Prevention of agricultural road risk

Why this prevention campaign?

Although accidents involving tractors represent a small proportion of road incidents, their consequences are often more serious. Between 2012 and 2023, in mainland France, 2,606 accidents involving at least one agricultural tractor caused 524 deaths, giving a rate of 20 deaths for every 100 accidents involving personal injury, a figure higher than that for heavy goods vehicles and three times higher than that for light vehicles.
Over the same period, in Gironde, 33 accidents involving a tractor were recorded, resulting in 7 deaths.

During the harvest period, several factors increase the risks:

• An increase in the number of vehicles on secondary roads.
• Poor traffic conditions (shorter days, morning fog).
• Increased risk of road soiling (crop loss, soil leaving the plot).
• Sometimes inadequate signage on delivery combinations (tractor + trailer).

These observations underline the importance of making all road users aware of the need to respect the highway code and share the road. 

Campaign actions 

Communication

Actions on the ground

The MSA's prevention department is organising pre-harvest meetings to remind winegrowers of the regulations and prevention rules. Prevention advisers stress the importance of carrying out technical checks on vehicles before setting off. These checks include

• Lighting (lights, indicators, brake lights, rotating beacon).
• Signage (retro-reflector, operating and registration plates).
• Equipment (tyres, steering, roll bars/cab, seat).
• Braking systems.
• Watertightness of skips.
• On-board documents (registration document, insurance, red bar).

The banners 

Thanks to the support of the Prefecture, the Departmental Council, the Gironde Mayors' Association and Groupama, large banners have been made available to municipalities to raise awareness among motorists. More than 1,000 banners have already been distributed to nearly 250 municipalities since 2019.

A reminder of good practice 

Before taking to the road, it's crucial to check the condition of your equipment (lighting, signs, tyres, trailer) and organise your journeys to avoid peak times and minimise risks.
"The safety belt is essential for protection on board agricultural machinery. 88% of accidents resulting in the death of one of the tractor's occupants took place without other vehicles being involved. In many cases, wearing a seatbelt could have saved the victim's life.

Take part in the campaign 

Contact :  
Occupational Risk Prevention Department (P.R.P.) of the MSA Gironde :  
05 56 01 97 71 ou 05 56 01 97 52 
prp.blf@msa33.msa.fr