dumb question

[TractorRob]

Midsouth, have you ever taken a look at the website of the Centers for Disease Control's FACE program?...

Gee, thanks a lot! I'm never going near my tractor again! Seriously, though, that is a very sobering website, and will make me a little more cautious around my tractor.

 

[tugboat-2]

How do I get dragged into these things? But Bpattie and MidSouth: If you really insist on proof,....go ahead and ignore the great advice of N80 and others. George is trying to save your life! ...but ignore him and the silly "safety" rules,.. and "eventually" you'll have your proof!

Remember,..these "Safety Features" were thought up,...(not after somebody got hurt),...but after "several" people got either badly injured, maimed for life or killed!!

They're put in place similar to traffic lights at the corner. NEVER for common sense. Never after a few close calls,..Never after people start getting injured, ..but quite often it takes a bad one where someone is killed before they install the lights.

All these "silly-safety-features" didn't just evolve suddenly one day. They came about one at a time,...in answer to something terrible happening to some poor innocent bugger just like you,...WHO DIDN"T SEE IT COMING!!!

For cryin-out-loud man, learn from those that paid the price!!!
Be careful out there,
. . tug

 

[BeeferMan]

Good post tug...

Some people seem to think that safety requirements came about from some government worker sitting around one day with nothing to do. Now I'll admit that some of the rules and regs are over the edge, but things like ROPS were developed due to multiple tragedies, not idle speculation. I would not send any member of my family out on tractor that didn't have a ROPS...

 

[Midsouth]

Tug i think i was misunderstood it what i posted. I just meant that i didn't think that a lot of people in the old days didn't make it past 12 due to farm accidents.
That is not to say that there wasn't needless deaths back then but i don't think the number is out of whack with the number of equipment in use. Also IMHO i think people were probably more careful back then. It is easy to get complacent today with all they safety features we have. We just have to remember they are mechanical devices and can fail without warning.

I agree that a lot of the safety devices we have now was needed long before they was put in place.

 

[Redneck in training]

How do I get dragged into these things? But Bpattie and MidSouth: If you really insist on proof,....go ahead and ignore the great advice of N80 and others. George is trying to save your life! ...but ignore him and the silly "safety" rules,.. and "eventually" you'll have your proof!

Remember,..these "Safety Features" were thought up,...(not after somebody got hurt),...but after "several" people got either badly injured, maimed for life or killed!!

They're put in place similar to traffic lights at the corner. NEVER for common sense. Never after a few close calls,..Never after people start getting injured, ..but quite often it takes a bad one where someone is killed before they install the lights.

All these "silly-safety-features" didn't just evolve suddenly one day. They came about one at a time,...in answer to something terrible happening to some poor innocent bugger just like you,...WHO DIDN"T SEE IT COMING!!!

For cryin-out-loud man, learn from those that paid the price!!!
Be careful out there,
. . tug

There is no point to get excited about those who risk their lives. This is how natural selection works. This is how they get removed from the gene pool.

There is a saying: " We learn from mistakes." but there is also associated saying: "The smart one learn from mistakes of others, only the stupid one learn from mistakes of their own."

 

[JoelD]

Tug i think i was misunderstood it what i posted. I just meant that i didn't think that a lot of people in the old days didn't make it past 12 due to farm accidents.
That is not to say that there wasn't needless deaths back then but i don't think the number is out of whack with the number of equipment in use. Also IMHO i think people were probably more careful back then. It is easy to get complacent today with all they safety features we have. We just have to remember they are mechanical devices and can fail without warning.

I agree that a lot of the safety devices we have now was needed long before they was put in place.

Well put.

I look at this topic similar to hockey helmets, I think that people were overall more careful when there were no helmet, sticks were kept down more often, etc. Once helmets came to be, sticks went up.

With that said, I do agree that one negative to safety equipment is it can give a false sense of security.

To be safe you need to use the safety equipment, but above all, you can't loose respect for the machine.

Joel

 

[bpattie]

How do I get dragged into these things? But Bpattie and MidSouth: If you really insist on proof,....go ahead and ignore the great advice of N80 and others. George is trying to save your life! ...but ignore him and the silly "safety" rules,.. and "eventually" you'll have your proof!

Remember,..these "Safety Features" were thought up,...(not after somebody got hurt),...but after "several" people got either badly injured, maimed for life or killed!!

They're put in place similar to traffic lights at the corner. NEVER for common sense. Never after a few close calls,..Never after people start getting injured, ..but quite often it takes a bad one where someone is killed before they install the lights.

All these "silly-safety-features" didn't just evolve suddenly one day. They came about one at a time,...in answer to something terrible happening to some poor innocent bugger just like you,...WHO DIDN"T SEE IT COMING!!!

