Farm accidents are more common than people realize, and every day, almost 100 agricultural workers are injured. This number is a lot higher than most industries. Usually, these accidents happen while using equipment like tractors and plows. Operating these requires a high level of skill and training, and you need to make sure that you operate such equipment safely and correctly. You can prevent these incidents by ensuring proper maintenance and following safety measures during farm operations.
Causes of Farm Accidents and Injuries
Any industry that requires the use of heavy machinery has to deal with all the risks that are associated with it. Usually, farm accidents happen due to incorrect use of agricultural equipment or using defective or faulty machinery. For instance, if an operator is not careful and turns too fast or drives too close to an incline or ditch, he may cause the tractor to tip and roll over.
Faulty equipment also puts the life of the farmer in danger. If you fail to properly maintain and care for your equipment, it can result in equipment failure and cause injury to the operators and farmers. When you are on the job, you need to make sure that you follow the appropriate farm equipment safety rules and work with functional and reliable equipment.
Farm Equipment Safety Rules
If you want to reduce the risk of injury on your farm, you need to make sure that you are following farm equipment and tool safety rules. While working, you need to ensure that you protect yourself and keep your equipment and your operators out of harm’s way. This also helps improve productivity as you will not be spending your time repairing equipment or tending to your injured employees. Noncompliance of farm safety rules also results in hefty government fines that you must pay.
Follow the State and Federal Laws
You need to get familiar with the state and federal laws that are in place regarding farm equipment usage. These laws exist to ensure the safety of operators and reduce the risk of injury. Proper farm equipment usage will ensure that you do not get and it will also ensure the safety of your cat heavy equipment. You also need to make sure that you are aware of the standard regulations in place and keep up with any changes in federal or state laws.
Always Read and Comply with the Manual
You should go through the manual for every piece of equipment you have on the farm. It is possible that your new tractor functions in a different way than your old one. That is why you need to make sure that you comply with the instructions and rules provided in the user manual.
Road Safety
When you are working with farm equipment like tractors and plows, you need to make road safety a priority. Make sure that you properly mounted your slow-moving emblem (SMV) and that it is always clean and visible. It is critical that you do this as it can prevent rear-end collisions.