Neighbor Tractor Accident

[ovrszd]

Good friend of mine (Dave) lost his Dad in a tractor accident. John was hauling a big bale on the FEL and one on the 3pt spear wide open in road gear on a gravel road. The FEL curl function had to constantly be adjusted because it would bleed off. John wasn't paying attention and the front bale slid off the forks and the tractor ran over it rolling the tractor and killing John. Dave's wife Charlene was following in the pickup. John died in her arms. Dave has never got over the fact that he didn't repair that FEL.

Tractoring is a dangerous business for those that make a living with them.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I never know at what height I should carry my forks on the road. At a level that will best insure MY survival or that of the motoring public. I want that loader as a crumple zone. I will never forget the chalk message I saw on the back of a five ton flat bed truck with a very long overhang out back. "SMILE, As you go under"

 

[ovrszd]

I've got another elderly neighbor (82) about 4 miles away that carries a LOT of big bales. His family have 800 head of beef cattle. His favorite tractor is a 95HP Case/IH. He commonly carries a bale on each end. I met him coming down the hiway a couple months ago carrying two bales. The front bale was sliding along on the hiway. I'm sure he lowered it so he could see over it good with no thought to it dragging on the hiway. I called his Son and apologized for getting in their business but told him what I saw. He thanked me profusely and quickly hung up his Cell Phone. A couple weeks later I saw the elderly guy in the Farm Store. He thanked me for looking out for him. I knew immediately what he was talking about. I patted him on the shoulder and said "you'd do the same for me" with a smile.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Do doubt, some kind of rapid deceleration event!

 

[Thomas]

Nasty...Dang glad he's okay.

 

[ovrszd]

View attachment 534164


Do doubt, some kind of rapid deceleration event!

Yep, he ran over his FEL.

 

[Threepoint]

The nearest fuel station is only 1 mile down the road from me, but I won't even drive the tractor that far to fuel up. Speed limit is 35 mph, and no-passing the whole way. I've got a flashing yellow SMV beacon, a SMV sign, turn signals, plus emergency flashers. But my top sustained speed would be about 15 mph. I figure I'd be making already-impatient drivers worse. Add to that the distracted driving we all see every day due to texting, cell phones, GPS fiddling, etc. Nope, it's 5-gal diesel fuel cans for me.

 

[Industrial Toys]

In my opinion the turn signals are useless with the four ways going and unless there is a standard for all tractors the motoring public best not make any assumptions about a drivers intentions. Our JD has indicators but no automatic shut off, so it would not be the first time, I forgot to shut them off.

 

[Threepoint]

Very good point.

 

[3930dave]

Most accidents are an almost uncanny series of screw ups.

Thanks for posting this MHE - glad to hear nobody was injured, and this is a good reminder for us all....

To IT's point, sometimes just one simple thing can make a big difference. One of the few things govt over-regulation up here got right was Daytime Running Lights - Dorito truck may have had it's lights on, but if not, that one simple change might have made the difference in visibility to the tractor driver.

Rgds, D.