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[Roadgeekteen]

You always learn as a kid that touching electric wires outside is dangerous. But for some reason, I am also scared of touching the poles itself. Anyone else feel this way?

[1]

Same for me.

[Rothman]

I don't think so.

[1995hoo]

Nope.

I once accidentally gave myself an electric shock in my right arm while rewiring an in-wall timer. So I then used my other arm and got another shock to even things out.

[sparker]

Wooden poles, not so much; I learned about non-metallic insulators early on (courtesy of owning model trains), and wood (unless soaking wet) is a dandy insulator.  Metal transmission-line towers -- now that's another thing.  Now they're supposed to be insulated from the bare conductor wires by ceramic or glass insulators, but coming close to them (they're a great pathway to literal and figurative ground) sometimes gives me the heebie-jeebies.  Now -- I often work with vacuum-tube amplifiers that have 500+ volt plate supplies without a lot of worry -- but the thought of my old body being an alternate ground path for 10KV isn't terribly appealing. 

[MNHighwayMan]

If a conductor is shorting to ground through a utility pole, you're probably going to get shocked before you can even touch the pole.

[catch22]

Wooden poles?  No.  I was a telephone installer back in the 1970s and climbed thousands of them without incident.  Wood is a pretty good insulator. Having said that, you need to be mindful of those poles that have a ground conductor (sometimes bare wire) coming down from the power lines.  It's possible in some fault conditions for that wire to be conducting a fair amount of power, especially after storms.

Metal poles that also had power lines on them (rare in the area I worked)?  Call for the bucket truck. 

[abefroman329]

I do, but I also don’t see why I would ever need to touch one.

[renegade]

I do, but I also don’t see why I would ever need to touch one.

That's what she said!   

[briantroutman]

I’ve never been remotely afraid of getting shocked by touching a utility pole, but I learned to stay clear of them when I touched one as a young child and found my palms covered in creosote.

[Roadgeekteen]

I do, but I also don’t see why I would ever need to touch one.

Put up a lost pet ad?

[abefroman329]

I do, but I also don’t see why I would ever need to touch one.

Put up a lost pet ad?

I've never lost a pet.

[GaryV]

I'd have a fear of touching electric poles ... with my car ... at a high speed.

Otherwise, no.

[Brandon]

I’ve never been remotely afraid of getting shocked by touching a utility pole, but I learned to stay clear of them when I touched one as a young child and found my palms covered in creosote.

Yeah, that's pretty nasty shit.

[jakeroot]

I used to lean on one pretty regularly as a child, both while waiting at the school bus stop, and while hanging out in front of my house (waiting for friends, usually). So no fear for me.

Now, with that said, virtually all telegraph (telephone?) poles around WA are wooden, and those don't naturally conduct electricity...being my practical self, I see no reason to fear a wooden pole.

A metal pole? I could see some fear in that, although the government wouldn't leave active shock risks within reach of everyday humans.

[SectorZ]

You always learn as a kid that touching electric wires outside is dangerous. But for some reason, I am also scared of touching the poles itself. Anyone else feel this way?

No one ever said fears needed to make a lot of sense. I can't believe some of the things that bug me yet meanwhile I can be completely unfazed by thinks that should scare me.

[Roadgeekteen]

I used to lean on one pretty regularly as a child, both while waiting at the school bus stop, and while hanging out in front of my house (waiting for friends, usually). So no fear for me.

Now, with that said, virtually all telegraph (telephone?) poles around WA are wooden, and those don't naturally conduct electricity...being my practical self, I see no reason to fear a wooden pole.

A metal pole? I could see some fear in that, although the government wouldn't leave active shock risks within reach of everyday humans.

I've never seen a metal pole.

[MNHighwayMan]

I've never seen a metal pole.

[noelbotevera]

I've never seen a metal pole.

...Is that in somebody's house?

[Revive 755]

I used to lean on one pretty regularly as a child, both while waiting at the school bus stop, and while hanging out in front of my house (waiting for friends, usually). So no fear for me.

Now, with that said, virtually all telegraph (telephone?) poles around WA are wooden, and those don't naturally conduct electricity...being my practical self, I see no reason to fear a wooden pole.

A metal pole? I could see some fear in that, although the government wouldn't leave active shock risks within reach of everyday humans.

I've never seen a metal pole.

Would one of the poles in the background here count?

[MNHighwayMan]

...Is that in somebody's house?

According to the website I stole that from, it's a rental you can get for parties.

[Big John]

I used to lean on one pretty regularly as a child, both while waiting at the school bus stop, and while hanging out in front of my house (waiting for friends, usually). So no fear for me.

Now, with that said, virtually all telegraph (telephone?) poles around WA are wooden, and those don't naturally conduct electricity...being my practical self, I see no reason to fear a wooden pole.

A metal pole? I could see some fear in that, although the government wouldn't leave active shock risks within reach of everyday humans.

I've never seen a metal pole.

Would one of the poles in the background here count?

Or smaller all-metal poles seen here: https://goo.gl/maps/YvGpgyxsDuQ2

[Max Rockatansky]

Not really, especially the wooden ones. 

[MNHighwayMan]

Or smaller all-metal poles seen here: https://goo.gl/maps/YvGpgyxsDuQ2

Those are some of the cleanest, neatest utility lines I have ever seen.

[Roadgeekteen]

I've never seen a metal pole.

I've seen those, never seen a metal power line.