Analysis of serious and fatal occupational accidents associated with tractors in agriculture and forestry in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Agriculture and forestry have traditionally been one of the most hazardous occupations for workers. In both these sectors the tractor is one of the most used machinery. From a total of 89 detected serious and fatal accidents with tractors in the Czech Republic between the years 2009 and 2018 were 72 serious and 17 fatal. All the accidents affected men (no woman was affected). Men around 56 with low practice length were most at risk of injury. Categories created by the State Labour Inspection Office of the Czech Republic assign exactly one category to each injury. The most common cause of the accident was poor or insufficiently estimated risk (in 62 of 89 cases). Own accident categories were created, and more than one category of cause was assigned to one injury if found. The most common cause of the accident was an incorrect procedure and breach of rules. The analysis of accidents and related information revealed that out of 89 cases the injury became most often to a tractor operator (in 47 cases) and outside the cab (in 50 cases). Within the labour relations, 14% of the injuries were fatal and 86% were serious; outside of labour relations, 67% of the injuries were fatal and 13% were serious.