The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has been able to reduce the number of tractor fatalities (the leading cause of death in the agricultural industry) from 127 in 1994 to 62 in 2007 through education programs as well as its “Rebates for Rollbars†program. Farmers who have rollbar modifications placed on their tractors can recover 70% of the cost of that equipment. There is also a tollfree hotline to explain the “Rebates for Rollbars.â€Â Insurance companies are funding the rebates for these aftermarket rollbars.Â
Rollbars were required on tractors beginning in 1985, but about one-half of the tractors still in use were manufactured prior to 1985. The interesting legal question is whether the companies have warned the owners of these tractors and whether they have offered a similar fix. Perhaps it is a matter of getting the word out? Perhaps it is a matter of no records to show owners? Perhaps, but it remains very much a product liability issue. And is the aftermarket rollbar a modification that changes the design of the tractor and results in a break in the product liability chain? All interesting questions, but the bottom line for tractor manufacturers is, “Get the tractors in and fix them.â€