Man dies while playing disc golf

[tampora]

You realize that power lines come down ALL THE TIME, right? If a car accident takes out a utility pole, everyone has to go dark? A tree limb breaks and knocks a wire down, businesses on the other side of town have to lose power?

These examples are instances of a single downed line. In this case, the power company likely could get to the scene immediately and stop the risk of electrocution.

In the Shawnee example, the power company was supposedly so busy with calls from all over the county, they were unable to get to this line in a reasonable amount of time. THIS is the example where "pulling the big plug" would be prudent, not a case of a single power line that could be under supervision very quickly.

The power company was clearly overwhelmed.

 

[JC17393]

Some guy goes for a walk in the park at night? That doesn't sound like risky behavior to me, and it shouldn't be.

You keep saying this, but I don't see how his behavior was not at least somewhat risky. He was somewhere where he wasn't supposed to be, in the dark. That wire wasn't the only risk involved in this scenario. He could have tripped over something, walked into a tree, or any number of things where he could have taken a bump to the head and died of a brain hemorrhage. Or cut himself and bled out in the woods. Who knows? You assume some level of risk the moment you walk out the door in the morning.

I just find it odd that you can be so outraged that people aren't taking this kid's life seriously by not wanting to shut down the power off, yet be so callus to say that any deaths that might result from the power shutdown are no big deal because "they should have been prepared for losing power". Like they somehow deserve to die in order to save some guy who decided to take a walk in a dark park in the middle of the night.

 

[gvdg jake]

i think the better question is,
why do you feel like an "inconvenience" for the majority, isnt worth saving someones life.

I do not advocate a total shutdown or whatever youre arguing about. But if they did, would it really be that bad? If it meant saving a life?

Yes!! It would be that bad. Having one upset family because their loved one trespassed or 10000 or more people being without power (something they pay an arm and a leg for)

I agree saving a life and keeping people safe is a high priority. Maybe they were under the impression it would be closed and possibly a park official or cop would be on site to make sure no one gets near it until they can get PAYING CUSTOMERS restored first.

 

[tampora]

Yes!! It would be that bad. Having one upset family because their loved one trespassed or 10000 or more people being without power (something they pay an arm and a leg for)

I agree saving a life and keeping people safe is a high priority. Maybe they were under the impression it would be closed and possibly a park official or cop would be on site to make sure no one gets near it until they can get PAYING CUSTOMERS restored first.

Sigh. So, we're back to the fear of angering customers and losing profits. I hope money never means as much to me as it does to you.

If it meant the power company had to completely go out of business to save a life, so be it. No money-making organization is worth that.

 

[illyB420]

Seriously people?

 

[tampora]

Consider another scenario:

Timmy was trespassing on the city water tower and fell in. He's treading water, but he can't last forever. In order to save him, the city would need to shut off water to everyone in the city for an entire day or two to drain the tower, fish him out, and fill it back up again. If they don't save him, he'll drown and get caught in the filter at the pump station down the road where they can easily extract the body with no downtime.

Should the city have to suffer with no water for a day or two just because some kid fell in? Or, should they let him drown and fish him out when it's convenient?

 

[ohtobediscing]

....Some guy goes for a walk in the park at night? That doesn't sound like risky behavior to me, and it shouldn't be.

You know, from a Mary Poppins/Robert Redford/The Courtship of Eddie's Father world, it makes perfect sense. And hey, when in my early 20's in the early 1980's, I roamed Central Park, Washington Square and the Battery at 2-3 AM and thought nothing of it.
Nowadays, a lot of people wouldn't fare so well alone in a park.
Not to mention most of those shouldn't be allowed to walk and talk at the same time.

 

[ohtobediscing]

^^^Pinche time limit. And yet, I feel its just what could happen to me, as I tend to roam around most cities and towns I live in.

 

[bradharris]

Consider another scenario:

Timmy was trespassing on the city water tower and fell in. He's treading water, but he can't last forever. In order to save him, the city would need to shut off water to everyone in the city for an entire day or two to drain the tower, fish him out, and fill it back up again. If they don't save him, he'll drown and get caught in the filter at the pump station down the road where they can easily extract the body with no downtime.

Should the city have to suffer with no water for a day or two just because some kid fell in? Or, should they let him drown and fish him out when it's convenient?

This is a very different scenario. At the time, the outcome resulting from inaction is known: Timmy will drown.

You're using hindsight to justify extreme action. It's easy to look back now and say that line should have been shut off. But at the time, assuming the power company even was aware that it was live, the risk was relatively low. They had know way of knowing that someone would stumble upon the line in the dark.

To better illustrate what you're proposing, consider this: an innocent person died in a motor vehicle accident yesterday. Should we go back and blame the DMV for not revoking the driver's license? Obviously that driver was an immediate danger to the eventual victim and should not have been allowed to drive in the first place.

The fact is power lines go down all over the country every day. Education and PSAs help to educate the public to stay away. The vast majority of these downed wires cause no harm whatsoever. A change in policy because of one isolated freak accident is not cause to change policy.

 

[Pwingles]

There are a few people in this thread who seem to think that just because the guy trespassed that it obsolves those in charge of power lines of any responsibility...

I have no knowlege of how this may work out legally. But in my mind, they are responsible in some degree.

The two guys are also responsible.

But again, what if it would have happened at 6,7pm? Who is responsible then ?

 

[ejvogie]

Sue Mother Nature. That b1tch caused the problem in the first place...

 

[tbird888]

Sue Mother Nature. That b1tch caused the problem in the first place...

