Farmers are being urged to take one minute to ensure they know the five checks tractor drivers should focus on before and during the “busy season”.

The five checks are underlined by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) in a video as part of its ongoing focus on farm machinery safety, launched last month with an “intensive” inspection campaign.

The video advises: “At the start of every season and regularly during it farmers should carry out the following checks on their tractor.”

The five checks are outlined in a one-minute video released by the HSA on social media over the weekend, with the powerful caption: “Spend one minute to watch this video that can save your life.”

In addition, the HSA has underlined the danger of “crush zones” when using farm machinery.

The authority warned farmers to make sure that they are aware of and stay out of crush zones when using machinery.

Last month, the HSA launched an “intensive” inspection campaign, focusing on tractors and farm machinery, starting from Tuesday, April 23.

In announcing the inspections, the HSA said that, over the last 10 years, just over half of fatal farm injuries involved vehicles and machinery.

The HSA also highlights that, in recent years, the number of fatalities in incidents involving vehicles has risen sharply, particularly where quad bikes are involved; there were four deaths involving this type of vehicle in 2017 alone.