Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) with special responsibility for farm safety, Martin Heydon has officially launched a new video on farm vehicle safety and blind spots.
The video is part of the “Managing Farm Health and Safety” series produced by Teagasc in association with Farm Safety Partnership Advisory Committee to the Health and Safety Authority and FBD Insurance.
Being struck by a tractor or farm vehicle, particularly in farmyards, accounts for about 80% of farm vehicle fatalities.
The video deals with design of farmyards including the segregation of pedestrians and the safe use of the large modern tractors.
It also focuses on ‘blind spots’ where a tractor driver’s vision is obstructed, meaning that they are unable to see people who are in close proximity to the vehicle.
The safety video, which can be viewed on the Teagasc website, highlights how the speed increases the risk of people being struck by a tractor.
Even at 10km/h a tractor travels 2.8m per second giving a bystander little time to avoid being struck.
Farm safety video
“This video and the practical demonstrations, which will be provided at training courses and events, clearly highlight the risks associated with farm vehicle movement, particularly in confined farmyards,” Minister Heydon said.
“Farm safety is about understanding the risks and taking practical steps to minimise the risk of injury.
“I urge every farmer to take a look at their yards, to identify blind spots, and before any task is undertaken with heavy machinery consider if the necessary safety precautions have been taken,” he added.
The new safety video follows PhD research carried out by Aswathi Surendran at the school of psychology, University of Galway, in association with Teagasc.
The study, funded by DAFM, focused on developing and testing behaviourial interventions for farm machine safety.
“Though farmers understand that blind spots exist and that tractors take time to stop, they often did not realise how much they couldn’t see and how far a tractor can move after braking,” Surendran said.
The project team ran workshops with farmers to help them to teach their family members and employees about blind spots and tractor speed.
Surendran said that farmers who took part described the programme as a valuable and enjoyable learning experience.