When changing the culture within agriculture presents a challenge to the HSE who want to keep children safe
What happened?
A 4 year old boy was riding on the cab footplate of a JCB driven by his uncle when he fell and was fatally crushed beneath the vehicle’s wheels.
The boy lived on the farm with his mother and grandmother. His mum had grown up on the farm, as had his uncle, and riding on agricultural vehicles and being involved in farming activities became part of the lifestyle and culture. The HSE inspector said: ‘The risks involved aren’t necessarily seen when it’s something that you do as common practice,’
The boy was standing on the footplate of the JCB, so there was an additional risk. The law requires that no children under the age of 13 should be on any agricultural vehicle.
The mother of the boy said: ‘The dangers to children on farms are often not appreciated when you live with them, but they should be at the forefront of all our minds every single day. I hope the effects of (our son’s) accident will change the attitude of people living on farms and make them think twice about the dangers their children are exposed to and how easily accidents can be avoided.’
Legal Outcome
The uncle pleaded guilty to breaching section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. He was given a 26-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months, a community order that included 250 hours of unpaid work, and ordered to pay costs of £5,154.
What can we learn from what happened?
The HSE are very keen to highlight the risks to children in agriculture, but they face a challenge:
‘Unfortunately the status of the safety culture in agriculture ranges from no buy-in at all to fully supportive of the health and safety requirements. Tragically it tends to be those who have been directly affected by accidents that are most likely to follow health and safety requirements, and while the number of fatalities in agriculture is higher than any other industry, they are sadly outnumbered by those whose attitude is that the farm is a safe environment for children,’
‘Following the death of the boy, there were many loud voices arguing on social media forums that a farm cannot be compared to a construction site or other workplaces, their justification being that children live on farms. In addition, anyone who supports the view that children must be kept safe and should not be permitted into work areas are met with very personal attacks.’
Agriculture, while not totally unique, definitely has a reputation for not being responsive to change or external influences, and sadly, until this mindset across the industry changes, there will be more tragic fatalities.
Another case study posted in this library this month detailed the case of a man being prosecuted for allowing his grandson to ride with him in his tractor cab. No-one was hurt, but the law prohibits this behaviour. This tragic case is the reason for why the law is there.
Source of Information
IOSH Magazine