A Safety Survey of Auctioned Farm Equipment

Abstract

Anecdotal evidence from New York farmers suggests that many of the unsafe implements on New York farms were purchased at auction in that condition. Surveys of midwestern dealer lots have also indicated safety defects on the used equipment. This survey of equipment at New York farm auctions was done to measure the extent of safety defects on equipment sold there. We performed surveys (based upon ASAE standards) of 233 tractors and 351 power take-off (PTO)-powered implements at 36 of 43 (84%) auctions advertised in New York over an eight-month period. High rates of defects were noted on both tractors and implements (97.4% and 85.5%, respectively). Although slow moving vehicle (SMV) signs were defective or absent on 60% to 80% of equipment and tractors, serious non-SMV mechanical hazards were present in 69.7% of implements and 91.8% of tractors. Tractors had absent rollover protection in 68.2% and absent master shields in 51.1% of the cases. Implements had absent spinner shields in 35.6% of the cases with broken or nonfunctional shields in over one fifth of machines with shields present. Other components of the driveline were inadequately shielded in over 20% of the implements. We conclude that the majority of the farm equipment sold in New York auctions has substantial mechanical defects which represent a direct threat to the safety of subsequent operators.