Does anyone know if the higher European voltage at the socket produces statistically more severe or more frequent injuries among consumers? The 240v plugs themselves are designed differently (wider spacing between prongs) which I imagine is partly because they're supposed to safely handle higher voltages…
As for electrocution: I can speak from experience, having been electrocuted by my 3 year old son when he wanted to turn on the light while I was fixing it. Really annoying, but it didn't kill me. (There might be some selection bias involved, though.)
I think this has been the rule now for c15 years so depending on your installation it might have been that that saved you.
That's intentional for Euro plugs. They are meant to flex slightly upon insertion to ensure contact and holding force, because their pins are thinner than what the socket normally accepts.
I've survived quite a few shocks thanks to the GFCI removing voltage from the socket.
Consider that 110V is more dangerous in terms of creating fires, higher current means lower amperage, that means that you don't typically have connections that can be bad and overheat or arc and cause a fire. That is the reason because in the US you need to have AFCI while we in Europe don't, because 240V is less likely to cause an arc, also because typically connections and plugs are more solid.
It's mostly because they're supposed to be safe at all, which US plugs really are not.
230V (that's the actual EU voltage[0]) will break down poor insulation faster, but AFAIK that's about it, 15mA across the heart will kill you and neither has any issue with this.
[0] ±6% officially, with byes to +6-10 and +10-6 so countries formerly 220±6 and 240±6 are "in-bounds" without having to overhaul their grid in the short-term — therefore effectively 230±10%
You can also step on them, the rounded prongs and its general shape means they're unlikely to pierce your soles.
I don't know what the situation in america is, but here residual current circuit breakers[2] are also common.
[0] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Schuko_p... [1] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Euro-Fla... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residual-current_device#Purpos...
In the US there are about 140 fatalities per year, so per-capita fatalities are very much on the same level.
I've touched 240 myself and it's not pleasant but I'm still here.
Don't try this with small people (kids) as a sufficient current across the heart will kill anyone, 120/240v doesn't really matter.
The reason why F and E have similar safety but don't require fuse as UK plugs have is the use of ring circuits in the UK.
I don't know that they're exactly as safe as UK plugs, though they're not far: all three designs ensure the plug is earthed before the "power" pins make contact, but historically UK plugs require an earth pin to be inserted before opening the "power" pin shutters while in type E/F it's just the insertion of the power plugs which force the shutters open.
Type E/F plugs also use recessed sockets rather than insulated pin roots but that should not make a difference.
A recessed design means this isn't possible so is safer as this type of misspecification isn't possible.
If the UK plug isn't pushed all the way in the contacts aren't live. So, nope. The insulation is an extra safety measure on an already over-engineered plug.
That seems completely independent from the actual plug design. You can certainly get sockets with switches[0] it just isn't very popular (or, frankly, useful).
> and don't have the same shutter-safe design.
What you're saying is a bit unclear, do you mean the part where UK plugs need some sort of earth inserted to open "power" shutters or do you mean having shutters at all? Because the latter is definitely the case, and as an other commenter notes there are widely available plugs which can be inserted "inverted" and open the powered shutters with little efforts. While the E/F design is "less safe" in the best case scenario it's also less conducive to easy misuse.
If you insert it wrongly in certain power strips, you can directly insert metal objects. And many manufacturers implement british plugs incorrectly, with full-metal prongs, leading to possible electrocution risks.
The Schuko plug is much safer in such situations — even if the manufacturer fucks up as much as they can, it still will ensure it’s impossible to touch the prongs as soon as they’re inserted.
The way the euro plugs are designed, means it is impossible to touch a live part, except maybe for the one which have no earth, though it is also very hard to do.