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

Pictorials affixed to agricultural machinery are important tools to warn the user about the risks that can arise from the intended use or any foreseeable misuse of the machine; however, in the U.S. there is no legal requirement regarding the adoption of safety pictorials on agricultural machinery. This study investigated comprehension of safety pictorials in a sample of U.S. agricultural machinery users. Two hundred and eight Pennsylvanian participants were asked to indicate the meaning of 12 frequent safety pictorials by choosing one among 4 alternative labels. The results showed that pictorials referring to the most common risks in agriculture were not necessarily the best comprehended images, and two out of five participants have never seen the pictorials included in the study. Years of experience with the machinery enhanced comprehension, whereas ‘part-time’ farming and occasional use of machinery were related to poorer comprehension. Implications for operators’ safety and solutions to improve pictorial noticeability and comprehension are discussed.