Safety:
Agriculture in the United States is one of the most hazardous industries, only surpassed by mining and construction. No other farm machine is so identified with the hazards of production agriculture as the tractor. Tractor-related injuries account for approximately 32% of the fatalities and 6% of the non-fatal injuries in agriculture. Over 50% is attributed to tractor overturns.
The roll over protection structure (ROPS) and seat belt, when worn, are the two most important safety devices to protect operators from death during tractor overturns.
Modern tractors have rollover protection systems (ROPS) to prevent an operator from being crushed if the tractor overturns. It is important to remember that the ROPS does not prevent tractor overturns. Rather, it prevents the operator from being crushed during an overturn. This is especially important in open-air tractors, where the ROPS is a steel beam that extends above the operator’s seat. For tractors with operator cabs, the ROPS is part of the frame of the cab. A ROPS with enclosed cab further reduces the likelihood of serious injury because the operator is protected by the sides and windows of the cab.
ROPS were first required by legislation in Sweden in 1959. Before ROPS were required, some farmers died when their tractors rolled on top of them. Row-crop tractors, before ROPS, were particularly dangerous because of their ‘tricycle’ design with the two front wheels spaced close together and angled inward toward the ground. Some farmers were killed by rollovers while operating tractors along steep slopes. Others have been killed while attempting to tow or pull an excessive load from above axle height, or when cold weather caused the tires to freeze to the ground, in both cases causing the tractor to pivot around the rear axle.
For the ROPS to work as designed, the operator must stay within the protective frame of the ROPS. This means the operator must wear the seat belt. Not wearing the seat belt may defeat the primary purpose of the ROPS.
Many early row-crop tractors had a tricycle design with two closely spaced front tires, and some even had a single front tire. This made it dangerous to operate on the side of a steep hill, and, as a result, many farmers died from tractor rollovers. Also, early row-crop tractors had no rollover protection system (ROPS), meaning that if the tractor flipped back the operator could be crushed. Sweden was the first country which passed legislation requiring ROPS, in 1959.
Over 50% of tractor related injuries and deaths are attributed to tractor rollover.
Roll-Over Protective Structures (ROPS):
A roll-over protective structure (ROPS) is a frame designed to protect a tractor operator if the tractor rolls. ROPS acts by limiting most rolls to 90-degrees. In the case of a full roll-over, ROPS protects the operator from being crushed by the tractor. On tractors with loaders, the ROPS is often equipped with an overhead structure to prevent dropped object from hitting the operator, this is known as a falling-object protective structure (FOPS).
Sweden has required ROPS on new tractors since 1959. In the United States, ROPS became standard equipment in 1985. ROPS are available on nearly all tractors sold today and ROPS kits are available for most older tractor models. In the United States, OSHA standard 1928 requires that employers provide ROPS on tractors with more than 20 horsepower (net engine power).
Over 54,000 farm-related injuries in the United States during 2005 with over 700 deaths (US BLS). Farm machinery is the leading cause of farm-related accidents, and tractor roll-overs are a leading cause of machinery accidents. ROPS and a seatbelt could have prevented over 99% of roll-over fatalties.
A common complaint with ROPS is the need for lower tractor heights to operate in vineyards and buildings. Many manufacturers offer a folding ROPS option that allows the upper portion to be lowered. This method requires the operator to raise and lowers the ROPS. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has tested an AutoROPS system in which a roll-over sensor automatically deploys a lowered ROPS.
.
