WORKSAFE has called for more focus on tractor safety, after a man was run over by one on a Pearcedale vegetable farm on Sunday.
The tractor was moving slowly when the 49-year-old farmer stepped off to check seed dispensers, and slipped on the step and was run over by the tractor which weighed nearly three tonnes.
Paramedics were called to the property just before midday, after the man managed to call Triple-zero himself.
While the tractor’s back wheel went over him, the man appears to have escaped serious injuries because the ground was relatively soft and he was pushed into it.
Intensive care paramedic, Andrew Johnson, said the man was hurt however when the tractor wheel rolled over his upper body and head.
“The man suffered significant bruising and swelling to the side of his head, and while he didn’t have any other obvious injuries, there was the potential for chest and abdominal injuries,” he said.
Mr Johnson said given the tractor had gone over the man, they were concerned that his condition could quickly deteriorate, so they closely monitored him as he was taken to The Alfred hospital in a stable condition.
It was the second serious incident involving a tractor in Victoria in a matter of days, with a man being trapped under a rolled tractor south of Ballarat for 18 hours before he was rescued last Wednesday morning.
WorkSafe’s manufacturing logistics and agriculture director Ross Pilkington said these incidents were stark illustrations of how simple safety measures could make a difference.
“It is only good luck that both these men did not suffer more serious injuries or were killed,” he said.
“Unless tractors are properly equipped, maintained and great care is taken with them, they can be dangerous and potentially deadly.
Mr Pilkington said while machinery like tractors helped get work done more quickly, the risks associated with more power or speed had to be controlled.Information on farm safety and other areas of workplace safety can be found at www.worksafe.vic.gov.au.
“When something goes wrong there’s little opportunity to stop it,” he said.
“That’s why people must be trained and competent to use the equipment, understand the risks and control them.
“Even then, having a phone with you or letting someone know where you are working, and when you’re due home can result in help getting to you if something goes wrong.
“There is nothing wrong with ringing someone a couple of times a day and before work to say where you’ll be, so that people can at least know where to start the search.”
“Tractors are found on probably every farm in the state, as well as many hobby farms and small holdings which are not workplaces.
