There are some real tragic accidents reported here: It's sad, because the prevention always seems so simple after the fact. Wear seatbelts, know about
ballast and slopes, keep body parts away from anything that moves when the tractor is running, keep out from under anything hydraulic, including when the tractor is off to name a few preventions.
I'll comment on the loader/log accident, because it took me awhile to realize how a loader lifts. Loaders, and 3ph's, lift in arcs, not in true verticals. When the bucket is high, the bucket is over the tractor, there is nothing between the load and the operator. The bucket also rolls back on lift--even self-leveling buckets don't keep exactly the same level. It would be real easy trying to put a log on a high pile to keep raising the and forget that the bucket may be rolling back as well. Eventually the log can fall off the back of the bucket .
I think it's very important to realize that loader buckets are for stuff like gravel and not intended for material handling. There are various loader accessories that can turn a loader into something intended for material handling.
There are grapple forks (clam shells, or what ever they're called will lock a log onto the bucket). I went the route of 3ph pallet forks rather than a fork or other replacement for the loader bucket. However, each would have a backrest so the load can't fall off the back. It's real comforting when you've got a thousand pounds over your head to know that there's a steel frame (and in my case, a ROPS bar as well) between me and the load.
Anybody who needs to lift and move heavy bulky loads around, PLEASE invent in equipment intended for the job so we don't get any more of these reports. If you have to rely on just a bucket, at least chain the load securely, but remember that a simple loop of chain around the bucket and a load can slide. Actually, with a tall load up high, there really is no safe substitute for forks with a back rest and a carriage tilt.