Tractor Roll Over Safety

[tinner666]

This other thread made me think of something. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/safety/244265-seat-belts-near-miss.html

How many here know how to catch the tractor in the event of a roll over?
My wife nearly rolled her GT when she hooked a wheel a few weeks back. If she haven't heard me scream to turn left as the rights were leaving the ground and immediately spun the wheel, she would have rolled it.

If you feel the wheels leaving the ground, you have to spontaneously turn INTO the direction it's about to roll. If you're on a slope, you have to spin the wheel downhill to correct.
When those wheels reach a certain point, you've wrecked and can't ignore it and hope for the best as it continues on over. It's the same principle stunt drivers use when driving on two wheels.
I hope this helps at least one person that's never considered what to do if they encounter this situation.

 

[rsewill]

If you drive icy roads you use this technique when you slide.

 

[tinner666]

If you drive icy roads you use this technique when you slide.

Very correct. But not many people seem to even know that. News and videos are full of examples of drivers not understanding the dynamics and correct responses.
I was almost hit by a car driven by a female. She was doing fine until she it the brakes. The car slid and crossed the sidewalk close to me and hit a pole. When I asked her about it, she said she just pushed harder on the brake pedal knowing it caused the skid in the first place. Go figure.

 

[creekbend]

Thanks for posting.

 

[joshuabardwell]

How many here know how to catch the tractor in the event of a roll over? If you feel the wheels leaving the ground, you have to spontaneously turn INTO the direction it's about to roll. If you're on a slope, you have to spin the wheel downhill to correct.

In all cases, what you are doing is bringing the tractor's center of gravity back under itself. If it's tipping to the left, that means that the top is moving to the left and the bottom isn't, or is moving less so. The answer is to make the bottom move to the left faster than the top, and bring it back into line.

Turning in the downhill direction accomplishes the same thing, since you'll always be falling downhill.

I had a butt-puckery moment the first time I drove my tractor on a section of my property that seemed not-particularly-steep from my riding mower. I knew better than to do anything drastic like stop, slow down, speed up, or continue going the direction I was going. I pointed the wheels straight downhill, and I didn't un-clench until the front of the tractor was facing safely downhill. When I got my tractor, I thought maybe I would sell that riding mower and make back a few hundred bucks, but now I think I'll hang onto it, for moments such as that.

I never did understand the instruction to steer into a skid, though. Seems to me that if you steer into a skid, you're just asking for a spin. If you watch drift drivers, once the back cuts loose, they counter-steer to maintain the drift in the direction they want to go.

 

[Dustier]

Having spent some time in the Seabees as a heavy equipment operator it became clear to me that some people are not equipped for some vocations. All the training, tutorials and advice can't cover every possibility and it's best that some folks should look in a different direction for work.

It took me more years than I want to admit, but there are simply people who are wired for certain vocations. IMHO, that people without a keen sense of balance should stay clear of tasks where sensitivity to balance is a prerequisite to safe operation of machinery that could topple. Sort of like sending a guy out to do a job on a boat who can't swim or better yet, hiring a lawyer who can't lie. :thumbsup: