Northern Powergrid drives safety home with the Road Haulage Association

Today (2 September 2024) marks the start of our partnership with the national trade association for haulage to promote safe driving and to avoid overhead power lines.

Driving safety home for our 8 million customers, we've joined forces with the Road Haulage Association (RHA) to encourage drivers of large vehicles, tipper trucks and plant to ‘Look Up It’s Live!’ when passing near to, or underneath, overhead power lines.

The powered partnership with the RHA, which is a member-led trade association supporting people and businesses in the road transport industry since 1945, will see safety messaging reach its members across our patch to help prevent vehicles coming into contact with live electricity poles and cables.

Every year in the UK there are cases of large vehicles and plant coming into contact or too close with overhead power lines, causing horrific burn injuries or even death. With power lines on wooden poles carrying voltages up to 132,000 volts, hauliers are being urged to always plan ahead or choose an alternative route to reduce the risk of accidentally striking the electricity network.

As today sees the start of autumn, and reduced evening light heading into winter as a potential danger, we're sharing vital safety messages to our customers and directly to the RHA’s members, to reduce any risk from serious injury or even death.

Road haulage workers who drive large tippers, trailers, crane truckers or skip hire vehicles adding more height, are being forewarned to plan their route before tipping their goods, driving routes they’re unfamiliar with, or when driving in poor light conditions. Also, to reduce the risk of distractions if working long hours where concentration may be impacted.

Gareth Pearson, Northern Powergrid’s Director of Health, Safety and Training said: “Our new partnership with the Road Haulage Association will target hauliers directly through their network and drive home the vital safety message that overhead power lines are extremely hazardous.

“Thankfully, incidents are low across our region, however, just one strike is one too many and we’re encouraging drivers to always take a good look around and above them and remember ‘Look Up It’s Live!’ before raising and lowering the bed of their tipper truck and manoeuvring vehicles.

“Even if you drive a particular route you’re familiar with for regular deliveries, please bear in mind that ground levels or clearance heights may have changed since the last visit. Think and plan every delivery or journey to make sure you avoid our electricity network and return home safely to your family and loved ones after your shift.”

Pete Short, Head of Business Development for the Road Haulage Association said: “We are delighted to join up with Northern Powergrid on this campaign to keep lorry drivers and others around them safe. We urge operators to ensure that their drivers are fully equipped to minimise risks of collisions with overhead power cables and know what to do if an incident occurs.”

Our guidelines will help keep hauliers safe if they accidentally strike or drive into the power network:

• Drive well clear if it’s safe to do so.
• If it’s not safe to drive clear, stay in the cab and call Northern Powergrid on 105. Warn others to stay away.
• If it’s not safe to stay in the cab – jump well clear ensuring you do not make contact with the ground and the vehicle at the same time. DO NOT STEP DOWN. Take leaping strides. Try to land with both feet together and continue to jump clear making leaping strides, so that one foot is off the ground at all times.
• Always report any contact or damage to equipment, however minor it may seem as you may help save a life.

We're also urging everyone to check where power lines are on work sites and routes, and treat all lines as potentially ‘live’. Hauliers should also add the freephone electricity emergency number 105 to mobiles so they know who to call if they hit an electricity pole, line or cable. Hauliers should always dial 999 in an emergency.

For more information and advice, download our ‘Look Up It’s Live!’ trucker safety leaflet at www.northernpowergrid.com/safety. For further trucker safety advice, or if you have any questions, email safety.information@northernpowergrid.com. 

To learn more about the Road Haulage Association visit www.rha.uk.net/