"Pete C." wrote in message news:5314924f$0$58969

stuff snipped

Most shoes are pretty good insulators at 120V which is the most you
would get to ground (in the US) anyway. Since the panel enclosure is
grounded and there are terminals of both phases (polarity technically)
in the panel, you have a much better chance of getting across 120V or
even 240V in the panel itself. This is of course where the old "one
hand" idea came from, but as we all know in today's overstuffed panels
that's simply not viable.

I wonder how many electrocutions occur at the circuit panel? Wiki says:
There were 550 electrocutions in the US in 1993, which translates to 2.1
deaths per million inhabitants. At that time, the incidence of
electrocutions was decreasing.[15] Electrocutions in the workplace make up
the majority of these fatalities. From 1980-1992, an average of 411 workers
were killed each year by electrocution.[13]

The two most important safety things you can do are to make sure you
have good footing i.e. you aren't climbing on junk to get to the panel,
and that you have good lighting so you can clearly see inside the panel
to avoid contact with exposed terminals and bus bars.

Amen. I even have two clamp lamps pulling from different circuits aimed at
the panel to increase the chances that they'll always be sufficient light.
And two LED flashlights with magnets. And a lighted magnifying glass (it's
been hell trying to read the label!). And even a little set of shelves next
to the box that hold tools, meters, spare breakers, etc. Fortunately my
panel is just at eye level and fairly easy to access.

--
Bobby G.