I figure that's part of why OSHA can't write up an owner operator who only endangers themselves. You absolutely have the right to do that, but you don't have the right to insist that an employee does it.
As for the 'telephone'/utility pole, it's all about a cost benefit analysis, and the cost of burying the lines vs putting them on poles makes that choice a no brainer. I know you enjoy having electricity on demand, and lots of it, so the poles are gonna stick around. This logic doesn't apply to one handing a chainsaw or bucking logs off the stump with just a flipline. The guy who I know that does it that way, and insisted that I do it that way on his clock, well he wasn't as polite as most of us. When I asked him about the possibility of cutting your single connection, he would say something like, "Don't be a fuckin' idiot and cut your flipline", and "make sure you know where you bar is". I don't see it that way, but let me ask you bluntly: What's your plan when you cut your only lifeline? Your friend didn't have a plan, and this time, he rolled snake eyes. Don't be so arrogant as to think you're any better than he was if you don't have a plan for how to make sure you don't make his mistakes all over again.
