Forum contributors,
I am a retired fireman with 35 years of service in a large department, with much of that time being a member of the departments Technical Rescue Team.
Unfortunately, over that time I responded to a number of P.T.O. or power shaft emergencies. These were some of the most horrific emergencies dealt with. All it takes is to have a small portion of clothing, hair, anything that is attached to you to contact the turning shaft. If the shaft makes one revolution the person may be dead or maimed in a matter of seconds.
Slow turning shafts can be just as problematic as high speed shafts. I have arrived on scenes where you see only a bundle of clothing wrapped around a shaft. The clothing would be so tightly wound on the shaft it may not be possible to physically unwind the clothing material. You find it necessary to cut the bundle from the shaft and after a few moments you realize that was not just a bundle of clothing, there was a person or an extremity in that clothing.
A very high percentage of these accidents are fatal, but some people do survive, usually facing a very long hospital stay and many surgeries to repair and/or graft back lost skin or body parts. If the patient survives they usually face an entirely different life with artificial limbs, or possibly extremely disfiguring injuries.
When a person is in a hurry, or tired we are inclined to take short cuts and take chances that we know is not good practice. After thinking back about some of my experiences, it is very important that I recommend shutting off P.T.O. shafts and better yet, turning off the engine or a machines power source prior to hooking up or working around these dangerous shafts that look safe and not likely to be an object that can change you or your loved ones life forever.
Nick, North West Farmer
