Trends in tractor related fatalities among adults working on farms in Victoria, Australia, 1985-2010

Tractors are associated with more fatalities than any other piece of machinery in agriculture, with tractor rollovers being a frequent mechanism. This study examines tractor fatalities between 1985 and 2010 in Victoria, Australia, and examines the impact of the 1998 legislation mandating the retrofitting of rollover protection structures (ROPS). The data source was the Victorian WorkCover Authority to whom unintentional work placed deaths are reportable. During the study period, 121 tractor fatalities occurred, of which 55 were rollovers. Poisson regression modelling indicated a significant decline in rollover fatalities during this period of approximately 7% per annum (incidence rate ratio [IRR]=0.93, 95% CI 0.90-0.97), however there was no simple relationship between the introduction of the legislation and the fatality decrease. It is proposed that the impact of previous voluntary retrofitting initiatives, coupled with the existing requirement for ROPS on new tractors, may have increased ROPS fitment to a critical point prior to the final requirement for retrofitting, diluting the effect over a number of years so that it could not be detected using the statistical techniques that have been applied. An increased trend in run over fatalities was also found (IRR=1.04, 95% CI 1.00-1.09) suggesting the need for research into interventions for this type of fatality, such as safe tractor access platforms.