3-Wheeled Agricultural Sprayer
Rolls Down Ravine

During the spring of 1999, a 26-year-old operator of a three-wheeled agricultural boom sprayer was killed when the sprayer drove through a barbed wire fence and careened down a steep ravine, rolling over at the bottom. The victim had just finished spraying a small 5-7 acre field with bean herbicide and was folding in the hydraulically-controlled spraying booms when the machine apparently moved forward too far and rolled through a barbed wire fence. There were no apparent skid marks from braking. The ravine on the other side of the fence was quite steep and the sprayer crashed on its side and top in the gully. The cab was not designed as a Roll Over Protective Structure (ROPS), nor were seat belts installed in this machine. Therefore the operator was thrown through the front window and fatally crushed as the cab crumbled under the weight of the sprayer. The machine was 20 years old and appeared to be in good working order. We requested a test to determine whether the brakes were in working order, however this test was never conducted before the machine was salvaged. The victim was an experienced sprayer operator. The injury occurred about 5:30 p.m. towards the end of the workday and fatigue may be a contributing factor. The operator was found dead at the scene.

RECOMMENDATIONS

#1 Self-propelled agricultural boom sprayers should be equipped with Roll Over Protective Structures (ROPS) and seatbelts.

-- Agricultural sprayers are used in the same environment as farm tractors, and operators are exposed to the same overturn risk as tractor operators.
-- ROPS and a seatbelt would likely have prevented this fatality.

#2 Agricultural chemical applicator training should include specific instructions regarding spraying irregularly-shaped fields.

--The last peice of ground to be sprayed in this field was at the star (see diagram).
-- If the operator makes two passes around the field before spraying back and forth, there would be more room at the edge of the field for turning and stopping.

#3 Owners and operators of agricultural equipment must ensure that the machines are in good mechanical condition and that safe operating procedures are followed.

--It is unclear whether the operator had stopped completely for folding the booms.
--The gearshift appeared to be in neutral and the parking brake was not engaged.
--A safe procedure would be to come to a complete stop before folding the booms and use the parking brake when on sloping ground.