Stray Voltage Danger

Any metal or electrical street fixture may present a potential electric shock hazard if the street itself or its above-ground electrical equipment is damaged. (Photo by Janell Granier)

Any metal or electrical street fixture may present a potential electric shock hazard if the street itself or its above-ground electrical equipment is damaged.

Photo by Janell Granier

Stray Voltage Danger

by Blair Sorrel, StreetZaps

The Risk of Shock

Contact (or "stray") voltage from common outdoor electrical and metal fixtures poses a chronic, hidden hazard that can cause injury or death to unsuspecting pedestrians, dog walkers, and their pets. No dog lover could possibly observe a more horrifying scene than witnessing his or her beloved pet instantaneously maimed or tragically electrocuted. And depending upon the current, the walker may be bitten and, like poor Aric Roman, suffer permanently.

Any metal or electrical street fixture may present a potential electric shock hazard if the street itself or its above-ground electrical equipment is damaged. A fixture may still be pernicious in spite of appearing visibly intact or, in the case of lights, unilluminated.

Shockings can occur year-round under any weather conditions, but evidence indicates that the most hazardous time is in the winter after snow falls and in the summer after heavy rains. The winter incidents are likely when melted snow mixed with salt-based deicers form a saline solution and conduction path from defective or tampered cables and equipment, usually several days after the snowfall. Summer events usually happen when rainwater pools around and infiltrates damaged or defective equipment.

Eyeball the Block and Avoid a Shock

When you exercise your pooch, please exercise greater prudence. Just start to adopt this simple strategy: Eyeball the block and avoid the shock.

Take a few seconds and make your trajectory toward generally safer, free-standing, non-conductive surfaces (i.e., plastic, wood, cardboard). Intuit your dog's cues and if he or she is resistant, change directions. Worksite perimeters may be live, so try to avoid them. If necessary, switch sides of the street or change hands when leading to skirt hazards. If you traverse the same route regularly, memorize locations of potential danger. Carry your pooch when in doubt. Consider indoor restroom products like Potty Park when external conditions are chancy, or the Rope-n-Go hardware-free leash and harness. And don't rely on dog booties as a palliative, as they can leak.

A safer walk is yours year-round if you are willing to open to your eyes and mind to it. To learn to more, please visit StreetZaps.

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Stray Voltage Media Coverage

Family pet electrocuted in Outremont

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Friday, January 20, 2012

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