Coroner calls for lap-belts in tractors

In February last year, George Lewis Williams, died when he was thrown from his tractor as he navigated the tractor. Photo / NZME.

A coroner is calling for greater awareness about the importance of farmers using lap-belts in tractors, after two incidents where men died after being thrown from tractors.

Coroner Richard McElrea has released his findings in to the deaths of Stewart Bath and George Lewis Williams, who both died after their tractors crashed on farms.

Mr Bath, 59, died in an accident on his Roxburgh farm in Central Otago on November 22, 2012.

He was driving a tractor with a trailer attached down steep terrain when the tractor rolled.
Mr Bath was thrown from the tractor and died from his injuries at the scene.

Then on February 18 last year, George Lewis Williams, 62, died when he was thrown from his tractor as he navigated the tractor and a trailer down a steep hill.

The tractor vaulted over a small gully and Mr Williams was ejected from his seat and killed.

Coroner McElrea said in both instances, the men were not wearing the lap-belts fitted in their tractors.

He said if Mr Williams had been wearing the lap-belt he may have been better able to control the tractor as it came down the steep bank.

Coroner McElrea recommended WorkSafe New Zealand highlight the importance of wearing a lap-belt while operating a tractor to the relevant sectors.