Actually you are required by NFPA 70E (Electrical Safety in the Workplace) to de-energize a circuit when working on that circuit, unless voltage testing or troubleshooting the circuit. Then you must still wear the required PPE to do the voltage testing and troubleshooting on the circuit. Many are not up to date on NFPA 70E requirements. Even with knowledge of these requirements, I've seen others ignore them and just go to work on something as it takes more time to prepare for the task.
I agree, however NFPA-70E is for business. That being said I’m in total agreement with what you are saying. Even though I am retired I always put on my class O rubber gloves with leather protectors anytime I pick up my meter to test for voltage. The gloves are cheap to purchase < than $100.00 compared to the consequences. I use a Surge Guard to protect my motorhome however the very first thing I do when arriving at a campsite is to check the condition of the outlet. Way too many times there is a puddle of water around the pedestal and the gloves are my first round of defense of being electrocuted, why would anyone hold an electrical apparatus in their hand while standing on wet or damp soil is beyond me! This is something I have been saying on this and other RV forms however it’s not being expanded upon for some unknown reason.
Possibly there is some confusion as to what "electrocution" actually means. I always thought it meant you were dead but it seems that some believe it can mean injury as well, depending on where you look. One website I saw says 4,000 people are electrocuted in the workplace each year and 400 each year at home https://www.cullanlaw.com/blog/2015/may/may-is-national-electrical-safety-month-do-you-k/
Quite a wide variation depending on where you look.
Still the advice to never work a live circuit is sound, many DIYs don't know the proper test procedures or rely on panel labeling which should never, ever be relied on. Electricians are at more risk simply because they work on it all day every day which increases their chances of shock or electrocution
Also lumped into the death by electrocution numbers are painters who fall off a roof after getting shocked by overhead conductors. Not my definition of electrocution, but perhaps death due to electric shock…
Actually you are required by NFPA 70E (Electrical Safety in the Workplace) to de-energize a circuit when working on that circuit, unless voltage testing or troubleshooting the circuit. Then you must still wear the required PPE to do the voltage testing and troubleshooting on the circuit. Many are not up to date on NFPA 70E requirements. Even with knowledge of these requirements, I've seen others ignore them and just go to work on something as it takes more time to prepare for the task.
I agree, however NFPA-70E is for business. That being said I’m in total agreement with what you are saying. Even though I am retired I always put on my class O rubber gloves with leather protectors anytime I pick up my meter to test for voltage. The gloves are cheap to purchase < than $100.00 compared to the consequences. I use a Surge Guard to protect my motorhome however the very first thing I do when arriving at a campsite is to check the condition of the outlet. Way too many times there is a puddle of water around the pedestal and the gloves are my first round of defense of being electrocuted, why would anyone hold an electrical apparatus in their hand while standing on wet or damp soil is beyond me! This is something I have been saying on this and other RV forms however it’s not being expanded upon for some unknown reason.
I am very skeptical of the US 1,000 deaths by electrocution per year that the NCBI website claims, for years the NFPA has put the number at around 300 total , this is the very first I've seen 1,000 referenced since I began keeping tabs on it over 30 years ago. What gives? https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/News-and-Research/Fire-statistics-and-reports/Electrical/osFatalElectricalInjuries.pdf
Possibly there is some confusion as to what "electrocution" actually means. I always thought it meant you were dead but it seems that some believe it can mean injury as well, depending on where you look. One website I saw says 4,000 people are electrocuted in the workplace each year and 400 each year at home https://www.cullanlaw.com/blog/2015/may/may-is-national-electrical-safety-month-do-you-k/
Quite a wide variation depending on where you look.
Still the advice to never work a live circuit is sound, many DIYs don't know the proper test procedures or rely on panel labeling which should never, ever be relied on. Electricians are at more risk simply because they work on it all day every day which increases their chances of shock or electrocution
Also lumped into the death by electrocution numbers are painters who fall off a roof after getting shocked by overhead conductors. Not my definition of electrocution, but perhaps death due to electric shock…
“severely electrocuted” . Now there's a term I would never expect to see. Is that like severely run over?
Reporters get this wrong all the time…