CHILD SAFETY ON FARM

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28606, 7 June 1958, Page 9

CHILD SAFETY ON FARM

New Regulations In U.K. Regulations will come into force in England, Scotland and Wales jn July 1 prohibiting children from riding on or driving farm implements including tractors. The effect of the regulations is broadly as follows: Children must not drive, or ride on, tractors or self-propelled machines (or drive self-propelled vehicles) in use for agricultural work, or on their way to and from wo'-k Nor must children ride on machines mounted on, or movpd by, tractors or vehicles; and, in the case of binders and mowers this prohibition applies, even where they are drawn by animals. Children may ride on the floor of a mechanically drawn trailer and they may ride on the load, but only if the trailer has four sides all higher than the load. But they must not ride on any trailer with a built-in conveyor mechanism. The regulations do not prohibit children from riding on a horse-drawn vehicle such as a haycart or waggon. Children must not ride on agricultural implements mounted on or moved by tractors or vehicles. They must not ride on rollers even when they are drawn by animals. Children must not ride on drawbars, etc., including those of mechanically drawn trailers.

One thing is certain, however, and that is that the procedure involves more work in fencing and shifting sheep and by raising the carrying capacity, so that it can probably only be practised where the labour supply is adequate. Some farmers are now successfully using electric fences to control grazing, but on this property the netting and standard fences can be shifted in half to threequarters of an hour.