Farm accidents: Low IQ levels or wrong choices

[ruffdog]

Laziness is also a consideration. Someone that doesn't follow the correct lockout procedure or check to see if the power is off, may become a statistic.

 

[Cat385B]

Complete and utter morons are more accident prone, but I fail to see how that applies to farming.

 

[Root Cause]

I have no idea why you think I.Q. is a primary factor. What I have found here on this forum is that most farmers and ranchers are very intelligent and experienced in many things. They rely on their own abilities and intellect to overcome all sorts of problems that they encounter on a daily basis.

First, accidents do not happen due to one factor. (See Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers regarding airplane crashes) Many look for the one thing that caused an accident when in reality, it was a combination of things. Fatigue, distractions, poor maintenance, poor communication, etc. There are typically several things that combined, create an accident.

In what I have seen in industry, tribal knowledge and peer pressure play a role in whether or not accidents happen as well. I have seen companies roll out new safety requirements that always result in resistance. Most accidents are avoidable but only when people follow the rules. This isn't an issue of a high or low I.Q. It may be that they were in too big of a hurry or they have done something so many times, that the safety rules do not apply to them and others follow their lead. (I worked in a factory of 600 where accidents happened on average 1 time/week. This dropped to 1 time/year with a large push to develop and use any and all safety practices and devices with a zero-tolerance for ignoring the rules).

With all that said, the answer to your question has many answers. Farm equipment is dangerous, many people work alone, and bad habits transfer from one generation to the next. People get tired because they work hard and equipment fails.

And capitalism is far from perfect but it's been better than anything else man has tried so far.

 

[pjbci]

Dont feed the trolls.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I have no idea why you think I.Q. is a primary factor. What I have found here on this forum is that most farmers and ranchers are very intelligent and experienced in many things. They rely on their own abilities and intellect to overcome all sorts of problems that they encounter on a daily basis.

First, accidents do not happen due to one factor. (See Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers regarding airplane crashes) Many look for the one thing that caused an accident when in reality, it was a combination of things. Fatigue, distractions, poor maintenance, poor communication, etc. There are typically several things that combined, create an accident.

In what I have seen in industry, tribal knowledge and peer pressure play a role in whether or not accidents happen as well. I have seen companies roll out new safety requirements that always result in resistance. Most accidents are avoidable but only when people follow the rules. This isn't an issue of a high or low I.Q. It may be that they were in too big of a hurry or they have done something so many times, that the safety rules do not apply to them and others follow their lead. (I worked in a factory of 600 where accidents happened on average 1 time/week. This dropped to 1 time/year with a large push to develop and use any and all safety practices and devices with a zero-tolerance for ignoring the rules).

With all that said, the answer to your question has many answers. Farm equipment is dangerous, many people work alone, and bad habits transfer from one generation to the next. People get tired because they work hard and equipment fails.

And capitalism is far from perfect but it's been better than anything else man has tried so far.

The 20 hour days are a big part of it. That, and farms are not factories with fixed equipment. That ammonia fitting can blow out unexpectedly. Rapidly rotating machines sometimes fly apart. Tractors have a ROPS for a reason, but they only improve your chances, not prevent injury or death. Ambulance service is a long way away. Lack of EMS is the primary reason rural people die younger than urban people.

 

[/pine]

Some accidents are not preventable...others are not..
Accidents happen in nature without any human influence...

But as the old adage goes..."an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"...

 

[bcp]

If low IQ was a common thing in rural life, city people would starve.

Bruce

 

[ning]

I've found that low IQ is often indicated by starting useless threads.

 

[Chagit]

It is an indicator of one's reasoning abilities. This shows their success in remembering and associating the information they have to reach a logical conclusion.

I have no idea why you think I.Q. is a primary factor.

 

[bunyip]

It is an indicator of one's reasoning abilities. This shows their success in remembering and associating the information they have to reach a logical conclusion.

Maybe, but applying said information can be optional