Accidents in agriculture and forestry - influence of rural development program on work safety in the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Serbia

From 1981 to 2020, accidents in forestry agriculture in the Republic of Slovenia tragically killed 1,756 or an average of 43.9 people a year. There is a noticeable trend of decreasing number of accidents with fatalities with tractors, especially in public transport, and less when working outside public roads. The first major decline in the number of accidents and fatalities with tractors in the R. of Slovenia was after the mandatory introduction of the cabins for all tractors in 1986, and the second decline in the number of tragic casualties was after the introduction of homologation on May 1, 2004. In forestry, the number of fatalities in the Republic of Slovenia remains high and with significant oscillations over the years, and especially when there were significant natural disasters. The question of the impact of the application of incentives (subsidies of the State of Slovenia through the Ministries for Investments in Agricultural and Forestry Technology) from the rural development program on the safety of work in these areas is raised. Recipients of incentives for forestry equipment in the period from 2014 to 2021 participated in the survey on accidents during the work performed. The number of accidents in the group of forest owners and forestry workers was numerically small, so it can be concluded that such a measure and investments in new equipment for agriculture and forestry have a positive impact on occupational safety. In the Republic of Serbia from 1980 to 2020 a total of 2,450 or an average of 61,25 people a year were tragically killed in accidents directly in the field of agriculture and forestry. In public transport situation, accidents with tractors in this period amounted to about 7,25% of the number of all accidents in public transport (average of 2 accidents with tractors per day, most often in September). This resulted in an average of 63,45 deaths of people during this period. Today, the R.Serbia has a significant trend of decreasing the number of accidents with fatalities with tractors in public transport. Significant decline in the number of accidents and fatalities in the primary areas of application of tractors (agriculture and forestry) was after the mandatory introduction of cabins or safety equipment, accessories and tractor markings, and especially the implementation of the new version of the Law on Road Safety in R. Serbia, after year 2009. Incentive measures from the institutions of the state of the R. Serbia for the purchase of new II-41tractors in the period from 2012 to 2020. The year did not bring significant changes in the described problems of accidents when using tractors. The safety of tractor use in the Republic of Serbia is not at a satisfactory level.