31 August 2023
Incidents involving moving vehicles and farm machinery are a major cause of workplace deaths and life changing injuries in agriculture. Our expert team give their advice on how to keep safe when using machinery on farm.
Incidents involving moving vehicles and farm machinery are a major cause of workplace deaths and life changing injuries in agriculture. Moving vehicles account for approximately one third of the deaths each year in farming, while machinery related incidents account for around 1 in 10 fatalities each year. Every year hundreds of people are injured by farm vehicles and machinery.
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There are several UK laws that warrant consideration when thinking about safety on farm:
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires all employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of all their employees.
PUWER (The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations) 1998 apply to any equipment and machinery that you use at work. It states that equipment must be suitable for the task, properly maintained and guarded and that adequate training and information about the equipment is available for employees.
The LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations) 1998 also apply to any lifting equipment, for example, a telehandler. It states that equipment must be strong and stable enough for its proposed use, marked to indicate safe working loads, positioned, and installed to minimise any risks, used as part of a planned operation, and subjected to ongoing thorough examination at suitable intervals by a competent person. It is mandatory to have equipment used to lift people inspected by a competent person every six months.
The PACAR (Prevention of Accidents to Children in Agriculture Regulations 1998) makes it illegal to allow a child under 13 to ride on or drive agricultural self-propelled machines (such as tractors) and certain other farm machinery.
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Lift trucks are involved in a quarter of all workplace transport activities, but they can be dangerous if not used properly. Remembering to remove the keys from any machinery is one of the simplest ways that you can prevent death and serious injury to untrained and inexperienced people.
Experienced operators still face risks if they are don’t use lifting equipment properly. Grain buckets, pallets, or other makeshift equipment should never be used to lift people off the ground. Additionally, people are regularly injured and killed from using lifting equipment over its capacity, so it’s crucial to adhere to the safe working loads, which are marked on lifting equipment, and to make sure overload indicators work and aren’t ignored.
Falling objects also pose a risk to anyone near or operating lifting machinery. You can reduce the risks by making sure all loads that are carried are stable and secure. Good cab protection is essential for materials handlers and loaders as they are far more likely to be hit by any falling objects.
Using and maintaining lifting equipment – what does the law say?
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When hiring machinery or buying new equipment, check:
Trailer buying guide
New UKCA marking – what is it and how does it affect you?
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Before using a machine or vehicle, you should check it is suitable for the task, safe to use and has been set up correctly. Inspect equipment regularly for deterioration and keep records of all inspections. To remain safe:
PTO (power take-off) shafts must be guarded at all times. Guards should be made to a recognised standard (such as BS EN ISO 5674:2009), must be the correct size and length for the shaft, and not rotate.
PTO covers should fit snugly to the shaft, there should be very minimal movement of the cover around the shaft. If you need regular access to a guarded dangerous part of a machine, check that interlocking safeguards are in position and that the machine cannot run when a guard is open.
Many preventable incidents causing death and serious injury occur when drivers leave vehicles or machines without making sure it is fully secured and will not move. Follow the Safe Stop procedure every time you leave the driver’s seat/operating position and especially before maintenance is carried out:
“I lay in the field in shock. What was left of my arm was hanging on by a piece of skin.”
NFU member Kit Hopley, who lost his arm in a PTO shaft accident
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Any plant or equipment under pressure, such as slurry tankers, boilers, compressors and even tyres can burst open violently. Equipment with a rating greater than 250 bar litres requires a written scheme of examination and regular inspection under The Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000.
To remain safe:
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Tidy farm workshops create safer working environments for your employees. Consider how simple improvements to lighting, ventilation and heating could enhance the working environment.
Follow the Safe Stop procedure before attempting any maintenance work on a machine:
Transport and machinery safety – the importance of maintenance 
Lincolnshire farmer Mark Poucher shares his story on how, within a second, he found his hand trapped in machinery:
“To set the scene, it was a Friday evening at 7pm, I had the weekend off and was thinking about all the things 26-year-old me was going to be doing that weekend.
“In a split second, my weekend plans changed completely.
“My left hand was pulled into some moving machinery, resulting in a crush injury to my hand. I didn’t realise at the time, but the prognosis was a crushed carpel tunnel and a broken radius close to my wrist.”
Read Mark’s story in full on Farmers Guardian.
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Every year people die from being run over in farmyards. Many of these accidents involve older people and semi-retired farmers who fall and cannot move out of the way quickly enough and tragically children, who may not anticipate what a vehicle will do next.
With modern cabs, you may not be aware they are there until it is too late. Make sure everyone working on the farm stops operations if children appear and ensures they are relocated to a safe, secure area.
Ensure children are supervised at all times, and kept away from high risk areas such as machinery and livestock. No-one under 13 years old should be using agricultural machinery.
Accidents involving pedestrians can be avoided by creating separate routes for pedestrians and vehicles. This is particularly important for delivery drivers and sales reps that may not be familiar with your machinery movements.
Improve visibility on your farm by always using reversing cameras and request that all workers and visitors to the farm wear hi-vis clothing. Think about general site visibility and how you can improve safety with lights and signs. Visiting drivers should be made aware of things like where to park and if there are one-way systems in operation. Signs can help with this, as well as issuing clear delivery instructions when ordering products.
Incidents with quad bikes and ATVs are one of the leading causes of transport and machinery related fatalities within agriculture. Everyone riding a quad bike must wear a suitable helmet as they help prevent head injuries, which are the most common cause of death.
Under PUWER, anyone using a quad bike for work purposes needs to complete appropriate training.
Quad bikes – stay safe when using ATVs
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Specific legislation applies to vehicles travelling on public highways. However, as more farming transport accidents occur off-road than on, the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) applies the same standards and principles for off-road travel as the DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) and the police do for on-road travel. Points to consider:
Driving licence requirements for agricultural vehicles
Mud on the roads – what you need to know
Driving after 70 – what you need to know
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It is your legal responsibility to ensure that your employees are adequately trained and competent to use machinery. Lantra offers a wide range of training courses focused on efficient and safe operation of machinery and equipment.
Passengers should only ride in cabs if they can sit in a safe position on a seat which doesn’t interfere with the operation of the machine, and it is illegal to allow a child under 13 to ride on or drive any agricultural vehicle. To avoid overturns always turn uphill and if spreading things like fertiliser remember that as the load gets lighter there will be less grip on the rear wheels.
See: What’s the law on children driving agricultural machines?
Keep your mobile phone in reach at all times in case of emergency, but do not use it whilst driving.
Emergency SOS and voice activated features can be invaluable in contacting the emergency services quickly in dangerous and life-threatening situations, as well as automatically alerting pre-selected contacts.
Phone hacks that could save your life
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