When working on energized equipment, why is the second point of contact considered a hazard?

• A. It allows current to flow
• B. Would be in series with the circuit
• C. Both A and B
• D. None of the above

Answer: (C)

When you touch energized equipment and then contact another surface at a different voltage, your body becomes the conductor between those two points. That creates a path for current to flow through you, which is hazardous in its own right.

Because your body connects two points of differing potential, you effectively become part of the electrical circuit. The current flows through the segment of the circuit that lies between the two contacts, putting you in series with that portion of the system. This combination—current able to flow through you and you forming a series path with the circuit—greatly increases the risk of a dangerous shock or burn, and even fatal injury.

So the second point of contact is dangerous because it both allows current to pass through you and places you in the current path between two points, making the situation a direct electrical hazard.