Safety campaign aims to keep kids away from tractors; 7-year-old killed Sunday in accident

On Sunday a 7-year-old boy and his 56-year-old grandfather were killed in a tractor accident in Western New York when they were trying to pull a tree from the ground on the family farm and the chain tightened, causing the tractor to flip over and pin them to the ground, Marissa Perlman reports for WIVB 4 in Buffalo.

This is the type of incident that led the Childhood Agricultural Safety Network to begin a national campaign called “Keep Kids Away from Tractors" that asks people to keep children under 12 from being on or near tractors.

Every day 3.5 children are killed in the U.S. in an agriculture-related accident, with the leading cause of death being machinery and motor vehicles, which includes tractors and ATVs, says the Childhood Agricultural Safety Network. Another 38 children are injured every day from falls, animals, vehicles and machinery.

The number of incidents increase during planting and harvesting, says the Childhood Agricultural Safety Network. Cabs do not provide safety for children, and children also are a distraction to adults working a tractor. The North American Guidelines for Children’s Agricultural Tasks—guidelines designed to assist parents and others in assigning age-appropriate tasks for children ages 7 to 16 who live or work on farms and ranches—have increased the minimum age of tractor operator to 14 years. (Childhood Agricultural Safety Network graphic)