COLUMBUS, Ohio — Operating farm equipment such as tractors is the leading cause of death and a top cause of injury among children who work in agriculture, according to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) statistics.

With that in mind, researchers at the University of Iowa and the Marshfield Clinic of Wisconsin have designed a tractor simulator that will help them learn how cognitive development affects youth driving performance in tractors. In the long run, they hope it will decrease the number of youth fatalities in tractor-related mishaps.

Federal government data dating back to the 1990s show two dozen or more children die each year in tractor accidents.

“Our goal is to try to develop knowledge that makes it easier to prevent these accidents,” said Tim Brown, a University of Iowa researcher who helps run the National Advanced Driving Simulator in Coralville, Iowa.

The simulator has all the mechanical parts found in most John Deere tractors. The virtual drive includes a wraparound screen that projects lifelike images of the driver’s surroundings. In this study, 88 children ages 10-17 will mow fields, maneuver around buildings, people and vehicles. They’ll be able to drive along gravel roads in traffic, merge, stop at intersections and pass cars.

As the children “drive” on a normal and sometimes obstacle-laden course, software will record their every move. A control group of 10 adult farmers will also participate.

The main objective of this pilot study is to determine whether the simulator can pinpoint small differences in the children’s performance. In the long run, the ultimate goal is to reduce the number of fatalities among teen tractor drivers, as DOL statistics show teens are four times more likely to die on a farm than in any other workplace.

The DOL tried to address the problem earlier this year with rules that would have limited their ability to operate farm equipment. But the Obama administration dropped the proposal after farm families and groups denounced it as overreaching and an attack on their way of life.

“The people have spoken and they don’t want the new regulations, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have any youth safety regulations,” said Dee Jepsen, Ohio State University extension’s state safety leader.

“Even though the Labor Department rescinded the stronger proposal (that would have required children under age 16 from operating power equipment), there is still legislation for 14- and 15-year-old students wanting to work outside their parents’ farm. It’s important for farm managers and others to be sure the students they hire under the age of 16 are trained.”

When the proposed regulations were shelved, scientists at the University of Iowa and researchers at Marshfield Clinic got involved and decided to attack this problem from a different angle. According to Brown, research results could be used to revise voluntary guidelines for parents and employers about when teenagers are ready to perform a variety of farm tasks, from moving along a fence line to spreading manure.