What is the effect of a tractor bumper on the safety of agricultural vehicles?

Answer

A so-called tractor bumper is a shielding device on the front of the tractor (see Figure 4). This bumper is mainly intended to limit the consequences of a collision with a car. Tractor bumpers are not mandatory, but are sometimes fitted on the initiative of the sector. Some customers, for example, demand that tractors and trailers are equipped with shielding facilities at the front, side and back.

The Dutch Safety Board [2] has found that the crash aggressiveness of agricultural vehicles plays a role in occurrence of the crash and/or the severity of the outcome. In addition to the relatively large mass this is due to the shape of an agricultural vehicle. This is – other than the shape of a truck – not tuned to a possible collision with other types of vehicles, cyclists or pedestrians. Shielding facilities are expected to have a positive safety effect, but this has not yet been evaluated.

Figure 4. Example of a tractor bumper (photo: SWOV).

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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