Some 14% of workers and 10% of bystanders killed in work-related road traffic accidents during a four-year period were farmers, a study by UCD has revealed.
Five farming-specific road fatalities were highlighted in the research by Professor in Occupational Safety and Health at UCD Anne Drummond. She examined coroner information for 193 work-related road traffic fatalities from 2008 to 2011. Of the 19 worker fatalities in road accidents, truck drivers accounted for the highest proportion at eight deaths (27.6% of the total), while skilled tradespeople and farmers accounted for four deaths each (13.8% each).
Animals on road
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Two of the fatal accidents related to farmers with animals on the road and three involved tractors on the road. In all cases, the farming activity contributed to the collision. In one case, a person was killed when a tractor was temporarily parked in a dangerous position which the driver could not have anticipated coming around a corner and collided with the parked vehicle.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Prof Drummond said the farmer-related fatalities “could be considered a notable percentage when you consider that farmers don’t spend that much of their time on the road. However, as for any other worker that uses the road as part of their job, farmers’ work activity can pose a risk to other road users as well as farmers being at risk of road-related injury and fatality themselves.”
The figures do not include fatal farm accidents involving tractors or machinery that happen in farmyards or on private land.
Those fatalities are recorded by the Health and Safety Authority, which reports that 54 people were killed in accidents involving tractors and farm vehicle between 2007 and 2016.
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Some 14% of workers and 10% of bystanders killed in work-related road traffic accidents during a four-year period were farmers, a study by UCD has revealed.
Five farming-specific road fatalities were highlighted in the research by Professor in Occupational Safety and Health at UCD Anne Drummond. She examined coroner information for 193 work-related road traffic fatalities from 2008 to 2011. Of the 19 worker fatalities in road accidents, truck drivers accounted for the highest proportion at eight deaths (27.6% of the total), while skilled tradespeople and farmers accounted for four deaths each (13.8% each).
Animals on road
Two of the fatal accidents related to farmers with animals on the road and three involved tractors on the road. In all cases, the farming activity contributed to the collision. In one case, a person was killed when a tractor was temporarily parked in a dangerous position which the driver could not have anticipated coming around a corner and collided with the parked vehicle.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Prof Drummond said the farmer-related fatalities “could be considered a notable percentage when you consider that farmers don’t spend that much of their time on the road. However, as for any other worker that uses the road as part of their job, farmers’ work activity can pose a risk to other road users as well as farmers being at risk of road-related injury and fatality themselves.”
The figures do not include fatal farm accidents involving tractors or machinery that happen in farmyards or on private land.
Those fatalities are recorded by the Health and Safety Authority, which reports that 54 people were killed in accidents involving tractors and farm vehicle between 2007 and 2016.
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