Use
these questions and notes when the participants have completed
the Mr. Good Egg activity. The questions, notes, and illustrations
provide additional information related to the activity.
The instructor can also have handy and use many other graphs,
tables, materials, and activities developed by the CPHF
ROPS project and the TRAC-SAFE project. Having additional
resources available is an effective way to provide information
to participants at teachable moments "teachable" moments
when they raise questions.
More
follow-up activities than can be used in one session are
included here. If an instructor has an opportunity to conduct
a series of sessions with a group of participants, a program
of activities can be developed around the Mr. Good Egg activity
or other CPHF KY ROPS Project and TRAC-SAFE materials and
activities. It is more effective to conduct a series of
related shorter activities and presentations with a group
of participants over several meetings than it is to try
to cram too much into one longer session. It is also very
important to allow time for the participants to interact,
talk to one another, and collaborate as the activities are
completed.
Are
real farmers hurt and killed in overturns of real tractors?
- Are
ROPS and seat belts on real tractors really that helpful?
A ROPS and seat belt can't keep a person from tipping
a tractor over, but they do protect a person from being
hurt or killed. ROPS and seat belts used together are
99% effective in preventing injuries and fatalities during
tractor overturns. Why do you thinks this is? What does
it mean to say that a ROPS and a fastened seat belt is
99% effective? (It means that out of every 100 people
who overturn a ROPS-equipped tractor, and who are wearing
the seat belt, that only one of these persons is hurt.)
- How
many Kentucky farmers are protected by ROPS and seat belts?
This is a good time to show the three overhead transparencies
titled, "100 Kentucky Mr . Good Egg Farmers on their Tractors.
"These drawings show 100 farmers. Only six of these 100
farmers are fully protected by a ROPS and seat belt. Another
24 farmers are partially protected by a ROPS, but don't
wear the seat belt. The bad news is that 70 other farmers
are completely unprotected by either a ROPS or a seat
belt.
This information came from a study of Kentucky farmers
and farms in two Central Kentucky counties. A more recent
study of 1,648 Kentucky farms in four different counties
suggests that these same percentages are about right.
The more recent four county study found that 721 farmers
had tractors with ROPS, but about 75% of these farmers
said they never wore the seat belt. (See the figure below)
The same four county study also asked 1,448 farmers how
much protection they thought a ROPS and fastened seat
belt provided during a tractor overturn. Nearly 54% said
that a ROPS and seat belt provide great protection and
keep the operator from being hurt. But about 10% said
that the ROPS and seat belt provided no protection. (See
the graph on the next page.) Now that you have seen the
Mr. Good Egg farmer demonstration how would you answer
this question? Why?
- How
can you tell which tractors and which tasks are the most
likely to result in a tractor overturn, and which tractors
are in most need of ROPS protection?
You
can use the TRAC-SAFE "Tractor Risk Identification Factors"
survey form One form can be completed for each tractor
on your farm That way you can decide which tractors you
want to retrofit with a ROPS first, although it is always
a good idea to have ROPS and seat belts on all tractors.
(Then the instructor can demonstrate how to use the TRIF
sheet.)
- Doesn't
it cost too much to get a ROPS on a tractor? Most farmers
don't have enough money to buy a ROPS.
Most tractors manufactured after 1970 can be fitted with
a ROPS for about $600 to $800. This sounds like a lot
of money, but just think of the economic and health risks
a farmer takes by not having a ROPS on a tractor. A recent
study at the University of Kentucky estimated that a serious
injury from a tractor overturn could cost $140,000 in
medical bills alone, plus lost production and other non-medical
costs. In one third of the cases when a farm has this
type of expensive injury (or a fatality) from a tractor
overturn, the family farm is lost. Look at the graph on
the next page that shows the cost of a ROPS compared to
the medical costs that can result from a serious overturn
injury. Doesn't it make sense to view a ROPS and seat
belt as a good investment in saving lives, money and a
way of life for the farmer?
Figure 1: Dollar cost of a ROPS compared to the cost
of a serious overturn injury
- Won't
a ROPS be a problem because it won't allow the tractor to
fit into barns and sheds?
This can sometimes be a problem but is usually not. Fold-down
ROPS are available for many tractors. These allow the
ROPS to be folded down below the level of the tractor
hood so the machine can be placed in a building with low
clearance. Many farmers also have the misconception that
a ROPS is larger than its actual size and that a tractor
with a ROPS won't fit into their barn. But this is usually
not the case. This can be shown by measuring the size
of the barn doors and the size of the tractor and ROPS.
(This is a good place to demonstrate and distribute the
TRAC-SAFE activity concerned with making and comparing
the actual measurement of barn doorways and tractor dimensions
with and without ROPS.)
- How
can I go about getting a ROPS?
This is a good point to handout and discuss the "How to
Get a ROPS and Seat " flyer developed by the KY CPHF ROPS
project. The flyer outlines the seven things to know and
do to get a ROPS, and gives the names and phone numbers
of local equipment dealers who have ROPS for various makes
of tractors. It also provides reasons why ROPS are a good
idea, as well as information about low interest loans
for the purchase of ROPS.
- What
are some other reasons for getting ROPS and seat belts?
This is a good place to use some of the KY CPHF Public
Service Announcements (PSAs) and skits with the group.
Select PSAs and skits that are relevant to the group and
the questions that have arisen in the discussion. Then
ask groups of three or four people to read the PSAs and
skits. For example- the Jim and Lisa Barnes serial six
PSAs can be read orally by six different participants
in 30 seconds each for a total time of three minutes of
class time. Participants like these PSAs and stories and
are usually willing to read and discuss these.
- Can
a farmer make a ROPS for his or her tractor and save time
and money?
A single bolt from a set of I2 used to install a ROPS
can costs $26! The steel in the ROPS structure and in
its bolts is made specially for this purpose. The steel
is extra strong and without flaws, but not too brittle
so that it is somewhat flexible. Commercially manufactured
ROPS are constructed to strict specifications and tested
for strength and durability It would cost the farmer far
more to construct a homemade ROPS from the proper materials
then it would to purchase a ready-made ROPS from the dealer.
A farmer cannot easily obtain the expensive materials
needed to construct a sound homemade ROPS that is properly
engineered. It would also take many hours for the farmer
to construct the ROPS, require good precision metal cutting,
drilling, and welding equipment, as well as considerable
skill in using this equipment.
- How
many Kentucky farmers overturn a tractor in their lifetimes?
A
large University of Kentucky study of more than 2,000
farmers from 60 Kentucky countries found that one out
of every nine farmers age 55 or older had overturned a
tractor once in their lifetimes and survived Some of these
farmers where not injured, some received minor injuries,
others severe injuries, and some suffered permanent disabilities.
During this same period of 50 years or so it is estimated
that over I,000 farmers also died in tractor overturns.
if ROPS and seat belts had been available and worn, nearly
all of these farmers would have been injured or killed
in overturns. (ROPS and seat belts on tractors did not
become widely available until about 1990.)
- Do
you have a story you would like to share about a tractor
overturn close call or injury event.?
This
would be a good time to use the "MY Experiences with Tractor
Overturns" and the "My Story" activities developed by
the CPHF KY ROPS Project. Note that you might want to
conduct a second and follow-up session using this activity
with the participants.
- What
is the moral of the Mr. Good Egg farmer activity?
Ask
four participants to volunteer to read the following short
passages to the whole group or to each other in their
small groups. Then ask the participants to discuss and
evaluate the material and the moral of the Mr. Good Egg
farmer activity.
