How many casualties are there annually in crashes involving agricultural vehicles?

Answer

During the last ten years (2006-2015), the annual average in the Netherlands has been 11 registered road deaths in crashes involving agricultural vehicles. This number fluctuates considerably (see Table 1). Compared to the early 1990s, the average number of road deaths in crashes with an agricultural vehicle has increased from 1% to 2% of the total number of road deaths. An exploratory analysis of 45 police registration forms of fatal crashes in the period 2005-2009 in which, according to the registration form, an ‘agricultural vehicle' was involved, shows that in about 80% of the cases the agricultural vehicles were tractors and in 20% of cases they were motor vehicles with limited speed, especially self-propelled machinery such as shovels, excavators and sweepers.

Table 1. Development of the number of registered road deaths and serious road injuries (MAIS 2+)[i] as a result of crashes involving agricultural vehicles between 2000 and 2015. Sources: Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment (IenM); SWOV (based on LMR - DHD and BRON - IenM). ['-' means that the number is unknown]

The number of serious road injuries in crashes involving agricultural vehicles is not known for recent years. Since 2009, when there were 46 serious road injuries, their number could no longer be reliably determined (see also SWOV Fact sheet Serous road injuries in the Netherlands). For the period 1987-2015, Jaarsma [5] gives a comprehensive overview of the registered road crashes involving casualties (deaths, hospitalized serious road injuries and slightly injured; source: Rijkswaterstaat-DID), with special emphasis on developments in the last seven years. It should however be noted that after 2009 the registration rate of hospitalized injuries has become so low that SWOV is of the opinion that reliable statements can no longer be made about these casualties. The registration rate of the slightly injured has always been too low for reliable observations [6].


[i] The Maximum Abbreviated Injury Score (MAIS) is an international standard for injury severity. The injury severity of a serious road injury is MAIS 2 or higher.

Part of fact sheet

Agricultural traffic

In the past ten years (2006-2015) an average of 11 road deaths per year in the Netherlands was registered in crashes involving agricultural… Meer

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