Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report for Iowa: Farmer Killed from Tractor Rollover While Loading Hay on Hillside

摘要

In August 1995 a farmer was killed while loading hay onto a haywagon. The man was working with his two sons loading square bales of hay in a rolling hayfield with mild contours. He was using a tricycle type tractor equipped with a front end loader and powered hayfork. The wagon was unattached to the tractor and left on a slight incline. While loading the second layer of haybales on the wagon, the farmer used the front end loader to push and align the bales. The wagon started to roll slowly backwards. The older son jumped off and grabbed the tongue of the wagon trying to steer the wagon uphill. His father quickly backed off and drove the tractor to the downhill side of the wagon and tried to place the loader in front of the moving wagon. The wagon hit the raised front end loader form the right side, overturning the tractor sideways, crushing the farmer under the right rear tire, killing him instantly. The tractor had no rollover protective structure (ROPS). The farmer's younger son, age 10, was riding on the tractor. He was pinned beneath the tractor by his right arm which was severely crushed. Emergency crew lifted the tractor off the boy and rushed him to the hospital. His father was dead at the scene. Recommendations following our investigation were as follows: (1) All tractors used with front end loaders should be equipped with ROPS. (2) Tricycle type narrow front tractors should not be equipped with front end loaders. Tractors that are so equipped should be used only on level grounds with special caution. (3) Wagons left unhitched on sloping ground should always be chocked or have wheel brakes capable of holding the wagon. (4) Tractor operators should be made aware of overturn hazard and methods to reduce this hazard, including safe driving on sloping grounds, keeping the bucket low while driving, and using counterweights on the tractor. (5) Children should not ride as passengers on tractors.