Title: Illinois Agricultural Association record (microform)
Identifier: 5060538.1944-1949
Year: 1944- December 1949 January 1944- December 1949 (Jan0s)
Authors: Illinois Agricultural Association; Illinois Agricultural Association. Record
Subjects: Agriculture
Publisher: Mendota, Ill. : The Association
Contributing Library: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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TRACTOR IS WORST FARM HAZARD EVERYTHING is ready. You're rarin' to go. The plugs are clean. The timing gear is perfect. The motor purrs like a kitten. And in just a few more weeks your tractors will be crawling across the face of the land throughout the length and breadth of Illinois — plowing, planting, and cultivating the crops. You think you're ready. But you're not . . . not unless you have this little item of information in the back of your head — THE TRACTOR IS THE MOST DANGEROUS PIECE OF MACHINERY ON THE FARM. Stop and think of that for a moment. Of the 1566 men, women, and children reported killed or injured in Illinois farm accidents in 1948, 275 of the ac- cidents were caused by tractors — or should we say the driver of the tractor. "What," you might ask, "is the great- est hazard when driving a tractor.'" Statistics compiled by the lAA depart- ment of safety and public health show that the greatest menace to life and limb is the danger from overturning. Great care, therefore, must be taken when driv- ing on uneven ground. Next greatest danger is that of falling oflF. Many of the falling-off accidents resulted when children were allowed to ride on the tractor. Safety organizations, including the lAA safety department, have repeatedly warned of the dangers involved in allow- ing children to ride tractors, whether moving or standing, yet last year 45 Illinois farm children under the age of 15 were killed or injured in tractor ac- cidents. Tractor accidents last year ranged from a youth being badly injured when a wind- mill fell on him after he backed into it, to the drowning of another youth whose tractor rolled off the side of a bridge, fell into a creek, and pinned him under the water. In 1948, 94 Illinois farm people were killed or injured by overturning tractors; 55 when they fell off; 17 by cranking; six in refueling; and 99 by miscellaneous tractor mishaps. Of the 275 accidents, 58 resulted in death or permanent dis- ability. Looking at the whole Illinois farm accident picture we see that half of the deaths and injuries are caused by machin- * * * ery. The corn picker is a dose runnerup to the tractor. It injured 200 persons last year. Most of the com picker ac- cidents involved the mangling of fingers or hands. Among other farm accidents, livestock caused 183 deaths or injuries; falls, 121; haying, 81; falling objects, 43; hand tools, 41; gunfire, 32; explosions, 23; burns, 21; and miscellaneous, 403. It is interesting to note that cows on Illinois farms cause more accidents than bulls. There are far fewer bulls, of course. Cows last year caused 34 ac- cidents whereas bulls caused 29. As far as the danger from tractor op- eration is concerned, in just a few more weeks we will be in the middle of the most hazardous period of farming. May is usually the most dangerous month. Last year's Illinois farm tractor accident toll by months is fairly typical — May, 40 accidents; June, 35; July, 30; August 31; September, 27; and Oc tober, 31. You can save a life — and it proba- bly will be your own — if you treat your tractor with respect. Tractors have caused thousands of accidents, any one of which could happen to you. 8 I. A. A. RECORD

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