The best way to reduce the risk of death from tractor rollovers is by using a special device called a rollover protective structure with a seatbelt.
A tractor chugging across a peaceful country field may look harmless but is, in fact, the main cause of occupation-related deaths among farmworkers. Most of these deaths occur when the tractor tips or rolls over, ejecting or crushing its occupant. In ongoing efforts to protect at-risk farmworkers, particularly youth, investigators at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently undertook a demonstration project on how to retrofit an older model tractor with an engineering control called the cost-effective rollover protective structure, or CROPS, a type of rollover protective structure developed by NIOSH engineers. Working with two state partners, the demonstration project successfully retrofitted 50 tractors with a CROPS. These efforts, along with participants’ attitudes toward rollover protective structures, are described in a recent report in the Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health. The demonstration project was part of a longstanding program of NIOSH partnerships with manufacturers, farmers, and state agencies to address challenges in retrofitting older tractors with rollover protective structures and encourage their use.