battery cable
we mentioned earlier. If you land with
feet together your body does not become a conductor.
Because your
car is now on fire, you have to move 35 feet away from the flames by shuffling
your feet (do not allow your feet to spread apart as you shuffle away).
Once you’ve
shuffled away and realize you are now standing in oncoming traffic—you might
try shuffling a bit faster.
To view a
well-done video on what we’ve just discussed go to the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLVzvMTgGDY
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