when everyone knows the rules ,were are the most mistakes being made ?

laziness, complacency and in commercial/industrial, not wanting to hear the customer complain about shutting everything down.

Throw in familiarity, getting to comfortable with certain tasks, not paying attention, being Macho, and being pre-occupied for a few more reasons.

In otherwords, what LoneGunman said.

Roger

I can think of a few situations where a lack of communication and procedures fitting the task have been at play too.

Although I haven't gotten shocked in a long while, I've observed that the occasions where I slash a finger with a kitchen knife are all due to being distracted by something.

Most times whenever my guys or myself really screwed up was when we were rushing and or we were over tired. Every now and then we would get it when there was a miscommunication. You thought a circuit was turned off but it really wasn't, or someone turned off the wrong circuit. We really tried hard to keep injures to a minimum and in 15 years, we had nothing real severe.

Cellphones are a hazard too.

If I work on live equipment I leave the d@#n thing in my ute or turn it off.

These things are a major distraction if they ring at the wrong time

Ans of course also all of the above as already mentioned.

Why do electricians get shocked?

Tradition.

The tradition of working hot and passing on that tradition to those we teach the trade to.

There are rules in place that tell us not to work hot.

Common sense tells us not to work hot.

Still we do becuse...

We where taught that way.

We are lazy.

We do not want to inconvenience others with power outages.

We do not want to lose a customer.

We do not want to lose our job.

We do not want to be labeled a 'coward'

We do not think it will happen to us.

We just do not think...


Bob

I'll add an unlikely candidate here:


Greed...


To some time is money, time spent looking for a way to shut things off may take too long as compared with just making it up hot and getting the job done sooner...Bad idea......


Dnk...

Assuming the previous people wired things correctly.

/mike

In my case, it was from not realizing that the lightning strike had caused a flashover in a 0-1000VDC transducer, over to the 0-1mA side. The analog point was elevated to 600 VDC.
Joe

Ouch!! That would hurt.

Let me ask a related question here. When changing out receptacles or switches around our own homes, how many of us bother to turn off the circuit(s)?

I'll admit that I generally don't, unless I see that the wiring inside the box is unusually ugly or dificult to work with.

Radar

Every time Radar (I'm a residential EC).

Dave

I'd like to disagree....in a very real sense, we DON'T get shocked- at least, not as often as you might expect.
Look at the NIOSH or OSHA statistics....the vast majority of electrical injuries happen to folks who had no business whatever working on the electric! For that matter, most of them also involve "safe" 120v, 20 amp circuits, or smaller.

When it comes to our trade, sure, complacency plays a part. So does "bare minimum code compliant work."
Panel directories often have lables that are of limited use, being blank, out of date, un-readable, or vague. There is often enough electronic noise in the panel to severely impair the use of any "toner" I've used. Heck, sometimes you can't even be sure which pane the circuit is in!
Then there is the matter of your shutting off the power causing other unsafe conditions. Like, say, plunging the entire room into darkness. Sure, YOU might have a flashlight....but the secretaries will walk into your ladder on the way to the coffeepot!
Add multiple circuits in the box, and shared neutrals to the mix... and you learn to work as if everything really is "live"..even after we've turned it off.

I don't mean to sound callous...but when you choose your trade, you choose your injuries. A fireman gets burned, a butcher get cut...and an electrician gets zapped, or falls off a ladder. Recognise that..and work to improve the odds!

iwire you sumed it all up.

I got a little "buzz" the other day that shocked me. I was on a (Gorilla) fiberglass ladder and not really touching anything when I bumped a wire in an octagon box that bit me. It didn't pull enough current to trip a GFCI (tested OK later) but it got my attention. I am still not sure of the fault path but it was real.

Never leave a pager or cell phone on vibe when working hot.They tend to go off the minute you are tying something in.The real question is who uses mats gloves insulated tools etc.I know my allen's have a custom taped job on them.I for one can't work in gloves so I just use a mat when I need too and use the leathers.

and that is why electricians get shocked

Yep Yep Yep I get shocked working on light circuits more than anything.Tying in breakers wires etc never had a problem.Of course I am new to the trade 18yrs ago.I do have enough sense to eye protection though.I just don't like the rubbers.I know I am not alone either.I will wear them when I feel it is absolutely necessary.Anymore with the workermens comp insurance lawyers etc.I almost de-energize a lot more than ever before.Of course waitng for the power company to remove a meter or cut loose an overhead drop I tend to just do it.Time is money right.