Do you wear your seat belt on your tractor?

LBrown59 · Oct 5, 2005

Only When I'm On The Tractor.

Gatorboy · Oct 5, 2005

( You don't have to have another tractor run into you to get injured or killed. Tractors can, will and do turn over faster than than you can say to yourself "Oh oh, I should have worn my seat belt!" Level ground or not! ) 

I'm well aware of what 'can' happen if I drive like my tractor like an idiot. But my answer to this question posed is still NO.

Mike_C · Oct 5, 2005

It's not a matter of "driving like an idiot"; even when you think you are being careful surprises come up. Last night I dug out a tree stump, then was using the FEL to push dirt back into the hole. I was driving back and forth in the loose dirt when an unsuspecting clump of dirt/rocks ended up under the right rear tire. I came close to rollover. Fortunately because I was going fairly slow I was able to stop and backup before rollover, but you never know when things like that will happen. Fortunately I had the seat belt on or I might have been tossed over the side. That tipping feeling can make you very queazy, but at least I have the comfort of knowing that I won't be killed by the tractor falling on me if that happens.

mboulais · Oct 5, 2005

Once, Moving tractor on highway from one property to another 10 miles away. Otherwise, no.

LBrown59 · Oct 5, 2005

( Once, Moving tractor on highway from one property to another 10 miles away. Otherwise, no. )
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Interesting in that this brings up the question:
Do most tractor accidents occur on the highway or on private property?

coffeeman · Oct 5, 2005

I think it's safer to use seat belt in car. However, i'm not so sure on a tractor.

Cheers...Coffeeman

HomeBrew2 · Oct 5, 2005

I had a similar thing happen this weekend ... hauling a fruit bin full of firewood on my bucket forks ... kindof a goofy cockeyed slope ... I thought my Baby was a girl but it lifted it's leg and looked like it was going over ... I bailed and exchanged whoopings with a nearby cottonwood tree. Well, she/he just dumped the box, which took 2 beers to re-fill, but never went over. Go figger.

NIXON · Oct 5, 2005

To be honest, No I don't . John

Mike_C · Oct 6, 2005

I find this thread quite scary when I see the number of people saying that they do not wear their seatbelts on their tractor, or that they are not sure whether it is safer. The U.S. Dept of Labor says ( Tractor accidents on farms cause the highest number of fatalities with tractor overturns accounting for 44 percent of all tractor fatalities ) . Folks, it's quite simple, if your tractor has a ROPS and you fall off, the tractor or ROPS may fall on top of you and kill you. If you have your seatbelt on, then the ROPS will prevent the tractor from crushing you. It seems so simple, that I have trouble comprehending how anyone could not understand that. They also say ( farm accidents and other work-related health problems claim as many as 1300 lives and cause 120,000 injuries a year, most of which are preventable.)

So you do what you want, but I'll be wearing my seatbelt, even when cutting the grass...