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Tractor Rollovers and Run OversTractor Rollovers and Run Overs

Can you prevent one on your farm?

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OutlineOutline• Background• Research • Are accidents “accidental?”• Accident/incident analysis• Case studies• Assess your knowledge base• Assess your personal risk

profile

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BackgroundBackground

Tractor rollovers and run overs: • Are not common accidents.• Have a high potential for causing

death or disabling injury when they

do occur.• Prevention efforts have a high

“pay back” value.

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ResearchResearchThe Canadian Agricultural

Injury Surveillance Program (CAISP) reports that tractor rollovers and run overs result in:• 30 deaths • 75 hospitalized injuries

on Canadian farms on average, every year.

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Are accidents “accidental”?Are accidents “accidental”?• Accidents viewed as:

– “freak events” – result of “carelessness”

• Research has shown that accidents:– have identifiable risk

factors– are predictable– are preventable

• Terminology change:– “incidents”

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Accident/incident analysisAccident/incident analysis

• Immediate cause• Possible contributing factors

– Human– Mechanical – Environmental

• Basic, “systemic” cause• What one thing could prevent a

similar incident?

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Case studiesCase studies

• Modeled on tractor fatalities that occurred on Canadian farms from 1990 – 1996.

• Basic circumstances of an actual incident are depicted.

• Name of victim, date and location of incident, tractor make/model are fictitious.

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Case study 1Case study 1

• Orville, age 69• Died October 4, 1990• Incident:

Ground-starting tractor, run over, crushed.

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Case study 1: Incident analysis

• What was the immediate cause of the incident?

• What were possible contributing factors?

• What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

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Case study 2Case study 2

• Marc, age 18• Died August 28, 1995• Incident:

Towing heavy load downhill lost control of tractor, sideways rollover, crushed.

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Case study 2: Incident analysis

• What was the immediate cause of the incident?

• What were possible contributing factors?

• What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

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Case study 3Case study 3

• George, age 49• Died September 28,

1996• Incident:

Fell off tractor, run over.

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Case study 3: Incident analysis

• What was the immediate cause of the incident?

• What were possible contributing factors?

• What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

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Case study 4Case study 4

• Carl, age 3• Died June 25, 1993• Incident:

Blind runover by lawn tractor.

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Case study 4: Incident analysis

• What was the immediate cause of the incident?

• What were possible contributing factors?

• What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

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Case study 5Case study 5

• Gerry, age 53• Died July 15, 1992• Incident:

Knocked off tractor by a tree branch, run over.

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Case study 5: Incident analysis

• What was the immediate cause of the incident?

• What were possible contributing factors?

• What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

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Case study 6Case study 6

• Luis, age 25• Died April 30, 1994• Incident:

Sideways tractor rollover off ramp,

crushed.

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Case study 6: Incident analysis

• What was the immediate cause of the incident?

• What were possible contributing factors?

• What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

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Case study 7Case study 7

• Donna, age 38• Died March 28, 1994• Incident:

Front end loader imbalance, backward tractor rollover, drowned.

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Case study 7: Incident analysis

• What was the immediate cause of the incident?

• What were possible contributing factors?

• What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

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Case study 8Case study 8

• Gilles, age 12• Died April 5, 1991• Incident:

Using tractor to tow out stuck vehicle, backward rollover, crushed.

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Case study 8: Incident analysis

• What was the immediate cause of the incident?

• What were possible contributing factors?

• What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

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Case study 9Case study 9

• Ashley, age 5• Died May 23, 1992• Incident:

Extra rider fell from tractor cab, run over.

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Case study 9: Incident analysis

• What was the immediate cause of the incident?

• What were possible contributing factors?

• What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

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Case study 10Case study 10

• Don, age 31• Died May 4, 1995• Incident:

Dismounted running tractor, run over.

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Case study 10: Incident analysis

• What was the immediate cause of the incident?

• What were possible contributing factors?

• What one thing could prevent a similar incident?

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Overall quiz scoreOverall quiz score

• With each case study, you tested your knowledge about safe tractor operation by answering quiz questions.

• Now add up your scores for the ten quizzes for an overall quiz score.

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Personal Risk ProfilePersonal Risk Profile

• Determining factors:– Knowledge (quiz score)– Sex, age– Province of residence– Tractor operation hours/year– Condition of tractor– Condition of operator– Work practices– Safety perceptions

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Personal Risk Profile ScoringPersonal Risk Profile Scoring• 85 – 100% RISK: LOW

“Stay alert and keep up the good work”

• 70 – 84% RISK: LOWER THAN AVERAGE, BUT CAN BE IMPROVED “Can you afford to risk your life or the life of someone else?”

• 50 – 69% RISK: SIGNIFICANT “You are taking a gamble with your life or the life of someone else.”

• < 50% RISK: HIGH “You are endangering your life or the life of

someone else.”

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ConclusionConclusion

• It takes more than luck to prevent a tractor rollover or run over.

• But you can do it!

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Program PartnersProgram Partners

• Centre for Agricultural MedicineUniversity of Saskatchewan

• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

• Canadian Coalition for Agricultural Safety and Rural Health

Canadian Coalition forAgricultural Safety and Rural Health

Coalition canadienne pour la sécuritéagricole et la santé rurale