There are many types of farms in California, and many of them employ the use of tractors in various ways. Due to the large agricultural industry in the state, tractor safety should be high on employers’ lists of priorities for the men and women who work there. Failure to have standards in place can lead to preventable and devastating workplace accidents involving tractors.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released a guide for farm workers and employers to help people who work with and near tractors safely. According to OSHA, there are about 130 fatal tractor accidents every year. One of the most significant ways employers can protect their workers is to add a cage frame or roll bar on every tractor they use.
In order to improve safety on farms, California farm workers should not allow passengers to ride with them, and they should always use safety restraints when operating this type of heavy machinery. By reducing speeds when working on a slope and being slow and careful around turns, it can improve the rate of tractor-involved accidents. Brake maintenance and the addition of parking locks can help as well.
When there is an accident on any type of job site, the injured worker has the right to seek financial support through a workers’ compensation claim. Workplace accidents can result in serious physical damage and financial loss, but a worker does not have to deal with it alone. Farm workers and those who use tractors have the right to a reasonable expectation of safety, and employers can help with this by implementing certain safety standards.