Farm Machinery and Equipment Safety Part II: Preventing Machinery Accidents During Operation1

It is important to be safety conscious when dealing with any job that requires the use of machinery. Statistics show that the majority of machinery-related accidents occur as the result of human negligence. Errors include: taking shortcuts to save time; failure to read the operator’s manual; ignoring a warning; improper or lack of instruction; failure to follow safety rules; and improper or lack of maintenance OPERATION OF FARM MACHINERY The operation of farm machinery is serious business, and should be treated as such. To avoid any type of machinery-related injury strict safety practices must be employed. Never operate machinery under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The operator not only put