Faculty of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics, School of Social Sciences, University of Iceland, IS-102 Reykjavík, Iceland.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Sep 28;21(10):1295. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21101295.
Children on farms face high risks of work- and non-work-related fatalities, with tractors being a significant contributor. This study examines children's involvement in fatal tractor-related accidents within agriculture in Iceland from 1918 to 2024, explores adult reflections on childhood tractor-driving experiences, and analyses Members of Parliament's arguments against setting a minimum age for off-road tractor driving. The data are based on parliamentary debates on tractor-related legislation, fatal tractor-related accidents documented in newspaper archives and supplementary sources, and narrative interviews with former summer children who stayed at farms during their childhoods. Over half of the 81 registered accidents involved children-primarily boys-with 75% occurring between 1958 and 1988, when no minimum age for off-road tractor driving existed. The fatality incidence rate for children was more than four times higher than for adults. Arguments against minimum age requirements for off-road driving included the need for child labour, children's superior driving skills, and the denial that children were more often victims than adults. Since 1988, no child has died while driving a tractor. A human-centred approach focusing on the working conditions, driver capacity, and adherence to safety procedures and legal frameworks is needed to prevent future accidents.
儿童在农场面临着与工作和非工作相关的致命事故的高风险，拖拉机是一个重要的因素。本研究考察了 1918 年至 2024 年期间冰岛农业中儿童卷入与拖拉机相关的致命事故的情况，探讨了成年人对童年时期拖拉机驾驶经历的反思，并分析了议会议员反对为非道路拖拉机驾驶设定最低年龄的论点。数据基于议会关于拖拉机相关立法的辩论、报纸档案和补充来源记录的与拖拉机相关的致命事故，以及对曾在童年时期在农场度过的夏日儿童的叙述性访谈。在登记的 81 起事故中，超过一半涉及儿童——主要是男孩——其中 75%发生在 1958 年至 1988 年之间，当时没有为非道路拖拉机驾驶设定最低年龄。儿童的死亡率是成年人的四倍多。反对为非道路驾驶设定最低年龄要求的论点包括对童工的需求、儿童更高的驾驶技能，以及否认儿童比成年人更容易成为受害者。自 1988 年以来，没有儿童在驾驶拖拉机时死亡。需要采取以人为中心的方法，重点关注工作条件、驾驶员能力以及遵守安全程序和法律框架，以防止未来发生事故。
