Original article
Social and Individual Influences on Tractor Operating Practices of Young Adult Agricultural Workers

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.11.300Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

Tractor-related incidents are the leading cause of agricultural-related fatalities in the United States. Injuries from rollovers can be prevented by equipping tractors with rollover protective structures (ROPS, an engineering approach) and by using seatbelts (a behavior-based approach). While adult farmers report low seatbelt use and frequent use of tractors without ROPS, it is unknown whether the young adult population has adopted similar tractor driving practices. This study was designed to identify tractor operating practices among young adult agricultural workers and the influence of supervisors, peers, and parents on their safety behaviors.

Methods

An online survey was conducted among college students enrolled in agricultural science classes in four Midwestern colleges and universities. Participants answered questions about their tractor operating practices, the influence of supervisors, peers, parents, and individual risk taking tendencies on their workplace practices. A tractor operation safety score was estimated from participants' responses. Linear regression was used to examine the association of these influences and the tractor operation safety score.

Results

Of the 193 respondents, most (78.8%) reported that they never or rarely wear a seatbelt when operating a tractor with a ROPS. Supervisory influences, such as being negatively evaluated by a supervisor, were found to be more strongly associated with tractor operating behaviors than peer or parent influence.

Conclusions

Young adult agricultural workers frequently reported unsafe tractor operating behaviors. Supervisors were found to have the most influence over reported behaviors of young adult agricultural workers.

Section snippets

Participants

Young adult agricultural workers were recruited from among students enrolled in agricultural science courses at four postsecondary institutions in the Midwest. These institutions included four-year and two-year degree programs and were selected based on the agricultural science courses they offer emphasizing agricultural production, their high student enrollment in the agricultural programs, and their placement of graduates in production agricultural settings. To participate in the study,

Demographics

Of the 242 students who completed the online survey, 80% (n = 193) indicated they routinely drove tractors and responded to the 12 tractor operating activity items. Of the 193 in this analysis, 80% were male, 97% reported being a full-time student, and 99% were white. Age groups and institution types were equally represented. Sixty-four percent indicated they were primarily employed on their family farm, 34% indicated they were primarily employed on a nonfamily or nonrelatives farm, and 2%

Discussion

Similar to the demographic characteristics of the Midwest where the farming population is over 95% white, the study population was 99% white and majority male, consistent with agricultural workers and farmers in the Midwest (United States Department of Agriculture, 2014) [18].

Consistent with previous findings of adult farmers, results from this study indicate a majority of young adult agricultural workers do not wear the seatbelt when operating a tractor that has a ROPS, do not wear hearing

Funding Sources

This project was funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health by the Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health (NIOSH U54 OH007548). In addition, tuition and stipend support was provided from the Heartland Center for Occupational Safety and Health (42OH008491) from the Centers for Disease Control/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

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  • Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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