Look up and live, or dead and buried

Posted on December 12, 2011

 

One of my proudest achievements growing up was reaching an age where I could actually kick a footy over a jam tin!

The benchmark as a 7 year old was being able to roost a torpedo over the powerlines that ran through the house paddock connecting electricity to the shearing and machinery sheds.

30 years on and the old powerlines appear to be hanging decidedly lower. What once appeared as towering MCG like goal posts rising above the shed, now look like low hanging death traps!

I am not sure if it’s the fact our machinery has got larger, or the powerlines have got lower, but watching trucks arrive on-farm and contractors negotiate loading and unloading of livestock and grain, make me more than a little nervous.

The reality is, the same situation is happening across most farms every day right now, during one of Victoria’s biggest harvests in living history.

Dads, mums, brothers, sisters, grand parents, sons and daughters are all operating in high-risk environments without understanding the consequences of a moment’s lapse in concentration.

Many of the powerlines that stretch across regional Victoria are difficult to see as they are thin, single conduits with poles that are often hundreds of metres apart. These Single Wire Earth Return lines (SWER) carry 12,700 volts and any contact can be fatal.

This week, we are launching an awareness campaign for Energy Safe Victoria, reinvigorating the familiar “Look up and Live” concept.

The stark message of the advertising campaign is “Look up and live or dead and buried”, highlighting the tragic consequences that occur when trucks or machinery contact powerlines.

The campaign, targeting farmers, truck drivers and farm workers uses online advertising and social media along with press, radio and outdoor advertising to reach those most at risk.

Seven people have died across Victoria in the past six years as a result of accidental contact with powerlines, while many more have been injured.

So, what can you do to protect, remind and educate those in danger?

The first step is go directly to the Energy Safe Victoria website and download a copy of their “No Go Zone” rules and regulations – www.esv.vic.gov.au/For-Consumers/No-Go-Zones

You can also download a DVD and brochures, and even order stickers to place on machinery as an ever-present reminder for those at risk. Here are a few more tips to make sure this Christmas is spent with your family and not “dead and buried”:

  • Always carry out a safety check before you start work
  • Everyone working in the vicinity of powerlines, including farmers, tradespeople and truck drivers, need to take the time to identify powerlines in their immediate area
  • Never raise truck trays underneath powerlines
  • Make sure all bulk deliveries are stored well away from powerlines, and don’t move or use tall machinery near powerlines. This includes elevating work platforms, mobile grain silos, augers, headers, excavators, spray booms, irrigation pipes and scaffolding.
  • Powerlines move in the wind and can sag with temperature and electrical load in the heat of summer, so always remain vigilant.

 

By Jim Gall

 

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