Safety visits raise awareness, but reveal farmers still taking risks

HSE Press Release: E014:05 - 26 January 2005

A recent farm vehicle safety campaign by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspectors in North Devon and West Somerset has revealed an improvement in awareness of the need for safety training on farms, less than a year after a quad bike safety campaign in the area (North Devon) highlighted serious problems.

A team of 16 Inspectors conducted spot-checks on 72 farms over a two-day period in December. On the whole the reaction from the farming community was positive. The majority of farmers recognised the importance of driver competence and of regular vehicle maintenance, coupled with safe working practices. Many were already aware of the continued high level of fatal accidents in agriculture.

However, despite the positive findings Inspectors issued 57 Enforcement Notices in total. Fourteen Improvement Notices were issued in relation to quad bikes, six requiring quad bike training and eight requiring the use of a helmet when riding the quad.

Of most concern to Inspectors was the poor condition of other farm vehicles, which included missing mirrors and poor brakes. This resulted in the issue of 29 Improvement Notices and four Prohibition Notices covering the maintenance of other farm vehicles such as tractors, telehandlers and related machinery. Ten Prohibition Notices were also issued on unsuitably guarded power take off shafts.

Inspector Helena Tinton, who organised the campaign, said: “Fatal accidents on farms remain at a high level and around one third of these involve transport. There are many ways in which farmers and their employees can address these issues and take some simple and inexpensive steps to help prevent these tragic incidents occurring. For example, they can improve driver competence via additional training and monitoring of practice and also by conducting regular vehicle checks and maintenance.

“We were encouraged to find that there was improved general awareness amongst farmers during our visits of the need to receive formal training for driving quad bikes, compared to our findings during the February inspections. We hope that the campaign has reminded farmers of their responsibilities for health and safety in relation to both themselves and employees.”

Transport related accidents remain the biggest cause of fatalities on UK farms and this type of inspection activity aims to raise awareness of the main issues that are known to contribute to fatal and major injury accidents. But the bottom line is that farmers and workers are best placed to take action and prevent accidents to themselves.

Notes to editors

1. The previous campaign took place between 10 – 12 February 2004 in North and West Devon and Torridge. HSE Inspectors spot-checked 87 farms in these areas and found that many of those visited were using quad bikes without proper safety equipment or training. A team of nine Inspectors visited farms, paying particular attention to helmets, training and maintenance. In all 25 Improvement Notices were served. One Prohibition Notice was also issued, where there was an immediate risk of serious injury.

2. In the year 2003/4 there were 30 fatal agricultural accidents in Great Britain, of which ten involved farm vehicles. Three of these occurred in the South West region. Further information, including statistics of fatalities, is available on the agriculture section of the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/

3. Guidance

HSE Information:
1. Agriculture Information Sheet 33: Safe use of all terrain vehicles (ATVs) in agriculture and forestry http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ais33.pdf
2. Agriculture Information Sheet: 37: Operator seat restraints for mobile work equipment in agriculture and forestry http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ais37.htm
3. INDG185 (rev3): Using tractors safely: A step-by-step guide http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg185.htm

HSE publications are available from HSE Books http://books.hse.gov.uk

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