Social and Individual Influences on ATV and UTV Operating Practices of Young Adult Agricultural Workers

Over 50% of the young adult agricultural workers surveyed reported never wearing a helmet, seatbelt, or hearing protection when operating an ATV or UTV. Young adult agricultural workers' mean ATV and UTV safety scores ranged from 1 to 4.44 on a scale of 1 to 5. Gender, supervisor influence, and risk-taking behaviors significantly influenced young agricultural workers ATV and UTV safety scores.

ATV and UTV crashes are a leading cause of agricultural-related injury and death in the United States. Young adult agricultural workers (under the age of 25) contribute substantially to the agricultural workforce and often utilize ATVs and UTVs in their work. However, it is unknown if they have adopted recommended safe operating behaviors that could reduce the potential for injury or death. As such, we evaluated young adult agricultural workers' reported ATV and UTV operating practices and safety influences. Agricultural students from four Midwestern colleges and universities responded to an online survey about ATV and UTV operating behaviors, social influences (supervisor, peer, and parental risk-taking behaviors), and individual risk-taking orientation and tendencies. An ATV/UTV safety score was calculated from participants' responses, and linear regression methods were used to examine associations between scores and other aspects of risk-taking. Out of 193 respondents, a large proportion of participants reported never wearing hearing protection (68.6%), a seatbelt (59.2%), or a helmet (58.1%) while operating an ATV or UTV. The analysis identified gender (p < 0.001), global risk-taking (p = 0.001), risk-taking orientation at work (p = 0.012), and supervisor influence (p = 0.015) as significant factors influencing young adult agricultural workers' safety scores. The findings suggest that gender, individual risk-taking tendencies, and supervisor influence play crucial roles in safety behavior, indicating that risk management initiatives for young adult agricultural workers should not only focus on individual behavior change but also consider the broader social and workplace influences on safety.