If you are an ASABE member or if your employer has arranged for access to the full-text, click the underlined title below to view.
Don't have access to the full text? Click here for options.
Roll-over Protective Structure Use and the Cost of Retrofitting Tractors in the United States, 1993
Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org
Citation: . Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health 1(3):185-197. @1995
Authors: J. R. Myers, K. A. Snyder
Keywords: Tractors, ROPS, Retrofitting, Cost effectiveness.
Agricultural tractors are the leading cause of occupational death in the agricultural
production industry in the United States, with tractor overturns being the single most
common event causing these deaths. Rollover Protective Structures (ROPS) are the
most effective intervention available at this time to prevent these deaths, but ROPS are
not used universally by U.S. farmers. An analysis of tractor information from 12,913
randomly sampled farms indicated that, in 1993, over 4.8 million tractors were in use
on U.S. farms, of which 2.98 million lacked ROPS. Farm tractors over 20 years of age
were much less likely to have ROPS. The material cost of retrofitting ROPS on the
tractors examined in the study was estimated at $937 per tractor, with a cost of
$825,000 per life saved. An additional 1.68 million tractors needing ROPS were not
covered in this cost analysis. Suggestions on possible programs to increase ROPS use
on farm tractors are discussed.
|