Comprehension rates of safety pictorials affixed to agricultural machinery among Pennsylvania rural population

Pictorials affixed to agricultural machinery are important tools to warn the userabout the risks that can arise from the intended use or any foreseeable misuse of themachine; however, in the U.S. there is no legal requirement regarding the adoption ofsafety pictorials on agricultural machinery. This study investigated comprehension ofsafety pictorials in a sample of U.S. agricultural machinery users. Two hundred andeight Pennsylvanian participants were asked to indicate the meaning of 12 frequentsafety pictorials by choosing one among 4 alternative labels. The results showed thatpictorials referring to the most common risks in agriculture were not necessarily the bestcomprehended images, and two out of five participants have never seen the pictorialsincluded in the study. Years of experience with the machinery enhancedcomprehension, whereas 'part-time' farming and occasional use of machinery wererelated to poorer comprehension. Implications for operators' safety and solutions toimprove pictorial noticeability and comprehension are discussed.