Saturday, March 30, 2024

Focus on farm vehicle safety

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Worksafe has begun a three-year project to improve vehicle safety, the cause of almost 90% of farm fatalities.
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Inspectors will include the safe use of vehicles in farm assessments but they will also be asked to share their knowledge and expertise about safely working with vehicles and machinery with others.

“They will be asking farmers about how vehicles are used on their farm and what they are doing to ensure vehicles are not a factor for them or their workers being hurt or killed,” WorkSafe assessments deputy geneeral manager Jo Pugh said.

“Farmers will know safer ways of doing jobs, which equipment is safest in different situations and what engineering solutions are out there that make vehicles and machinery safer.”

Worksafe will also work with the sector on new and improved guidance, standards and training.

WorkSafe agriculture sector leader Al McCone said farmers need to consider if their vehicles are right for the job and that they use safety equipment.

“Operator protective devices and the use of seat belts in vehicles are two key areas farmers can reduce the likelihood of an accident occurring.

“Among front seat passengers and drivers seat belts reduce the risk of death by 45% and the risk of serious injury by 50%. 

“People not wearing a seatbelt are 30 times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle during a crash.”

McCone said roll over protection contributes to a decrease in fatal injuries but most of the recent tractor fatalities could have been prevented by drivers wearing seatbelts.

Julie Dee, whose husband Paul died in an ATV side-by-side roll-over on their Waihao Downs farm near Waimate last year, said lives are lost on small-margin mistakes and can be saved also by making small changes such as wearing seatbelts.

“This change in seatbelt culture onfarm will not happen unless a change of thinking in our culture occurs and farm bosses step up in their responsibilities and expectations for their farm.

“Changing the concept or wearing a seatbelt onfarm from one of annoyance to one of feeling they are ensuring they get home safely is key.”

The move has the support of Federated Farmers, Beef + Lamb NZ and DairyNZ.

B+LNZ policy and advocacy manager Dave Harrison said more than 4000 farmers have attended farm management safety workshops since 2015 while DairyNZ farm performance manager Vanessa Winning said the focus on using quad bikes and other farm vehicles needs to improve.

DairyNZ has removed most quad bikes from its research farms because of safety concerns.

Federated Farmers president Katie Milne said farmers should not get complacent or lose focus.

“In particular, know where the risky parts of the farm are in terms of steep country or country that can get more dangerous depending on the weather. 

“A short amount of time spent planning for risky situations can make the job a lot easier and more efficient, as well as safer,” she said.

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