Prevention Effectiveness of Rollover Protective Structures--Part II: Decision Analysis. Melvin L. Myers* and Regina Pana-Cryan**
This is the second of three articles that evaluate the consequences of using rollover protective structures (ROPS) on agricultural tractors. It presents the results of a decision analysis that compares three strategies for preventing injuries when agricultural tractors without ROPS overturn. The three strategies examined are "do nothing", "install ROPS", and "replace tractor". The strategies are implemented over a five-year period and health outcomes expressed as fatal and nonfatal injuries are calculated over a 23-year period. The "do nothing" strategy would result in 1,450 fatalities and 1,806 nonfatal injuries, while the "install ROPS" strategy would prevent 1,176 fatalities and 957 nonfatal injuries, and the "replace tractor" strategy would prevent 1,188 fatalities and 967 nonfatal injuries. The latter two strategies reflect more than an 80% reduction in fatalities and about 53% reduction in nonfatal injuries. The study does not consider overturn injuries that result from tractors lacking ROPS and for which ROPS are unavailable.
*NIOSH/CDC (retired), 1293 Berkeley Rd., Avondale Estates, GA 30002-1517, phone 404.288.7085, fax 404.288.7166, e-mail melmyers@bellsouth.net.
**Visiting Associate, NIOSH/CDC, 1600 Clifton Rd., NE, MS D-40, Atlanta, GA 30333, phone 404.639.4352, fax 404.639.2196, e-mail rfp2@cdc.gov.
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