Coroner calls for banning of older tractors following deaths of farmer and his father in separate accidents
A coroner has recommended the banning of tractors made before 1982, after a man was killed by the same tractor that also killed his father decades earlier.
Tasmania
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A coroner has recommended the banning of tractors made before 1982, after a man was killed by the same tractor that also killed his father decades earlier.
Ian John Barwick, 67, died in June 2020 after he was accidentally run over by his tractor on his Chudleigh farm.
In her findings, Coroner Olivia McTaggart said Mr Barwick had been working on his family’s farm since he was 14 years old – turning down a chance to play professional football interstate.
Ms McTaggart said the same David Brown 780 tractor had rolled onto Mr Barwick’s father in 1977 and caused his death - with the beef cattle farmer subsequently installing rollover protection.
Ms McTaggart said both Mr Barwick and his wife were aware the tractor had mechanical issues but continued to use it several times per year.
On the afternoon of June 9, 2020, Mr Barwick set out on the tractor to feed the cattle.
When he didn’t return home, Mrs Barwick and their son set out to find him – locating him deceased on state reserve land near their property with the back left wheel of the tractor on top of his torso.
A crash investigator found Mr Barwick had left the tractor running in neutral without using the handbrake, because the location appeared flat – but in fact had a slight gradient.
He said it seemed Mr Barwick had tripped or fallen into the path of the tractor, which had started moving forward.
A transport safety and investigations officer later found the tractor was not safe for operational use for a number of reasons, but particularly because it had a non-operational handbrake.
He also said if a safe tractor access platform (STAP) had been fitted, Mr Barwick likely would have survived as he could have remained on the step instead of the ground, and not have fallen between the tyres.
Ms McTaggart found Mr Barwick either applied the handbrake before he alighted from the tractor but it failed, or he didn’t apply it at all knowing it was ineffective.
The coroner noted there had been 131 tractor deaths across Australia in the past 10 years, with the vast majority of victims men over the age of 61.
She also said Mr Barwick’s death was the fifth tractor death in Tasmania since 2017.
Noting that tractors made after 1982 had higher safety standards, Ms McTaggart recommended tractors made before 1982 be legally banned from use in commercial farming.
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Originally published as Coroner calls for banning of older tractors following deaths of farmer and his father in separate accidents
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