With the silage season now upon us the Fermanagh Road Safety Committee would like to highlight the need for increased vigilance regarding tractor safety.

Gone now are the days of the 'wee 135' and sitting in the link box at 10mph, modern tractors are often twice the size and travel at three times the speed of the older vehicles.

Nothing is more pleasing for a parent than to have your children want to come and spend time with you.

Little boys and girls are enthralled by the size of tractors and sitting up with Daddy in the cab but remember they should not be there under the age of 13.

Even then, unless there is an extra seat, should they be there?

Statistics show that a pedestrian knocked down at 30mph has an 80% chance of survival, however at 40mph they have an 80% chance of being killed.

If a child or young person falls out of a tractor travelling at 30mph and meets a vehicle at even 30mph the closing speed is 60mph.

The risks don't just stop at falling off or out of the tractor on the road.

The risks extend to the fields where there is even more machinery such as blowers, harvesters and trailers. Should someone fall they will shout out, but given the noise of all this machinery would anyone hear them?