Affiliations: Department of Work Science, Business Economics and
Environmental Psychology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden | Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Note: [] Corresponding author: Stefan Pinzke, Department of Work Science,
Business Economics and Environmental Psychology, Swedish University of
Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 88 SE-230 53 Alnarp, Sweden. E-mail: stefan.pinzke@slu.se
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Agriculture consistently ranks as one of the
highest risk industries in North America and Europe. In addition to vehicle
injuries and other injuries that occur on farms, farm vehicle drivers are also
involved in collisions involving tractors and other slow-moving vehicles (SMVs)
on public roads. These collisions often lead to injuries among farmers, family
members, farm workers, and other road users. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a demographic analysis of road traffic incidents involving tractors in Sweden
during the time period 1992–2009, with special consideration of how incidents
vary with driver age. METHODS: Statistics from 2,305 police reports
describing tractor-related road traffic incidents in Sweden in 1992–2009 were
analysed with respect to driver age, type of incident, severity of injury, type
of road user and other circumstances at the accident site. RESULTS: Tractors of all kinds were involved in 128 road traffic incidents annually,
with 7 people killed, 44 seriously injured and 143 suffering minor injuries
each year. The annual number of fatalities represented 1.2% of all Swedish
road fatalities. Most road traffic incidents with farm tractors involved people
aged 25–55 years (mean 45 years). However, most farm tractor drivers killed or
injured belonged to younger or older age groups. Drivers aged 12–16 years were
over-represented in tractor incidents with no other vehicle involved. Older
tractor drivers (> 55 years) were more often involved in incidents with
passenger vehicles on entering traffic flows. The youngest tractor drivers aged
12–16 years were more often involved in road traffic incidents during school
holidays, and both youngest and oldest drivers (>65 years) during harvest time. CONCLUSIONS: Sweden has an ageing fleet of tractors, so increased
attention to vehicle maintenance is needed to improve road safety. The
over-representation of young children in tractor incidents suggests that it is
questionable whether they should be allowed to operate farm vehicles. Farm
vehicle drivers suffering the inevitable effects of ageing need increase their
awareness of added risks. As road traffic incidents with tractors often involve
private vehicles, creating awareness among the public of slow-moving farm
vehicles is essential for improving overall road safety.
