Issue date: 4/8/09 Section: News

Scott McTaggart of the Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative explains the importance of being informed about electrical safety on Tuesday night. McTaggart performed demonstrations as part of Campus Saftey Week. (Kayleigh Zyskowski/The Daily Eastern News)

Whitney Kincheloe hit a power line two weeks ago when she lost control of her car. If she had not attended a Live Line Demonstration a year ago, she would have died.

The junior elementary education major learned from Live Line Demonstration that when it comes to power lines, safety comes first. This means that one should never exit a vehicle until professionals have grounded it.

Scott McTaggart from the Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative presented information and demonstrations on the danger of electricity Tuesday in the McAfee South Gymnasium as part of Safety Week.

McTaggart said remaining in the car is important if one hits an electrical pole. If wires were to fall on the car, the car is not grounded until the power line is disabled from its flow of energy.

"If anyone is to exit the car, their body will allow the energy to be grounded, but to do that the energy will travel from the inside of the person to the outside, causing them to become electrocuted," McTaggart said.

He said the safest thing to do is stay in the vehicle. Although, if the vehicle is on fire, one should bunny hop away from the car.

"Keeping your feet together and bunny hopping will allow for the ground to charge, and a difference in voltage between your two feet will encourage power to move through your body evenly and discouraging the flow of energy," McTaggart said.

McTaggart wants students to remember that if they come in contact with electricity, they need to use their brain, mind, eyes and education to protect themselves. To make this message even clearer, McTaggart brought a display constructed with the same poles, transformers and line hardware used by the local electric company. He utilized this equipment by putting a plastic bird and squirrel on a pole and touching them to the wire.

"Since the first (power) line is equipped with 120 volts and the second with 7020 volts, no matter what touches it, something bad is going to happen," McTaggart said.

McTaggart also touched the wire with a balloon. He said that people do not understand that when people let balloons go into the air the balloons cause many problems.

"Not only is a balloon an issue when someone is holding it because the person allows for the balloon to be grounded, but if the balloon is to touch the power line as it falls, it still carries the electrical charge once it has hit the ground," he said.

Student Body President Levi Bulgar said the Live Line Demonstration was a great way for students to become educated about electricity.

"We use electricity everyday, and many of us do not think about how to be safe when it comes to using it," Bulgar said.

A cyber safety presentation will be held at 1 p.m. today in the Arcola-Tuscola Room in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union to continue Safety Week. A campus safety forum will be held at 5 p.m. today in the Andrews Hall lobby and a self-defense training session at 7 p.m. today in the Student Recreation Center.


Karla Browning can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENnewsdesk@gmail.com.

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