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Farm and tractor‐related fatalities in children in South Australia
Author(s) -
BYARD RW,
GILBERT J,
LIPSETT J,
JAMES R
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1754.1998.00177.x
Subject(s) - medicine , tractor , occupational safety and health , poison control , asphyxia , injury prevention , suicide prevention , human factors and ergonomics , environmental health , pediatrics , engineering , pathology , automotive engineering
Objective: To analyse the circumstances surrounding farm and tractor‐related childhood fatalities in South Australia, to identify potentially dangerous situations and to delineate prevention strategies. Methods: A retrospective search of files was conducted at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital Department of Histopathology from 1981 to 1996, and the State Coroner’s Office from 1988 to 1996. Results: Fifteen fatalities were identified comprising 11 boys and four girls (age range, 2 years 11 months to 13 years; average, 6 years). Activities prior to death included riding on a tractor/trailer ( n =8); playing near a field grain storage bin ( n =2); playing near machinery ( n =2); sleeping in a car near a burn off ( n =1); walking around a dam ( n =1) and riding as a passenger on a motorbike ( n =1). Causes of death included multiple skull fractures and cerebral damage ( n =11), asphyxia ( n =2), drowning ( n =1) and incineration ( n =1). Conclusions: The most dangerous activity involved children riding unrestrained on tractors; falls resulted in extensive injuries from tractor rear wheels or towed machinery. Allowing children on farms to ride on tractors or machinery only if there is a safe seat with a restraining harness would substantially reduce the number of fatal farm‐related childhood injuries in South Australia.