Published: November 04, 2008 05:32 pm         

Illegal signs make problems for electric workers

With thousands of volts of electricity above and unforgiving ground below, linemen have plenty of safety concerns to consider when they start climbing a utility pole. Illegally posted signs and fliers make their lives that much more difficult.

Volunteer Energy Cooperative asks that you stop to consider the potential hazards and then refrain from posting signs and/or flyers on utility poles.

“It’s not just a matter of distracting drivers and creating an eyesore,” said VEC Area Manager Bobby Randolph. “These can pose a real safety threat – especially at night. We’ve had some pretty serious injuries at VEC due to these and across the nation there have even been some lineman fatalities that are directly attributable to sign and flyers.”

Randolph said linemen have been injured when they snagged staples and nails used to mount signs on utility poles. Even more serious injuries result when linemen’s climbing spikes hit a nail or staple preventing them from digging in as they need to. This has resulted in falls.

Randolph said most people have the misconception that the vast majority of work linemen do is performed out of a bucket truck. “I think people would be surprised to find out how much linemen still climb, especially when the ground is wet and we want to avoid damaging people’s yards,” he added.

VEC is currently removing these signs to eliminate these unsafe conditions and the unsightly appearance. Not only are these signs a distraction and a safety concern, they are also illegal. State law (TCA 2-19-144) prohibits anyone from placing signs and/or any other types of apparatus such as basketball goals, satellites, etc. on utility poles.