TRACTOR IS WORST FARM HAZARD 



EVERYTHING is ready. You're 

 rarin' to go. The plugs are clean. 

 The timing gear is perfect. The 

 motor purrs like a kitten. 



And in just a few more weeks 

 your tractors will be crawling across the 

 face of the land throughout the length 

 and breadth of Illinois — plowing, 

 planting, and cultivating the crops. 



You think you're ready. But you're 

 not . . . not unless you have this little 

 item of information in the back of your 

 head — THE TRACTOR IS THE 

 MOST DANGEROUS PIECE OF 

 MACHINERY ON THE FARM. 



Stop and think of that for a moment. 

 Of the 1566 men, women, and children 

 reported killed or injured in Illinois 

 farm accidents in 1948, 275 of the ac- 

 cidents were caused by tractors — or 

 should we say the driver of the tractor. 



"What," you might ask, "is the great- 

 est hazard when driving a tractor.'" 

 Statistics compiled by the lAA depart- 

 ment of safety and public health show 

 that the greatest menace to life and limb 

 is the danger from overturning. Great 

 care, therefore, must be taken when driv- 

 ing on uneven ground. Next greatest 

 danger is that of falling oflF. Many of 

 the falling-off accidents resulted when 



children were allowed to ride on the 

 tractor. 



Safety organizations, including the 

 lAA safety department, have repeatedly 

 warned of the dangers involved in allow- 

 ing children to ride tractors, whether 

 moving or standing, yet last year 45 

 Illinois farm children under the age of 

 15 were killed or injured in tractor ac- 

 cidents. 



Tractor accidents last year ranged from 

 a youth being badly injured when a wind- 

 mill fell on him after he backed into it, 

 to the drowning of another youth whose 

 tractor rolled off the side of a bridge, 

 fell into a creek, and pinned him under 

 the water. 



In 1948, 94 Illinois farm people were 

 killed or injured by overturning tractors; 

 55 when they fell off; 17 by cranking; 

 six in refueling; and 99 by miscellaneous 

 tractor mishaps. Of the 275 accidents, 

 58 resulted in death or permanent dis- 

 ability. 



Looking at the whole Illinois farm 

 accident picture we see that half of the 

 deaths and injuries are caused by machin- 



* * * 



ery. The corn picker is a dose runnerup 

 to the tractor. It injured 200 persons 

 last year. Most of the com picker ac- 

 cidents involved the mangling of fingers 

 or hands. 



Among other farm accidents, livestock 

 caused 183 deaths or injuries; falls, 121 ; 

 haying, 81; falling objects, 43; hand 

 tools, 41; gunfire, 32; explosions, 23; 

 burns, 21; and miscellaneous, 403. 



It is interesting to note that cows on 

 Illinois farms cause more accidents than 

 bulls. There are far fewer bulls, of 

 course. Cows last year caused 34 ac- 

 cidents whereas bulls caused 29. 



As far as the danger from tractor op- 

 eration is concerned, in just a few more 

 weeks we will be in the middle of the 

 most hazardous period of farming. 



May is usually the most dangerous 

 month. Last year's Illinois farm tractor 

 accident toll by months is fairly typical 

 — May, 40 accidents; June, 35; July, 30; 

 August 31; September, 27; and Oc 

 tober, 31. 



You can save a life — and it proba- 

 bly will be your own — if you treat your 

 tractor with respect. Tractors have 

 caused thousands of accidents, any one 

 of which could happen to you. 



8 



I. A. A. RECORD 



