Analysis of Farm Vehicle Crashes and Safety Belt Usage

Abstract

The objectives of the study were to collect data and review related Kentucky data to determine the following information: safety belt usage rate specifically for occupants of farm vehicles, the number of registered farm vehicles and their percentage of all registered vehicles, the number of crashes in which a farm vehicle was involved and their percentage of all crashes, and the number of injuries and fatalities for occupants of farm vehicles and their percentage of all injuries and fatalities. The following results were found: The observation survey found a usage rate for drivers and front seat occupants of farm vehicles of 69 percent; About 91 percent of the vehicles observed with a farm license plate were pickup trucks; In 2016, the statewide-observed safety belt usage rate was about 87 percent for all vehicles and 79 percent for pickups; The usage rate for occupants of farm vehicles (almost all pickups) was about 10 percent less than the usage rate found for all pickups in the statewide survey; Vehicle registration data show that about 4.3 percent of registered vehicles in Kentucky have a farm license plate; A review of the crash database found that about 1.3 percent of all vehicles involved in crashes in Kentucky had a farm license plate; The percentage of farm vehicles involved in crashes is less than the percentage of this type of vehicle of all registered vehicles - this difference may be related to less miles driven per year for farm vehicles compared to all vehicles; The number of fatalities involving an occupant of a farm vehicle represents about 1.8 percent of all fatalities - this percentage is about 1.0 percent for injuries; and The police codes show that only about 48 percent of the occupants sustaining a fatal injury in a farm vehicle were wearing a safety belt - this percentage is about 20 percent lower than the usage rate for farm vehicle occupants found in the survey and illustrates the benefit of safety belt use.