Safety: Sharp rise in farm accidents
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Safety inspectors called for a change in culture on Britain's farms after a survey revealed that workers risk their lives by using defective machinery.
The Health and Safety Executive decided to launch a series of inspections after it emerged that accidents had claimed 63 lives on British farms in 1996, an increase of 40 per cent on the previous year.
Despite widespread publicity about the initiative, announced at the Royal Agricultural Show last summer, many farmers failed to revise their safety procedures, apparently gambling on the possibility that they would not receive a visit.
David Mattey, the HSE's chief agricultural Inspector, said yesterday that, in some regions of the country, enforcement action was taken by his officers on 58 per cent of the farms randomly visited.
Of the 4,621 inspections between July and October last year, 645 resulted in prohibition notices being issued, requiring immediate action - repairs to a dangerous piece of machinery, for instance.
Most fatal injuries on farms are caused by a combination of negligent behaviour and faulty equipment, such as failing to replace safety guards on tractors or standing by exposed moving parts while wearing loose clothes.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments