TRACTOR DEATHS

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28448, 30 November 1957, Page 9

TRACTOR DEATHS

Startling Increase Recorded In the first 10 months of 1957 27 tractor fatalities have been recorded in New Zealand. This is a startling increase from an average of 17 deaths annually during the last eight years, with two recorded months of this year still to go. This figure exceeds the previous record in 1952 of 25 drivers killed. An analysis of fatalities per 100,000 tractors in 1952 shows, says the National Safety Association of New Zealand, that in England and Wales the death rate was 13 and in the United States 20, with New Zealand at 54 (with a gradual decline to 26 in 1956). It is obviously time for all tractor operators to review the position and put into practice some of the lessons that have been learned during the years, often at the cost of a farm worker’s life.

A particularly distressing feature is that in spite of 18 children being killed on tractors in eight years farmers still persist in letting children ride with them on tractors.

In nearly every case this year it has been proved, as usual, that the cause of fatalities is simply carelessness or poor judgment by the drivers, only about 2 per cent, being due to mechanical faults. In point of this assertion nearly 60 per cent, of recent fatalities have occurred on flat or nearly flat land. Thus the call is for the exercise of care good judgment and general safe’ practices.

Then again, contrary to popular belief one quarter of tractor fatalities in New Zealand happen with crawler tractors which, says the association, are no safer on their class of country than wheel tractors on lesser slopes.