Kelowna orchard fined $7,900 for not having seatbelt on a tractor

A Kelowna orchard has been fined $7,900 for not having a seatbelt on a tractor.

According to a recently published Dec. 10, 2024, WorkSafeBC penalty notice Khun Khun Orchards received the fine when a WorkSafeBC inspector found an employee driving a tractor on a public road without a seatbelt.

“The firm failed to ensure riders of mobile equipment wore seat belts, a repeated and high-risk violation,” the penalty notice read.

The company was fined $7,938.

No other details were provided in the penalty notice.

Khun Khun Orchards can add its name to a list of Southern Interior farms fined for not having seatbelts on tractors.

In 2022, a Thompson-area cattle ranch was fined nearly $27,000 by WorkSafeBC for using a tractor that didn’t have a seatbelt.

Two years ago, Kelowna-based Sandher Fruit Packers was fined $40,000 after a tractor was found without a seatbelt and had been driving without the roll bar lifted up. The orchard was fined a further $42,500 for not having enough seatbelts on a van used to transport workers last summer.

In 2022, Oliver-based Okanagan Sunshine Fruit Packers was fined $19,000 for various infractions related to the safety of one of its tractors after a farm worker was driving on the shoulder of a highway with a broken seatbelt.