Tractors, Trees, and Rollover Protective Structures: A Cause for Concern

Injury and fatality events that are caused by tree work and tractor-related activities contribute to the already elevated rates of work-related injuries in the agriculture and logging sectors. This brief report highlights the circumstances surrounding these events, as well as a number of surveillance sources that identify the extent to which they contribute to the injury burden in these hazardous industries. These data sources include fatality investigations, agricultural injury news reports, consumer product injury data captured from emergency rooms and near-miss reporting data captured from individuals participating in the National Rollover Protective Structure Rebate Program (NRRP). Several recommendations for further research and interventional efforts are outlined, with particular consideration of the manner in which rollbars have been involved in falling object incidents.