Fatal tractor rollover

[schmism]

I serve on our local VFD.

This morning we were paged out for a tractor roll over with entrapment. (i was on the call)
Unfortunately the operator was pronounced dead at the scene.

A ford 800 (ish) tractor, stock with no aftermarket ROPS, was pulled over backward on its driver.

We preach a lot on the forums about safety. We may have all heard stories about this sort of thing, but as (of this morning) Ive been there, seen it first hand.

Part of me wants to believe that if they just knew the dangers of pulling from points above the axle they might not have done it. But then again people continue to do stupid stuff every day despite the fact they may know better.

In short .... it sucks.

 

[rjkobbeman]

I serve on our local VFD.

This morning we were paged out for a tractor roll over with entrapment. (i was on the call)
Unfortunately the operator was pronounced dead at the scene.

A ford 800 (ish) tractor, stock with no aftermarket ROPS, was pulled over backward on its driver.

We preach a lot on the forums about safety. We may have all heard stories about this sort of thing, but as (of this morning) Ive been there, seen it first hand.

Part of me wants to believe that if they just knew the dangers of pulling from points above the axle they might not have done it. But then again people continue to do stupid stuff every day despite the fact they may know better.

In short .... it sucks.

Even as we speak, there is a conversation going on here: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/177413-how-do-you-hook-your-3.html that has dove into the "pulling above the axle..." discussion.

Some contributing to the thread are OK with it and others are not.

I know nothing about the discussion, but it appears to me based on reading the thread -- and keeping my eyes open while I am driving around my county -- that to this day, some ignore some of the most basic safety tenants of tractor operation.

You would think with all of the vast knowledge we have today that these same types of tractor accidents would be non-existent.

I know we can't 100% prevent accidents that we don't yet know about. But it seems like we keep ignoring the facts and doing the same thing over and over again.

 

[rekees4300]

Some folks learn by reading, others have to learn the hard way, and a few never learn until it's too late. Nevertheless it's likely that TBN has saved several lives that we will never hear about so safety posts are a good thing.

 

[rjkobbeman]

Some folks learn by reading, others have to learn the hard way, and a few never learn until it's too late. Nevertheless it's likely that TBN has saved several lives that we will never hear about so safety posts are a good thing.

I agree.

 

[Wacky]

Some folks learn by reading, others have to learn the hard way, and a few never learn until it's too late. Nevertheless it's likely that TBN has saved several lives that we will never hear about so safety posts are a good thing.

Well said.:thumbsup:

 

[picker77]

Lost one of my best friends that way a few years back. He retired from the Navy, bought a little place up in Idaho and a small tractor, and was snaking logs out of the woods with a chain hooked above the axle. His wife found him when he didn't come in for lunch, he had hung a log on a stump and didn't react fast enough. Only thing "good" about it was the paramedics said it was instantaneous, no suffering. Scared the heck out of me and I wasn't even in the same state at the time. I think of it every time I climb on my tractor.

 

[Hawghauler]

Smart people do dumb things occasionally. Whether it is complacency or just plain bad luck, bad things can happen to good people. A good friend of mine got his head crushed when he disconnected the hydraulic line that was holding up the box on his dump truck. I know for a fact he was a careful, conscientious operator, he just wasn't that time and fate did not cut him any slack. Heavy equipment is dangerous. Why I survived my teen years I do not know, but my coming of age was definately a genetic experient that would have had Gregor Mendel scratching his head. Sorry you had to respond to that accident. You have a tough job that challenges even the strongest to stay sober.

 

[Redneck in training]

Part of me wants to believe that if they just knew the dangers of pulling from points above the axle they might not have done it. But then again people continue to do stupid stuff every day despite the fact they may know better.

In short .... it sucks.

You can flip backwards even when pulling under the axle. The tractor pivot is between the tire and the ground. The lower is the pulling point the harder it is to flip backwards though.

 

[wvpolekat]

You can flip backwards even when pulling under the axle. The tractor pivot is between the tire and the ground. The lower is the pulling point the harder it is to flip backwards though.

Laws of physics say you can't. Pulling below the axle, the load will put more weight on the front end, making it impossible for it to lift. That is not to say that other things can't make you flip, but the pulling won't if you attach below the axle.

 

[MMagis]

Laws of physics say you can't. Pulling below the axle, the load will put more weight on the front end, making it impossible for it to lift. That is not to say that other things can't make you flip, but the pulling won't if you attach below the axle.

That would be true if the ground were flat and tires got not traction.

 

[wendallb]

Sad thing yes, I am also with my VFD and we had the same thing a few years ago with a man mowing on a steep incline and the tractor roll over him... very sad indeed..

 

[eepete]

Steve, if everyone saw what we see the world would be different and safer.

The few times I've skidded stuff, I've used the backhoe as the chain attachment point. I can lower it down and get at or below the axel line, and when things snag the backhoe bucket hits the ground and it all stops. Due to the weight and leverage at the point of attachment, I loose some pulling power but I gain a mechanism that keeps things from getting out of hand. And if I do hit something, I can stop and lift the log over it, then carry on. And I go "hydro" slow. The tractor has ROPS and FOPS.

Pete

 

[Duffster]

You can flip backwards even when pulling under the axle.

How is that?

Other than weight on the draw bar, which can only bring the front end up so far.

 

[20 20]

.

The few times I've skidded stuff, I've used the backhoe as the chain attachment point.
Pete

Not sure I would count that has being all that safe

 

[riptides]

Some people just don't know how to use their tractor in a safe fashion. It has to be taught, observed and learned from somewhere or someone.

 

[oldballs]

We had had three tractor deaths in the past three weeks in this greater area. All the way from a 14 year old crashing into a rural bridge while towing a wagon to an experienced old man doing a back flip. Being inexperienced, I'm glad my place is fairly level and I'm trying hard not to do anything stupid.

 

[J_J]

One should understand that some people are over confident in what they can do. At sometime in their life, they did something similar, and assume that things are not that difficult. No one taught me tractor safety, or operation. I purchased a tractor, and read the book, and went out and checked things out. Seat belts on a tractor may be a good thing, but not around a pond, lake, etc, and not on a tractor without ROPS. Does everyone shut off the tractor engine when getting on and off? One has to think about safety for yourself, and other people around you. Accidents are just that, they are not supposed to happen, and when they do, people get hurt or die, and things get broken, and/or scare the he** out people.

 

[JoelD]

Safest method I've seen for pulling is attaching from the back, under the tractor to the front of the tractor. Impossible to flip it over backwards pulling that way. (at least the best method to prevent back flip)


Not to mention it continues to load down the tractor the harder you pull.

Joel

 

[Mikeeemo]

Safest method I've seen for pulling is attaching from the back, under the tractor to the front of the tractor. Impossible to flip it over backwards pulling that way. (at least the best method to prevent back flip)


Not to mention it continues to load down the tractor the harder you pull.

Joel

We use this method as well. We had a fellow killed a few years ago by pulling above the axle. He tried to pull a truck out of the mud. The clutch pedal got slick from all of the clay, his foot slipped off and over it went. I think about it every time I get on my tractor. I hope I never forget it. God be with him and his family.

 

[RoyJackson]

Safest method I've seen for pulling is attaching from the back, under the tractor to the front of the tractor. Impossible to flip it over backwards pulling that way. (at least the best method to prevent back flip)


Not to mention it continues to load down the tractor the harder you pull.

Joel

What do you hook to, Joel?

I use the drawbar. My pulls are slow, steady and as straight as possible.