JOURNAL OF SAFETY RESEARCH, sa.97, ss.683-695, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
Introduction: Agricultural machinery users face a high risk of incidents and injuries, making the correct interpretation of safety warnings on machinery critical. However, limited evidence is available on how well the operators comprehend safety pictograms, especially in Turkey, where farmers generally have insufficient knowledge of occupational health and safety, and workers receive minimal training in this area. Method: A questionnaire, adapted from previous studies, was administered to 230 agricultural machinery operators to investigate how age, education, work experience, and familiarity with safety symbols affect comprehension of 12 ISO 11684:2023 pictograms related to common machinery hazards. Results: The study’s results revealed different levels of comprehension among participants, with five pictograms achieving a comprehension rate equal to or greater than the minimum rate (75%) required by the ISO reference standard. Education, prior experience with agricultural machinery, and familiarity with pictograms significantly increased participants’ ability to correctly interpret the safety symbols. When compared with previous studies conducted in other countries, pictogram #4, referring to the risk of injury from rotating knives, and pictogram #11, depicting tractor rollover risk, were investigated in seven out of eight and in all previous studies, respectively, and yielded high levels of comprehension across countries. Practical applications: The findings emphasized the need to increase the familiarity of potential users with safety symbols through targeted training programs. Furthermore, the visibility and placement of pictograms should be systematically considered in safety communication strategies. Standardization bodies should also consider improving pictograms design through a user-centered approach to enhance their clarity and effectiveness in communicating crucial safety information in different national and operational contexts.
