09:05 am, Tuesday 2 March, 2010

WorkSafe is inquiring into the death of a man whose tractor he was driving tipped over on Sunday.

The man, who is in his 20s, was moving beehives at Bruarong, south of Yackandandah.

The director of WorkSafe’s Manufacturing, Logistics and Agriculture division, Ross Pilkington, said the incident serves as a cautionary tale to tractor operators and their employers.

“Tractors are the single greatest contributor to workplace deaths in regional Victoria accounting for five lives in 2009.

“With two deaths already in 2010, it is essential that tractor safety is a high priority. They are large and powerful and when something goes wrong, exceptionally dangerous.”

An area of concern for people in regional areas is that they usually work on their own or in isolated sites, where it is difficult to alert someone if an accident occurs.

“All together, this creates a highly-dangerous working environment which requires high leveltractor of care by employers and workers.

“WorkSafe’s call is for people, whether or not you’ve used tractors for decades or done a job a thousand times, to review the way you use them, ensure they have rollover protection are properly maintained and, where possible, seatbelts are fitted and used.”

Report by Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know