For cryin-out-loud man, learn from those that paid the price!!!
Be careful out there,
. . tug

TugBoat,
I think you misread my post. I do not ignore any, well at least the ones I know or have learned safety practices. My statement was just to ask why seatbelt with ROPS and no seatbelt without. I had never had a tractor that had a seatbelt. It has been interesting to read all your thoughts though and thanks. Yes, the grime tales have been good and will likely insprire even greater care going forward. I have been working also on my new tractor operation outfit . sorry if image is to big, new to this

 

[wvpolekat]

Sure, but if you're going to take it that far then you have weigh that against all the other potential costs. For the tractor manufacturer, not putting an obvious, simple, basic and proven safety feature (like a ROPS) on a tractor is going to cost them a lot more in liability suits that the cost of manufacture. Liability losses will be felt in the pockets of the consumer just as mush as raw materials and labor. For the consumer, the cost of these features is far less than the loss of life or limb. So the "obvious" isn't so obvious. And why should we, or anyone else, expect any "form of refuge" for free?

The size of government is inversely proprotional to the degree of freedom it affords.

The signature is pure irony after your post.

Product liability lawsuits are, by and large, a concept thought up by lawyers, and are purely to make them money at our expense. I can't see how any reasonable person would hold a tractor manufacturer liable for them flipping it over, sticking their arm in the PTO, or the number of other operator errors they are protecting us from. We do not need to be protected from equipment. It is inanimate. Some of us need protection from our own mistakes.

 

[ShenandoahJoe]

For the best perspective on everything, farm safety included, I go to The Onion.

 

[dnj1965]

Interesting thread. I'm just now considering the purchase of a CUT due to my wife's newfound horse habit and the purchase of 40+ acres of land (mixed topography, some pasture, some heavily treed).

My professional life is far away from agriculture, though I grew up in rural Iowa where I witnessed a number of scary incidents. A quick Google search (try "Farm Accident Causes Penoscrotal Degloving") found a similar injury as one a friend suffered.

In short, ya'll bring up two important issues:

1) One man's "common sense" is another's "learning moment";

2) Life is full of risks, and some are worth mitigating, and some are not.

There were no roll over protections or seat belts when I was a kid in Iowa. Of course we did not wear helmets while riding a bike, we drank well water likely contaminated with pesticides, and we had *** without condoms.

There were benefits and costs to life then, just as there are now. However, once you've seen a "penoscrotal degloving", you'll want your PTO covered...

dnj

 

[tugboat-2]

FANTASTIC Tractor Safety Suit Bpattie,...I love it! If you operate an Open Station tractor, in the "rain", I would think seriously about having a good quality "Lightening-Rod" installed on the top centre of the helmet. Of course you'll have to install a "drag-strap" on your tow bar for a "ground". The mouthpiece should otta keep the bugs outta yer teeth also! Ha,ha,..Beautiful!!

But seriously guys,..Bpattie and Mid-South, I apologize for any misunderstanding of the meaning of your posts. And anyone else who feels I offended them or if I came across as sarcastic or beligerant,......Please know it was NOT intended.

Just take my word for the fact that for what-ever-reason, I actually witnessed or more often had occasion to either attend the scene or viewed the photos of some pretty sad and gruesome situations. A couple of incidents I watched in frozen horror and heard the screams,........you NEVER forget.

I take tractor (and equipment) safety,...."extremely-seriously",..can't help it!

I realize I tend to go overboard sometimes and I apologize if it gets boring but everytime I read of somebody (not always a newbie) doing something that may strike me as "careless, dangerous, silly,...or downright stupid",...I just get the urge to grab him and yell some common sense right down his throat!!

It is extremely difficult to smile, turn away and hope he smartens up before he gets hurt,...or his youngster "passenger" gets hurt,.....God forbid!!!

Anyway please excuse me,....I'll try to button my yap a while. I really do enjoy this forum and there is plenty of reading to do without my posting every time. TAKE CARE and please have a SAFE-TRACTORING-SUMMER boys & girls.
CHEERS !
. . tug

 

[tugboat-2]

dnj1965: Well hello!! Sorry, I just noticed you are a newcomer and want you to know that the "WELCOME IN" sign is up and lit. Thanks for the post and the very interesting, scary and extremely painful looking item! WOW-eee,..Ouch, ouch,..can't get my legs uncrossed!!

When about to make "any" adjustments or even quick inspections of "anything" relative to that "dangerous-PTO",.......thoughts of your post,..."SHOULD" make us "all" shut the engine OFF,...not just disengage the PTO.

I doubt that fella will EVER step over a PTO shaft, again,,,running or NOT!!!!

Thanks for that dnj1965,....enjoy the forum, you and your wife should find some value here!
. . . tug

 

[dnj1965]

Thanks Tug.

Been lurking for a while and the amount of quality information on Tractobynet is astounding. The signal-to-noise ratio on these pages is really high and everyone here has a lot to be proud of.

Sorry for the mini thread-jack. Back to your regularly scheduled ROPS debate!

dnj