Who wears seat belts

[Piston]

Just out of interest?...do many of you wear seat belts when driving your tractors. I've got one on my L35 but I've never worn it. I always think It would be better to jump off if anything happened but I'm probably wrong. What do you all think??

Chris

Never worn mine.

 

[Kub39]

I always wear mine. But I always carry my handy dandy razor sharp pocket knife just in case of an emergency.

 

[RaydaKub]

I once was driving on the side of a hill and drove into a stump with a back tire. I rolled the tractor 5 times down to the creek. The seat belt held me onto the seat but my arms and legs were flailing around as I rolled. I ended up losing a leg that was crushed over and over as I rolled. It looked like tree branches were inside my pant leg. If I wasn't wearing the belt I would have jumped off. I also lost sight in one eye from the sticks and stones the my face was being shoved into. So much for seat belts for me.

Sorry to hear of your accident, and I'm sure the repercussions continue to be a problem for you. But may I ask, did you have a ROPS? If it rolled 5 times, I would guess not, but strange things happen sometimes. The advice is with a ROPS, use the belt. W/o a ROPS (ROPS down), do not. It sounds like you didn't have a ROPS, but wore the belt anyway (which probably was the advice of the day).

 

[tcreeley]

I've never worn a seatbelt on a tractor.

 

[CanuckPT]

Here is a rollover demo: Tractor rolling over on a hillside - YouTube once it hits the tipping point, tractors go over FAST.

Aaron Z

Very compelling video - nothing better than seeing that live to demonstrate the value of the ROPS & your seatbelt working in tandem! Thanks for sharing Aaron!

 

[farmgirl19]

My 1936 Avery has never had a seat belt, therefore, granddad, dad and I never used one. My JD 1050, has one, but I rarely wear it. I don't use a seat belt in my truck either. It keeps tightening, and eventually, I cannot turn to clear myself in traffic, which can make thing more hazardous. If it were a lap belt, I'd be more likely to wear it in the truck. With the shoulder harness, not gonna happen.

 

[Jim Shooz]

While my BX2350 came with a seat belt I have never worn it. When I bought the tractor the ROPS had been modified and the top was only 4" above the height of the backrest on the seat. A large number of tractors around here are used in kiwifruit orchards and the height of the Pergola or T-bar is just on 6' from ground so very few tractors have ROPS.
The car is a different story. I had a 55 Vee-Dub and had lap belts installed in the early 60s straight after they came on the market. 3 point harness belts and air bags hadn't been thought of let alone been invented.

 

[farmgirl19]

My '59 Beetle didn't have seat belts either. It was exempt from having to use them, even when I took the driving test, even though it would have been required on a newer model vehicle. As tough as those cars were, I think one was safer, seat belt, or not!

 

[SanDucerro]

While I can't say I've "never" drove without the seatbelt, it's still a pretty rare occurance. For me, it's pretty much always on.

 

[creekbend]

I once was driving on the side of a hill and drove into a stump with a back tire. I rolled the tractor 5 times down to the creek. The seat belt held me onto the seat but my arms and legs were flailing around as I rolled. I ended up losing a leg that was crushed over and over as I rolled. It looked like tree branches were inside my pant leg. If I wasn't wearing the belt I would have jumped off. I also lost sight in one eye from the sticks and stones the my face was being shoved into. So much for seat belts for me.

I am sincerely sorry about your accident. This comes from the very bottom of my Heart and Soul.