KEY POINTS:
The Wellington coroner has called for a review of tractor rollcage laws after a Porirua man died when his tractor rolled on him while he was mowing his lifestyle block.
Alan John Dempster, a 56-year-old company director, died from traumatic asphyxia after rolling his tractor while mowing grass on a steep hill in November last year.
Wellington coroner Garry Evans recommended the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Transport Safety review safety guidelines around driving tractors.
"The court is concerned in this case with a death that might have been prevented had there been roll-over protection. Further protection is likely to have been afforded by the fitting of a seatbelt system.
"Reference is made in these findings to the deaths of six other persons in similar circumstances. Each of those deaths might have also been prevented by the fitting of the type of protection referred to," he said.
Currently, people are not required to have seatbelts or rollcages on their tractors when using them on their own land.
An inspection by a vehicle tester found no mechanical defects that might have contributed to the crash.
Mr Dempster's tractor had had a rollcage at some time in the past, though this had been cut off at seat-level, the inquest found.
A police report at the time of the death said the tractor had lost traction while Mr Dempster was mowing a steep embankment.
He had raised the mower, in an apparent attempt to get more traction, but this probably moved the tractor's centre of gravity and it rolled over landing on him.
A member of Mr Dempster's family wrote to the coroner after what he termed "Alan's completely avoidable death".
"In the past, before the advent of lifestyle farming blocks, it might have been a reasonable assumption on the part of the tractor vendor that anyone purchasing a tractor was worldly-wise in terms of understanding the capabilities of the machine ... Now it's different.
"Lifestyle block owners are mostly white-collar workers who potter around on their blocks at the weekend. They are often naive about machinery, whether it be chainsaws, tractors or whatever," he wrote.
- NZPA
