Farmers Urged to Equip Tractors with Rollover Protection

Date:  Oct. 13, 1997
Editor: D'Lyn Ford  (505) 646-6528, dlford@nmsu.edu

LAS CRUCES -- Last year, more than 300 people were killed in tractor rollovers in the United States. Many of those lives could have been saved had tractors been equipped with rollover protection structures, said a farm safety specialist at New Mexico State University.

"Research trials have shown that rollover protection structures have as great as a 90 percent chance of saving someone's life when the seat belt is fastened along with the rollover protection structures," said Craig Runyan with NMSU's Cooperative Extension Service. "A person is more likely to walk away from an accident than they are without rollover protection."

Chances of a rollover accident seem unlikely when driving on flat ground, he said. However, a large number of turnovers result from minor obstacles such as holes, berms and curbs. Other tractor-rollover accidents involve trailer loading/unloading and front-end loader mishaps.

"Major tractor manufacturers adopted rollover protection structures and seat belts as standard equipment in 1985, but about three million tractors in use today still are not equipped with rollover protection," Runyan said.

Several tractor manufacturers have teamed up in a national effort to get more farmers to install rollover protection structures, he said. As part of the program, AGCO, Case, John Deere, Kubota and New Holland are offering rollover protection structure kits to farmers at the dealer's cost.

"Monetarily, there's nothing in it for us," said Mike Giffin, manager of John Deere Zia Implement in Mesquite. "We feel an obligation to our customers. If we are able to save one life, it will be well worth it."

Farmers can give their tractor's model and serial number to the dealer, and the proper rollover protection kits will be ordered, he said.

Rollover protection structures are available with different options, Runyan said. Some units have canopies that offer sun protection, high-mounted lights and four-post mounting. For more information about rollover protection, contact Runyan at (505) 646-1131 or a local tractor dealer participating in the program.