Cost-effectiveness of roll-over protective structures

Abstract

Background: Roll-over protective structures (ROPS) are proven to prevent fatalities from agricultural tractor overturns, accounting for more than one-third of all production agriculture-related fatalities in the United States. In 1997, there were approximately 1.2 million ROPS-retrofittable tractors in the United States.

Methods: A decision analysis is used to compare the health outcomes of installing ROPS on retrofittable tractors, relative to doing nothing. A cost-effectiveness analysis builds on these results to assess the costs and benefits of installing ROPS on retrofittable tractors.

Results: Doing nothing would result in 1,450 fatalities and 1,806 nonfatal injuries, while installing ROPS would prevent 1,176 fatalities and 957 nonfatal injuries. Installing ROPS would cost $489,373 per injury prevented.

Conclusions: Installing ROPS on retrofittable tractors would reduce fatalities from tractor overturns by more than 80% and nonfatal injuries by about 53%. The cost per injury prevented would be similar to that of other injury-preventing interventions. ROPS would help prevent additional injuries from falling off tractors and tractor collisions with motor vehicles.