Deadliest rural N.Y. wrecks involve tractors, combines, etc.

In rural New York state, wrecks involving farm vehicles were five times more likely to be fatal than other collisions, and more severe overall in terms of injuries and number of vehicles, according to a newly published study by the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health.

The researchers studied motor vehicle crash data from 2010 to 2012 from the state Department of Motor Vehicles, and were able to pick out agriculture-related crashes by selecting for vehicle registration type and vehicle body type. Of the 203 ag-related crashes, which involved 381 vehicles and 482 people, 91.6 percent caused property damage and 36% caused injury, according to the report.

"Accidents involving tractors and other ag-related equipment on rural roads occurred most often on straightaways with a grade, according to the data analyzed. Erika Scott, the center’s deputy director, speculates that this is due to motorists attempting to pass slower-moving tractors or agricultural machinery," The Altamont Enterprise reports.

Rural roads are overall more dangerous than suburban or urban roadways: though less than 20% of the population lives in rural areas, more than half of all fatal road accidents happen in rural areas. Perhaps related: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data have shown that agriculture, forestry, and fishing as an occupational group has the third highest rate of work-related roadway crashes," the Enterprise reports.