AS WELL AS OFF

5 October 2001

FARM DEATH TOLL IS ON THE ROAD

AS WELL AS OFF

Almost as many people die in accidents in farm vehicles on the road as

in accidents on the farm. But, as Richard Gard from AGMED explains,

there are ways in which the loss of life could be reduced

ALMOST as many people die and are seriously injured in agricultural vehicle accidents on the roads as in vehicle accidents on the farm. In the early 1990s the toll was about 30 fatalities/year and though up-to-date information is not available, the current figures are reckoned to be not much different.

So who is most at risk of an accident on the road? It depends what vehicles are involved. If you are driving a tractor and trailer on a dual carriageway and are struck by an HGV travelling at speed you are likely to be killed. If you are driving a motorbike at speed on a country road and you hit a tractor you are likely to be killed. That much is obvious.

When an accident takes place, considerable time will be taken up with statements and possible court appearances. The more serious the accident the more trauma for everyone, with increasing likelihood of litigation. Any tractor driver involved in a casualty accident can expect his vehicle to be examined and faults to brakes, lights or indicators, for example, are likely to result in prosecution.

Looking at accidents and speaking to tractor drivers who have been involved gives us the best clue as to how to prevent them in the future. Here are some of the conclusions that emerge.

&#8226 On dual carriageways the attacking vehicle will come from behind. This is a simple principle, but often ignored by drivers who load the trailer so high that it obscures the revolving beacon from following drivers. Warning other drivers approaching from the rear they are approaching a slow-moving vehicle is most important on dual carriageways.

&#8226 When a trailer is struck by another vehicle it jumps about. It may overturn and it may disconnect. If it overturns the tractor may go with it. If a balanced trailer disconnects it will run on until something stops it – frequently another vehicle. With unbalanced trailers the tow bar digs in and uncontrolled mayhem involving the trailer, the load and other vehicles often results. Devices to apply the trailer brakes, should disconnection take place, have to be a sensible way forward.

A farmer related his experience of a trailer disconnecting when he changed gear going up a steep hill. Fortunately no one was hurt but a car and van were pushed into one another. When the police arrived, in the farmers words, they went ape. Fertiliser, diesel and petrol covered the area. Fortunately no one was smoking.

&#8226 Even in a low-speed accident, the forces involved when a tractor collides with another vehicle often dislodge the tractor driver from his seat. Arms, legs and heads flay around; drivers are propelled out of side doors, through windscreens and out through the back window.

&#8226 When driving a tractor on the road it is essential to wear a seat belt. At least from the seat, action and reaction is possible whereas a driver with his head down by the door-well relies solely on luck.

&#8226 Those tools, lynch-pins, plough points and top-links need to be held down so that if the tractor stops suddenly or overturns the driver isnt struck by the flying debris. Even small objects hitting the driver have caused major injuries.

Some of the problem stems from the fact car drivers generally dont know anything about tractors. They dont know how fast or slow they usually go and may be taken by surprise when they suddenly indicate right to turn into a field gateway. Hence the high numbers of right-turning tractors involved in accidents.

Equally, car drivers keen not to get stuck behind a tractor will often overtake in dangerous circumstances. Or else ignore its flashing right-hand indicators in the belief that it will not make any sudden manoeuvres.

Equal blame must also be apportioned to tractor and trailer drivers and manufacturers. Indicators on tractors and trailers are often dirty and non-working bulbs are sometimes not spotted by drivers and owners. Even if they do work perfectly, tractor indicators are generally smaller than the sort fitted to cars and lorries, so are harder for cars to see and react to in time.

Loads and attachments on the front or rear of a tractor can also obscure the indicators, either completely or just as the tractor turns. In fact, fitting effective indicators to warn other drivers is a real problem requiring an immediate solution.

The other real problem area is the way that the natural colours of tractors and trailers – big black tyres and large areas of glass – enable tractors and trailers to blend into the road environment. This allows other vehicle drivers to get too close before reacting.

AGMED has experimented with reflective strips and these do help. But the biggest aid to safety is a rotating beacon, visible from front, side and rear, operating whenever the vehicle takes to the road.

To run a successful educational programme for the public would cost millions. For tractor drivers to be thoughtful and cautious when taking to the road will save heartache for many, including themselves. &#42

Left: Richard Gard, director of the Institute of Agricultural Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Above: A ghastly scene that is all too common on UK roads.

These cuttings from local newspapers show how serious many of the accidents involving agricultural vehicles can be.

SAFE ROAD TIPS

&#8226 If turning right into a field gateway, try to find a pull-in on the left-hand side, then pull across when the road is clear.

&#8226 Think about fitting an inset gate with a pull-in that can accommodate the length of a tractor and trailer.

&#8226 Move dangerously-sited field entrances away from bends or brows of hills to somewhere where visibility is better.

&#8226 Cut down vision-obscuring vegetation around gateways on to roads.

&#8226 Remember to allow for the side-swing of some implements when turning into gateways.

20 YEARS STUDYING ACCIDENTS

AGMED (Institute of Agricultural Medicine and Rehabilitation) began looking at tractor accidents in the early 1980s, following a Reading University report on causes of deaths among farmers. A decade later the Tractor Accidents on Rural Roads (TARR) project began with the support of the Devon & Cornwall Constabulary.

A one-day workshop at the Devon Drivers Centre in the early 1990s brought together farmers, contractors, repairers, retailers, manufacturers and the police. This led to the Think Tractor campaign which was promoted at the Devon County Show and the Royal Show in 1994.

Think Tractor stickers were placed on the front and rear of tractors and trailers with Same Lamborghini and Massey Ferguson becoming particularly enthusiastic. Spare reflective strips were given to local farmers.

A research project followed for the Department of Transport and the report, published in 1997, highlighted the complexity of agricultural vehicle accidents on the roads. No vehicle accident is easy to prevent but agricultural vehicles accidents on rural roads are particularly difficult.

Agmed continues to collect tractor accident information, which will be added to the data obtained by the police about individual accidents and assessed by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory.

A new project will work with farmers, contractors and repairers that use and service agricultural vehicles using a 100 mile section of A-road. These 60mph roads are where nearly 70% of tractor accidents take place. AGMED can be contacted on: 01363-866353 or

rga@agmed.freeserve.co.uk

High-visibility sticker experiment proved a success.