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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2001-03-14, Page 20414 11W701\11•1111P It; calreMill 111111 , NATIONAL FARM SAFETY WEEK® Blyth Fire Department Forty percent of runover injuries in children under 16 years old are a result of a child falling from moving farm equipment and then being run over. 9-1-1 L imdi HURONCTO el TRAR Farm & Lawn Equipment SALES, PARTS and SERVICE _Blyth 523-4244 1-800-265-9002 Exeter 235-1115 "We're very big on service" JOHN DEERE ELLIOTT INSUIRANCIE BROKERS ILINEITIED GENERAL LIFE Rick Elliott R. John Elliott 519-523-9725 519.523-4323 Established 1910 _ BLYTH, ONTARIO NOM 1H0 Fax 523-9189 523-4481 1 McKILLOP MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY 1876 - 2001 • FARM • URBAN • AUTO • COMMERCIAL Svioing you fon 125 -Ceara. 91 Main St. S., Seaforth 527-0400 1-800-463-9204 Fax: 527-2777 SNELL FEED & SUPPLIES LTD. Serving North Huron... • Grain Elevator Services • Farm Supplies & Hardware • Livestock Feeds Westfield 523-9501 FARM SAFETY ASSOCIATION PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY-, MARCH 14, 2001. wl Farm Safety Means Farm Safely USE ROLL OVER PROTECTIVE STRUCTURES AND WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT! A Farm In Not a Playground - Make A Safe Play Area For Children Every year, children are the victims of accidental death and injuries on Canadian farms. As indicated by studies done by the Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance Program, a significant cause of these deaths and injuries is children (less than 15 years of age) being runover by tractors and other farm equipment. The facts speak for themselves: FACT: Among injuries to children, 67% of fatalities and 62% of hospitalizations involved agricultural machinery. FACT: Among young farm children, runovers by farm machinery accounted for 44% of fatalities. FACT: Among children killed on Canadian farms, 69% were children of the farm owner/operator and an additional 13% were other relatives of the owner/operator. A relatively small percentage was visitors to the farm. Very young.children are at the greatest risk of any age group of runover injuries. The most typical circumstance is of a young child being unnoticed in the farmyard and being run over by a tractor or a farm wagon. Tragically, the driver responsible is often the child's parent. The message is clear - children must be kept safely away from farm equipment One of the greatest safety precautions that can be done for farm children is to provide a fenced, safe-play area for children near the house. And, ensure that child-care providers are familiar with the hazards on the farm, all the safety rules, and are competent to keep close supervision of the children. Unlike most other homes, farm children live and play in an industrial workplace. This makes it even more important for parents and child-care providers to be directly involved in the farm safety education of their children. National Farm Safety Week Tractor Activities Have Greatest Risk Of Runovers As might be expected, the tractor is the agricultural implement involved in 80% of runover injuries. Each year in Canada, fifteen people are killed and another 80 are hospitalized as a result of being run over by a tractor. These injuries also tend to occur most frequently in the warm weather months when tractors are in greatest use. Agricultural work activities that are most commonly associated with tractor runover injuries include: • 60% are runovers of co-workers or bystanders, with small children being particularly at risk; • the remaining 40% are: • falls from the tractor by extra riders who are then run over; • runovers of tractor operators who leave the tractor running while they are off the tractor; and, • runovers of tractor operators who are jump-starting the tractor Tractor operators are frequently injured when they dismount the tractor but leave the tractor running while they move an obstruction or clean the power take-off (PTO). The vibrations of the idling tractor slips the transmission onto gear, and the operator is runover. Another common cause of operator injury is the practice of "jump-starting" a tractor. Here, the operator starts the tractor by bypassing the wiring in the ingnition box. This is often located at the side of the tractor just in front of the large rear wheels. A tractor left in gear, once started, will quickly move forward over the operator. Here are a few things that can be done to help prevent runovers on your farm: • Equipment operators, as well as workers in the area, need to be aware of each other's whereabouts. • Equipment operators and co-workers should use industry standard hand signals to communicate from a safe distance. • Workers and children should wear reflective or bright coloured clothing to help be more easily seen by equipment operators. • Tractor operators should routinely turn-off the ignition before dismounting equipment. • Don't "jump-start" your tractor. Get the ignition fixed immediately. Farm wagons are the second most common implement involved in agricultural injuries. On average, eight people are killed or hospitalized each year in Canada after being run over by a farm wagon. And sadly, just over half of these will likely be children. Again, small children tend to be run over while playing in the farmyard, while older children are more likely to be riding on the wagon and will be run over after falling off. CELL PHONE SAFETY Nearly half of runovers occur in the farm field. This can result in significant delays in injuries being identified and treated, as the victim is likely out of the sight of others or where help is least available. And once recognized, it may be difficult to access emergency medical care in a remote field setting with standard ambulance equipment and vehicles. This could lead to further delays in treatment, increasing the severity of the health consequences of the injuries. Considering the amount of work that farmers do in isolation, a cell phone can be a valuable safety tool - as long as using it doesn't cause an accident! March 14 to 21, 2001 "National Farm Safety Week is all about getting farmers and their families to think about how they can protect themselves from what is often needless injury on their farms." Stephen Thompson Income Tax Service . H • Vi . • 1 ,FEDERATION Or . West Wawanosh (69 Mutual Insurance Company Serving Huron, Bruce County & surrounding area for over a century Specializing in Farm, Residential, Auto and Commercial Insurance Contact us at 1-800-265-5595 for your area representative IA WHITE t Aoca ) Radford's Farm Equipment Ltd. Londesboro 523-4519 fax 523-4980 Safety Tip - Always shut off • Farm, Business & Personal • E-File available Over 19 years experience - quality work - reasonable rates R.R. #2 Clinton 482-7551 machinery AG • ULTUIS ....x.im.111 A. Clinton 482-9642 1-800-511-1135 Fax: 482-1416 E-mail: huron@ofa.on.ca 5 tune "Illonliinig fon fixvuniva Think "SAFETY" before doing repairs, servicing equipment or fueling up. HURON COUNTY FARM SAFETY ASSOC. P.A. Roy Insurance Brokers Inc. • FARM • AUTO Compare • BUSINESS ,and Save y • HOME • LIFE WINGHAM 357-2851 CLINTON 482-9357 1-800-361-1072 www.paro y.on.c a 8 Huron Street Clinton Farm Financial IBC Services The Bank for all your business and personal financial needs Chair • William Martin, Bluewater Council Rep. R.R. #1 Bayfield, ON NOM 1G0 519.565-5018 (home) e-mail: bbmartin@tcc.on.ca Treasurer - Jim Love, R.R. #1, Zurich, ON NOM 210 519-236-4033 (home) 519-236-4732 (fax) Vice Chair • Tom Duizer, Central Huron Rep. P.O. Box 212, Londesboro, ON NOM 2110 519-523-4359 (home) 519-523-9823 (fax) e-mail: duizer@bmts.com Secretary - Marilyn Miltenburg, Secretary Ashfield-Colbome-Wawanosh Rep. R.R. #7, Lucknow, ON NOG 2H0 519-529-3444 (home) 519-529-7909 (fax) e-mall: marilynmehurontelon.ca Safe Farming is Smart Farming Tim Halliday • Brussels • 887-6521 So far this year there have been 4 fatalities recorded. ..e.S.W.1111•111