Re: Road hazard

On 2/16/2025 4:31 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

 I have personally not seen anyone die or seriously injured by
electrocution via underground power cables.  Everything I've read or
hear is from 2nd or 3rd party anecdotal experiences.  The closest I've
seen is when someone tried to steal the copper power wiring in my
father's factory electrical panel and forgot to turn off the power.
RIP.  I'm sure electrocution by manhole cover can happen, but unless
the wiring and insulation are seriously compromised, the chances of it
happening is very small.

When I worked as a plant engineer we had a plant electrician who was electrocuted as he worked in a panel. It's too long ago for my clear recall, but ISTR he was working on 480 Volts with equipment not designed for that job.

<https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/all-injuries/preventable-death-overview/odds-of-dying/>
Looks like the National Safety Council lumps electrocution together
with some odd things that are not really related to electrocution:
Electrocution, radiation, extreme temperatures, and pressure
1 in 14,383  (or 0.007%)

While it's not the intent of the site, note the comparisons between bicycling, walking and motoring (and other things) in lifetime odds of death:
Motor vehicle crash: 1 in 95 (almost as dangerous as death from falling, 1 in 91)  Much worse than bicycling.
Pedestrian travel, 1 in 471, much worse than bicycling.
Heck, even choking on food is worse than bicycling at 1 in 2461
Odds of death from bicycling: only 1 in 3102.
Bicycling is _not_ very dangerous. It does us no good to pretend it is.
--
- Frank Krygowski