Agricultural machine-related deaths.

Abstract

Analysis of 1980-1985 death certificate data for the United States indicated that an average of 369 occupational deaths per year involved agricultural machinery as the external cause of death. Out of all agricultural machine-related deaths, tractors accounted for 69 percent. Over half of these tractor-related deaths were rollovers. There is a need for public health programs to affect greater use of rollover protective structures (ROPS) on farm tractors.

Livestock-Handling Related Injuries and Deaths

“…Because of the increasing mechanization of farming over the past half century, and the high fatality rate associated with injuries due to machinery and tractors (McFarland, 1968;Simpson, 1984;McKnight and Hetzel, 1985;Hopkins, 1989;Etherton et al, 1991;Lee et al, 1996;Bernhart and Langley, 1999;Carlson et al, 2005;Cole et al, 2006;Dogan et al, 2010), most studies of agricultural injuries have focused on issues related to interactions with machinery or tractors also. Animals may bite, kick, scratch, trample, crush, gore, buck or throw, or drag the livestock-handler (Langley, 1999).…”

The Analysis of the Cause-Effect Relation between Tractor Overturns and Traumatic Lesions Suffered by Drivers and Passengers: A Crucial Step in the Reconstruction of Accident Dynamics and the Improvement of Prevention

“…• improve experimental observations regarding the dynamics of tractor rollovers and the genesis of the different injuries caused by such accidents (the mechanical characteristics of the vehicle, the kind of accident and its location, the typology and location of lesions, the relative final positions of the victim and the vehicle) [12]; • foster close cooperation between coroners and engineers; • strive to develop new preventive devices, equipment and procedures (wrap-around seats which reduce lateral movement, compulsory fitting of audio alarms in the cabin, cushioning systems to offer greater protection to front and rear for the head, chest and pelvis, inclinometers which electronically control engine shutdown and braking systems); • ensure that only properly trained people can drive tractors and other agricultural equipment; • ensure that people with psychophysical impairments are not allowed to drive tractors and other agricultural equipment; this may include elderly, infirm or retired farmers or members of farming families; this issue is of particular importance nowadays when many countries in Europe are encouraging or forcing people to remain active and keep working longer, with the result that there tend now to be more people driving these vehicles in advanced age, and this may, in turn, increase the number of fatalities due to tractor rollovers [1,8,12,[42][43][44].…”

“…If they are used (a) without the right safety equipment as Roll Over Protective Structures (ROPS), seat belts, helmets, crush proof walls of cabs, (b) without a correct evaluation of operational risks (mechanical peculiarities of the vehicle, unstable terrain, towing an excessive load, driving on sloping and irregular or slippery ground where there is a low coefficient of traction) or (c) when the overturn angle is exceeded, they may overturn and throw the occupant(s) onto the ground and crush them [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

“…The influence of engineering research and techniques on the construction of farm tractors has, in recent years, been seen mainly in the development of and improvements to ROPS, on the morphology and protection of the Deflection Limiting Volume (DLV), and on safety equipment such as seat belts, helmets, crush-proof cab walls and safety shields for the power take-off (PTO) but nearly 50% of fatal farm accidents still involve tractors, while a significant number of rollovers (50-60%) result in the death of the drivers or passengers [1][2][3][4][5].…”

“…Etherthon et al reported that 59% of tractor-related fatalities occur in agriculture, forestry and fishing, with the remaining cases occurring in the manufacturing, services and construction sectors [1].…”