When the power goes out, so do Steuben County REMC’s line crews. Lineworkers are the first to respond after an outage occurs, and they work tirelessly to restore power to the communities we serve. But in order to do their job quickly and safely, their safety needs to be ensured as well, and you can help with that.

Our workers are dealing with incredibly dangerous situations — rain, hail, lightning, downed lines that can carry voltage up to 12,500 V and sometimes in the dead of night. Not to mention the fact that they are high up off the ground! Sometimes, the biggest threat to their safety can come from passing motorists. If you’re traveling and see one of our crews on the side of the road, you should move over when possible and give crew members extra space to work. The work these linemen are doing is dangerous in itself without the added risk of road traffic; please give our linemen the peace of mind to get their job done efficiently, effectively and most of all, safely. 

If you approach a crew while traveling on a two-lane road, moving over to the next lane might not be an option; in this case, simply slow down when approaching roadside crews. If you approach a crew while traveling on a four-lane road, and safety and traffic conditions allow, move over into the far lane. 

Utility crews aren’t the only ones who could use the extra space. Emergency responders, such as police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians, often find themselves responding to emergency situations near busy roadways. Just like these other emergency vehicles, the state of Indiana supports the “Move Over” laws, meaning any motorist must proceed with extreme caution when passing emergency and work vehicles on the roadsides. 

There’s plenty of room for all. Let’s work together to keep everyone safe on our local roadways.