St. JEAN, Man. – Tractor rollover deaths continue to be the main cause of farm fatalities, says Neil Enns, chair for Manitoba Farmers with Disabilities.
His association underlines this fact by taking to various farm shows a display that recreates a typical farm tractor accident.
Despite the fact that many new tractors have rollover protection system, or ROPS, some new machines still come equipped with only the rollover bar and a seat belt.
Enns said there are still thousands of tractors in daily use that were built before ROPS went into effect.
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Enns said farmers often use tractors to cut hay along road allowances and on slopes too steep for cropping.
Enns said people think these accidents only occur in the northern Prairies where they hay the hills.
“But the statistics show that we have just as many tractor deaths in the southern part of the Prairies as we have up in the hilly country. That’s because of cutting hay on road allowances without wearing the seat belt.”
“The other kind of accident that happens on perfectly hard flat ground is when the operator is carrying bales with the loader, and he keeps the weight up high. With those bales up in the air, the slightest bump can throw the tractor around and cause a rollover.”