Do you really want to piss her off more than she is already?!?!

 

[gvdg jake]

There are a few people in this thread who seem to think that just because the guy trespassed that it obsolves those in charge of power lines of any responsibility...

I have no knowlege of how this may work out legally. But in my mind, they are responsible in some degree.

The two guys are also responsible.

But again, what if it would have happened at 6,7pm? Who is responsible then ?

If it happened around 6-7 during park hours, it should be parks and rec who would be responsible. They could have someone near it watching it until closing, put out cones and tape around it or even call a city/county cop to come stand guard until the power company gets freed up enough to come get it up off the ground.

Either way, he died, the family will sue someone and they will most likely settle out of court. Parks dept/Power co/and disc golfers all over these message boards will have learned (hopefully) something about this issue. I learned to never go to a park after dark to play disc golf after a storm.

 

[NDABRUSH]

You are massively underestimating the volatility of the electrical grid. "Killing all power" in one area can have a cascading effect on MUCH larger areas and cause widespread blackouts (The blackout that knocked out the entire Northeast in 2003 was because some jackass in Ohio left a switch in the wrong position after some tests and one line de-energized that shouldn't have, which caused the next line to go off, which caused the next line to go off, etc.). Disconnecting just one line can cause huge power swings that overload adjacent circuits when they try to support the loads that are still connected when the first line goes out.

I also don't think you appreciate the HUGE nightmare it is to try to restore an area after a blackout, mainly due those power swings noted above, as well as a variety of other reasons. Those restorations can takes days, weeks, etc. and put the peoples lives at stake who are supervising those restorations. A situation like this is never as simply as flipping a switch off and back on when ready.

It's funny that your example was caused by 1 switch left in the wrong position aka human error. You can't fix it by "flipping a switch off and back on when ready" was your last sentence. Flipping one switch on and off can't fix it, but one switch forgotten knocked out the entire Northeast. Reading this thread makes me want to stick my finger in a socket.

 

[tbird888]

It's funny that your example was caused by 1 switch left in the wrong position aka human error. You can't fix it by "flipping a switch off and back on when ready" was your last sentence. Flipping one switch on and off can't fix it, but one switch forgotten knocked out the entire Northeast. Reading this thread makes me want to stick my finger in a socket.

Hopefully someone forgot to switch the grid you're in back on.

 

[Pwingles]

If it happened around 6-7 during park hours, it should be parks and rec who would be responsible. They could have someone near it watching it until closing, put out cones and tape around it or even call a city/county cop to come stand guard until the power company gets freed up enough to come get it up off the ground.

Either way, he died, the family will sue someone and they will most likely settle out of court. Parks dept/Power co/and disc golfers all over these message boards will have learned (hopefully) something about this issue. I learned to never go to a park after dark to play disc golf after a storm.

Now how can you argue that, 12 hours later, it wasnt fixed because of how busy they were.

But 2-3 hours later, theyre totally at fault because the park was open? Nevermind the aforementioned "busy-ness"..

 

[Osmo]

If it happened around 6-7 during park hours, it should be parks and rec who would be responsible. They could have someone near it watching it until closing, put out cones and tape around it or even call a city/county cop to come stand guard until the power company gets freed up enough to come get it up off the ground.

Either way, he died, the family will sue someone and they will most likely settle out of court. Parks dept/Power co/and disc golfers all over these message boards will have learned (hopefully) something about this issue. I learned to never go to a park after dark to play disc golf after a storm.

The park and rec should be responsible? thats outrageous.

Why is it their responsibility to keep guard? Its the power companies lines.

This is just ridiculous that we have some people defending the power company leaving a live wire on the ground for 12 hours.

 

[ohtobediscing]

I could be wrong, but because of litigation issues, I'm pretty sure downed lines are prioritized above lack of power. When I've seen them down on residential streets, the police/fire dept. usually have the street blocked off. Granted, you're talking about a park, but who uses parks? Kids, dog-walkers, joggers, soccer players, etc. Usually much more foot traffic than the average residential street.

 

[disc qualified]

The snake can swallow its tail but never disappear.
This thread swallowed itself a long time ago and doesn't want to go away.

 

[nyrblue2]

It's funny that your example was caused by 1 switch left in the wrong position aka human error. You can't fix it by "flipping a switch off and back on when ready" was your last sentence. Flipping one switch on and off can't fix it, but one switch forgotten knocked out the entire Northeast. Reading this thread makes me want to stick my finger in a socket.

Can't tell if you're trolling or not...

If anything, me posting that example of the '03 blackout is a prime example of how "flipping a switch" causes huge problems to the grid. (Granted, I'm not talking about the same type of switch that is used to "cut power" to a line, but again, I don't think I need to get into all of those details here.)

The park and rec should be responsible? thats outrageous.

Why is it their responsibility to keep guard? Its the power companies lines.

This is just ridiculous that we have some people defending the power company leaving a live wire on the ground for 12 hours.

I'm not absolving the power company of this, don't get me wrong - I do think they (or someone) could have just gone out to put up a sign or barrier or something if they were informed way earlier). However, the power company is not responsible for public safety. Granted, they all have policies and marketing claiming that it's a top priority, but still - their job is deliver power to customers, not protect the general public. There are no guards from the power company that keep anyone from climbing a pole or touching a pad-mounted transformer.

If a tree from your yard falls into the road during a storm, do you have to be the one to set up barricades and re-direct traffic? No - the police or municipal workers or someone like that would - even though you own the tree that fell.