Farmworkers and agricultural workers are some of the most hardworking people in Ontario, and they often work in potentially hazardous conditions due to the nature of the agricultural industry. This includes working around and operating heavy machinery like tractors. Improper handling or care of these machines can have serious consequences, so it’s important to follow several tractor safety tips when working with these large vehicles.
In addition to following proper tractor safety tips, you should also ensure you have insurance. Tractor insurance will provide financial protection so that your tractor is protected in the event of an accident or damage.
By following proper tractor safety procedures, you can help decrease the chances of accidents happening and ensure the smooth operation of the machine on a day-to-day basis. Whether it’s following basic tractor safety tips such as wearing PPE and not speeding or performing maintenance and vehicle inspections regularly, you can ensure a safer farm environment for all who work there.
Working in the agriculture industry can be challenging, and even seasoned workers can be tempted to take shortcuts to get the job done quicker. However, farms or other agricultural operations are not places to skimp on safety, especially when working around heavy machinery. But by following these tractor safety tips, you can ensure everyone can go home safely at the end of a long workday.
Whether you are driving it for the first time, have driven one for decades, or are doing basic maintenance, one of the most basic tractor safety tips is to read the owner’s manual. This allows you to understand the different modes, features, and aspects of the tractor and allows you to correctly perform maintenance and operate it safely.
Proper maintenance is key to the smooth operation of any machinery, and if you don’t conduct tractor maintenance, you compromise on tractor safety. An ill-maintained tractor won’t work properly and may experience issues that may prevent its safe operation and increase the likelihood of tractor accidents.
For example, if you don’t clear out any build-up or crop debris around various components, they could ignite on hot surfaces on the tractors, causing serious tractor fires. Hydraulic leaks or damage to the hydraulic lines can result in decreased performance and, in extreme cases, cause fires. You’ll find that ignoring this tractor safety tip can result in serious property damage, severe injuries, or, in worse-case scenarios, fatal injuries.
In addition to regular maintenance, another routine tractor safety tip is to inspect the tractor thoroughly for potential hazards, including the park brake pedals and pads, front and rear wheels, and steering wheel, check fluid levels, ensure the proper safety guards are in place, and replace any worn or damaged parts. Tractors will experience a lot of wear and tear because of their heavy loads, and even if you were operating the tractor the day before, checking to ensure everything works properly before turning the power on will go a long way in ensuring tractor safety.
Another important tractor safety tip is to wear safety devices such as seatbelts. While no other motor vehicle may be nearby, seatbelt safety still applies when using farm equipment. Farms can experience hazardous situations, and wearing a safety belt and sitting properly in a tractor seat is an important safety precaution that can help protect you should you be involved in a tractor accident, encounter an unexpected bump, or come to a sudden stop.
Wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) is vital for any hazardous workplace, and wearing gear such as respirators, safety boots, goggles, ear plugs or muffs, hard hats, gloves, and fall arrest devices when operating heavy machinery can decrease the risk of injuries among farmers and farmworkers. Whether protecting your hearing from the tractor engine’s loud noise or making you more visible to others working, this tractor safety tip is suitable for those in, on, or outside the tractor.
How many seats are there in the tractor? That’s the maximum number of people who should be in it when it’s being operated. Anyone in the tractor while it is running should be seated properly inside the vehicle and wearing a seatbelt, even at slow speeds. While some tractor cabs can be roomy, have roll-over protective structures, and generally do not go very fast, in the event of an accident, any unsecured passenger can end up seriously injured in an emergency when ignoring this tractor safety tip.
An important tractor safety tip is to familiarize yourself with your surroundings and the terrain before driving the tractor through it. High up in your tractor, you may not spot any low-lying obstacles, and in an unfamiliar area, you can end up driving into trouble.
To ensure farm tractor safety, make sure you know your driving routes and any areas where you may be driving. Take note of any geographic features, such as bodies of water and uneven ground, and obstacles, such as overhead power lines, that you need to avoid while the tractor is in operation. Additionally, avoid driving in unsafe conditions such as snow storms or other severe weather conditions, as it can be easy to get disorientated and experience a dangerous situation.
Driving a tractor often means lugging or pulling a specialized attachment for different jobs. However, misusing these attachments can lead to operational issues and equipment damage, creating additional hazards for anyone working in or around the tractor. So, use the tractor’s attachment as intended and attach it properly to the drawbar or other mounting point to promote better tractor safety for yourself and anyone else involved.
Like any other type of motor vehicle, your tractor has a maximum weight towing and pulling limit. Anything over that limit can compromise tractor safety and damage to the vehicle. So an important tractor safety tip is to ensure that any tractor operators obey the weight or load limits to prevent the need for costly repair and unnecessary equipment downtime and decrease the risk of tractor accidents caused by compromised tractor safety.
While tractors may never rival race cars in terms of speed, modern tractors can still get pretty fast, with some tractor models boasting speeds of more than 50 km/hour. These speed capabilities necessitate this tractor safety tip – don’t drive at unsafe speeds.
While as a tractor operator, you may want to drive quicker to get work done quicker, driving at excessive speeds can impact your turning ability and increase your stopping distance, potentially causing tractor injuries or increasing the risk of rollovers on uneven terrain.
Tractors tend to have a high centre of gravity, so a common accident is a tractor tipping over. Making too tight of a turn or going up a steep slope can result in it tipping over onto its side or causing a tractor rollover, causing harm to anyone in or working around the tractor. To ensure proper tractor safety, take care when going around turns or when crossing slopes. Whether it’s reducing your speed or finding an alternate route, following this tractor safety tip can prevent incidents from tipping tractors.
Driving is an activity that requires focus, especially when driving heavy equipment. To follow this tractor safety tip, ensure you are alert and focused on the task at hand, and never operate farm machinery if you are tired or distracted. Remember, all it takes is a moment when you don’t pay attention for an accident. The consequences of not paying attention when driving a vehicle like a tractor can be very serious.
Having a parking brake can help prevent your vehicle from rolling down a hill when parked, and one of the last things you want is for a tractor to start moving when no one is in the cab. Having this safety feature is an important part of tractor safety because it not only ensures that the tractor is parked correctly, making it safe to dismount or climb up onto it, but it also provides peace of mind for those working around it that it won’t start moving accidentally or slip if on an icy surface.
If you follow these agricultural tractor safety tips, you are helping to contribute to a safer working environment, but following these tractor tips isn’t the only way to stay safe when working around heavy machinery on a farm. When in doubt, always exercise caution and common sense, check your farm equipment safety plan, and talk to your local Morison Insurance broker about how to ensure better farm safety. We’re your experts in farm insurance, and we want you to be able to work safely, no matter what your daily tasks are.
This content is written by our Morison Insurance team. All information posted is merely for educational and informational purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Should you decide to act upon any information in this article, you do so at your own risk. While the information on this website has been verified to the best of our abilities, we cannot guarantee that there are no mistakes or errors.
