Getting close to overhead lines alone can be life-threatening. This is emphasised by the Constance police. The live overhead lines on electrified railway lines pose a great potential danger if you approach them carelessly.
Risk of electric arc
Even falling below the minimum distance of 1.50 to 2.00 metres can lead to flashovers, which usually result in fatal injuries. This risk is particularly high at railway crossings: there are several railway crossings close to the lake, especially on the lower part of Lake Constance between Constance and Radolfzell. Especially in summer, numerous sailors drag their boats across the crossings to the lakeshore. Smaller sailing boats come dangerously close to the overhead lines when their masts are raised, which can lead to arcing. At various danger spots, the federal police warn with banners about the live power lines and appeal to people to be careful.
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Accidents on high-voltage power lines
The danger described above is obviously very real, as various cases show. At the end of July, a 23-year-old woman in Ermatingen was seriously injured by an electric shock. The mast of her sailing boat collided with the overhead line at a railway crossing. The woman and her 30-year-old partner pulled their sailing boat towards the lake on foot. At the Frühmessstrasse level crossing, they apparently misjudged the height of the boat mast and the mast came into contact with the 15,000 volt overhead line. The two people were thrown away by a violent electric shock. The woman suffered severe burns and the man sustained minor injuries to his hands. The boat was totalled.
At the end of June, a serious electrical accident occurred near the Rottachsee near Sulzberg in which a man was seriously injured. A 65-year-old man was pushing a catamaran with a slip trolley on a tarred road towards the boat landing stage at Rottachsee after pulling it out of the water. In the process, the boat's carbon mast, which was around nine metres high, became entangled in high-voltage power lines that ran across the road. The current passed through the medium-voltage lines, which carried around 20,000 volts, into the catamaran and onto the 65-year-old man.
But there have also been similar cases in the past. In 2022, a 65-year-old man came too close to an overhead line with his boat mast at a car park in Waldschach, municipality of St. Nikolai im Sausal. He had the forestay in his hand. He suffered an electric shock and was briefly unconscious, later hospitalised with cardiac arrhythmia and so-called electric shock marks - burns on his left hand and both feet.
In 2021, a man was seriously injured by an electric shock at a railway crossing in the district of Constance. The 58-year-old wanted to take his sailing boat on a trailer to Lake Constance in Allensbach. The mast of the boat brushed against the overhead railway line and the man's clothing caught fire. The man suffered severe burns to his body.
In 2012, a tragic accident occurred in the Niegripper See water sports area: the crew of a sailing boat came too close to an overhead power line hanging around ten metres below during a trip. An electric arc from the 110,000-volt line struck the nine-metre-high aluminium mast. The 42-year-old owner was struck and suffered a cardiac arrest; resuscitation attempts by the crew were unsuccessful.
These are just a few of apparently many cases.
Correct behaviour on overhead lines
As simple as it may seem, it cannot be repeated often enough: Caution is the best protection against electric shocks from overhead lines. Owners should therefore make sure that there are no power lines in the vicinity before setting up the mast. Even a distance of a few metres can be too short.
When trailering boats by hand, the route to be travelled should be walked beforehand or a person should be sent ahead of the trailer. If in doubt as to whether an overhead line can be passed under with the mast upright, it is better to lay the mast down.
At level crossings, the St. Andrew's cross with an electric flash in the centre indicates a live overhead line.
