Child Fatalities in Tractor-Related Accidents in Rural Iceland, 1918–2024: A Historical Analysis

Abstract

Children on farms face high risks of work- and non-work-related fatalities, with tractors being a significant contributor. This study examines children’s involvement in fatal tractor-related accidents within agriculture in Iceland from 1918 to 2024, explores adult reflections on childhood tractor-driving experiences, and analyses Members of Parliament’s arguments against setting a minimum age for off-road tractor driving. The data are based on parliamentary debates on tractor-related legislation, fatal tractor-related accidents documented in newspaper archives and supplementary sources, and narrative interviews with former summer children who stayed at farms during their childhoods. Over half of the 81 registered accidents involved children—primarily boys—with 75% occurring between 1958 and 1988, when no minimum age for off-road tractor driving existed. The fatality incidence rate for children was more than four times higher than for adults. Arguments against minimum age requirements for off-road driving included the need for child labour, children’s superior driving skills, and the denial that children were more often victims than adults. Since 1988, no child has died while driving a tractor. A human-centred approach focusing on the working conditions, driver capacity, and adherence to safety procedures and legal frameworks is needed to prevent future accidents.