Shocking footage has emerged of two young girls sitting on top of a turf lorry driving through Portarlington, “bouncing” up and down.
The incident was highlighted in the Irish Mirror.
“If you want to deliver your turf then deliver it like a normal person there’s no need to put your kids up on top and turn it into a family day out. This is serious machinery,” a witness told the Irish Mirror.
“I see it every year this time of year, they’re all out in force, and they’re going around with these tractors, with these kids driving tractors, and in passenger seats.
“I’ve seen farmers with two or three kids sitting up in the front seat beside them with no seat belts and no security,” she said.
The scene is a typical one as turf is drawn home at this time of year.
However, with a greater appreciation of health and safety and stricter regulations governing farm machinery, such activities are becoming less commonplace.
Regular
The woman told the Irish Mirror: “This is a regular thing, I see this kind of thing all the time, sometimes it’s actually kids that are driving the tractors.
“With all the accidents on farms I feel like farmers should take more responsibility.
“There’s two beautiful looking girls sitting up on top of that tractor and if something had happened to them or one of the fell down or one of the cars overtaking had hit them those two girls are dead,” she said.
Children under the age of 14 are prohibited from riding in tractors unless they are provided with a secure passenger seat including a seat belt whilst it is illegal for any child under the age of seven to ride in a tractor regardless of a parent being present or not.
Contact with machinery and moving vehicles is a major cause of accidents to minors on farms.
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