The likelihood that a farmer will be killed while working is eight times higher than the probability of an average American worker suffering the same fate.
With that in mind, a South Central Pennsylvania newspaper endorses farmers' use of rollover protection kits for their tractors. The Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Pennsylvania State University has made available a rollover protection system (ROPS) for farmers' safety.
"Pennsylvania farmers are among those most at risk for these rollover accidents yet many don't have rollover protection on their older tractors because of the cost of the equipment or the hassle of ordering and installing it," Aaron Yoder, ROPS coordinator for PSU, told The Waynesboro Record Herald. "We are taking those barriers away to improve safety for our farmers and their families."
Between 2000 and 2008 in Pennsylvania, which is one of the U.S.' top five states for tractor rollover deaths, 58 deaths occurred.
PSU hosts one of four nationwide Retrofit Programs, which supply farmers with a roll bar and a seat belt while reimbursing 70 percent of costs. Farmers can save as much as $765 for the life-saving measure and the program also helps them decide which safety measure is applicable to their tractor.
Newspaper recommends safety measure for farmers atop tractors
A Southern Pennsylvania newspaper recommends farmers act on safety measures to prevent tractor rollovers.