CMP Pleads With Drivers in Maine to Stop Crashing Into Their Poles

Recently 6,000 people had no power because of accidents.

Central Maine Power put up on their Facebook a reminder to drive safely and avoid hitting their poles knocking out power. WGME 13 reported that recently there were seven separate car crashes that cut the power to around 6,000 CMP customers.

CMP said on its Facebook page,

Excluding major storms, we recorded 510 incidents in which motor vehicles caused an outage in 2022, affecting more than 186,000 customers. Please drive safely to protect yourself and others.

 

CMP's spokesperson just wants to remind people that your car accident affects others besides yourself. Jon Breed told WGME 13 that people might look out their window on a perfectly sunny day with no wind and wonder why they don't have power. It's probably someone taking out a pole. That's why they are putting out a reminder to drive safely.

Plus, it's not cheap. According to WMTW, it typically costs about $5,000 to repair a utility pole after a crash. That's an average. Guess who pays for that, the driver who crashed into it. Sure, it might go through your insurance, but I'm pretty sure that's going to affect how much you pay for insurance after that claim. The Director of Maine Bureau of Highway Safety, Lauren Stewart told WMTW 

No one sets out to be in a crash, but when it happens, it can affect many other people besides just you. First responders and power company lineworkers must respond to restore power and clear the scene. You have one job when you’re behind the wheel: just drive.

No pole is safe to hit, evah.