Originally Posted By: James_Van_Artsdalen
This may seem excessive but I have a cheap AC voltage detector in the safety kit. If there's a bad storm that knocks down wires I can safely tell if they're live.


No. No you can't. Assume that all downed wires are live until the power utility or fire department tells you otherwise. Your voltage detector will not be able to reliably tell if a wire is live before you get close enough to get shocked.