- Nov 12, 2009
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We came back from a short break yesterday and the latter part of our stay was at a site with overhead power lines supported on wooden poles.
These were quite low considering the amount of voltage that is carried, we're not talking 240volts here but I'd guess at least 12000 volts given the size of the cables and insulators.
There was a large gap between the rows of units and children were playing and running about along the 'lane' created by one of the gaps.
No problem for me, I like to see reasonably well behaved kids enjoying a bit of freedom to run around and let off steam.
Imagine my horror when the kids produced a kite and proceeded to run along this pathway trying to get it to fly - directly beneath these power cables!
I can only think that many parents mistake these overhead lines for the old style 'telegraph poles' and telephone lines which are a common sight in towns and cities. There were the usual yellow 'danger of death' small rectangular signs three quarters of the way up the poles and a few strands of barbed wire to prevent climbers but nothing very conspicuous and nothing that a seven year old would recognise.
This is the second time that I've had to point out the dangers, the first time a couple of years back a father and son were flying their kite in an open field which was crossed by this type of line.
When I alerted the father to the danger he admitted that he hadn't realised that these were live power lines because he'd assumed that power lines were always carried on metal pylons.
In this latest instance a group of young girls were endangering themselves so my o/h went across and gently told the children that if their kite touched the wires they might 'blow up' and this did the trick because we didn't see the kite again.
This is not an anti kids/ parent rant, I know that kites shouldn't be near to caravans and the children should be supervised etc but in the real world we accept that children sometimes run around without their parents and play with toys on caravan sites that we'd prefer were left at home.
I worked for an electricity board and spoke to colleagues who had to investigate injuries and fatalities from electrocution, often caused by ignorance or stupidity around overhead power lines.
I hope that next time a parent lets their child take their kite along on a caravan break they have a good look around them to make sure that the kids stay safe.
These were quite low considering the amount of voltage that is carried, we're not talking 240volts here but I'd guess at least 12000 volts given the size of the cables and insulators.
There was a large gap between the rows of units and children were playing and running about along the 'lane' created by one of the gaps.
No problem for me, I like to see reasonably well behaved kids enjoying a bit of freedom to run around and let off steam.
Imagine my horror when the kids produced a kite and proceeded to run along this pathway trying to get it to fly - directly beneath these power cables!
I can only think that many parents mistake these overhead lines for the old style 'telegraph poles' and telephone lines which are a common sight in towns and cities. There were the usual yellow 'danger of death' small rectangular signs three quarters of the way up the poles and a few strands of barbed wire to prevent climbers but nothing very conspicuous and nothing that a seven year old would recognise.
This is the second time that I've had to point out the dangers, the first time a couple of years back a father and son were flying their kite in an open field which was crossed by this type of line.
When I alerted the father to the danger he admitted that he hadn't realised that these were live power lines because he'd assumed that power lines were always carried on metal pylons.
In this latest instance a group of young girls were endangering themselves so my o/h went across and gently told the children that if their kite touched the wires they might 'blow up' and this did the trick because we didn't see the kite again.
This is not an anti kids/ parent rant, I know that kites shouldn't be near to caravans and the children should be supervised etc but in the real world we accept that children sometimes run around without their parents and play with toys on caravan sites that we'd prefer were left at home.
I worked for an electricity board and spoke to colleagues who had to investigate injuries and fatalities from electrocution, often caused by ignorance or stupidity around overhead power lines.
I hope that next time a parent lets their child take their kite along on a caravan break they have a good look around them to make sure that the kids stay safe.
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