Ignoring safety warnings and bypassing safety devices

[tulenutn2o]

Yeah, I agree. I am sick and tired of the "man" doing everything possible to "protect" me from my own dang self. I don't need a sticker that says "don't put hands under a running mower", so I'll just put my feet under instead. We are so over regulated, over policed, over-taxed, over weight,....................OH NO!!!! They got me started ma! Help me!!!:laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[Jay4200]

Some day I will be in a wheel chair, but I bet I can put a motor of some type on it.:laughing:

I'm thinking I'll be getting one of these:

JayC

 

[TripleR]

I'm thinking I'll be getting one of these:

JayC

Now that's what I'm thinkin' too.:thumbsup:

 

[Don87]

I disabled my seat switch also. My tractor does not have the 'reverse PTO cutoff', if it did, I would disable that also.

I've worked with equipment all my life, I know most of the 'in's and out', but I don't know it all (when I do............I quit).

Oh, I drink beer while operating my tractor(within reason of course). They put a cupholder on my tractor for a reaon, and by golly............I'm gonna use it:laughing::thumbsup::laughing:

 

[kco]

Great thread. I agree, we are legistlated to extremes. Society has brought it on itself by looking for someone to blame (and sue).

I bought a Snapper riding mower years ago that had interlocks on the seat, neutral shift position, and blade engagement lever. You could tell the incredibly flimsy switches were bound to fail. I had the dealer remove them all.

And that reminds me of last autumn while picking up lumber at the local yard. A customer and store employee were puzzling over the shiny new zero-turn mower that the customer had just brought back. They would get it running and, as soon as they tried to move, it would cut out. This went on for a while. I went inside to settle up for the lumber and overheard them speaking with another person at the counter. He informed them the seat belt had to be on. It seems unlikely to me that I need a seat belt on a small lawnmower and, if I am stupid enough to get in a situation where I roll it, the last thing I'd want is to be strapped to it.

 

[DANOCHEESE]

a lawn mower manufacture lost a case after the judge ruled the safety stickers were only good for 7 years and the mower was good for 8 years. The person stuck their hand into the running blades int he 7th year. Now they impress the warning into the plastic shileds.

 

[Usta]

How many out there, like me, don't follow all the safety rules?

Common Sense these days does not seem to be as common as it once was.

I admit (shamefully) that I read ALL warning labels once. Some sure are rather humorous and others just stupidly obvious.

Common sense is usually all that is stated in the warnings. I take chances at times when minor injury could result and a little pain once in a while can be a good education refresher course. I am a bit more careful where there is the potential of major / fatal injury.

 

[Transit]

Every year we get LICENCED to work track side for safety. So one of the guys that work for rail was walking through the yard and stepped on a switch track, a very big no-no. Of course as luck would have it, it moved and broke his foot trapping him until someone spotted him. Now he knows better than to do that.

 

[patrick_g]

How many out there, like me, don't follow all the safety rules?

I don't believe that I am reckless, and I don't do things just to stick it to the man, but I do think that some safety devices/practices/rules are not for me. I consider the risk, and in some cases come to the conclusion that I am smart enough and mature enough to handle the risks. There's a good chance of me getting injured while on a leisurely motorcycle ride but I keep on riding.

I think that a lot of safety devices/rules/warnings are there because someone was dumb. I figure that I'm not the type of guy to toast an english muffin while taking a bubble bath, so the six warning labels in three languages on everything that plugs in annoys me.

I don't think the things I do are dumb. I pay attention. I am careful. I think about where I am, what I'm doing, and what's going on around me. There's no beer consumed until after the day's work is done and the machine is parked in the garage. I think some people need to be protected from themselves, but I don't believe that I am one of them.

Am I alone? Does anybody else feel and act this way? Do some like to think that they follow all the rules all the time, but sneak an infraction every now and then when no one is looking and not admit to it?

I'm not saying that I am right or saying that safety is silly, I'm just saying what I do. I'm not asking permission, and not trying to convince anyone to engage in what might be considered foolish behavior.


Things I've done (and in most cases probably will continue to do) and my justification for not following the warnings:

I don't use the chains that come with PTO shaft safety covers. They just seem to come loose, flail around, and eat the paint off of things.

I have bypassed the seat switch on my tractor. Trying to do the Houdini quick flip between the drivers seat and the backhoe seat without having to restart the machine is a pain in the posterior.

I've been known to step off the tractor while the MMM blades are still spinning. Only on the non discharge side, and only when the deck is lowered so it won't kick something at me and I can't get a toe under there.

I have no reservations welding on my ROPS. I've done a fair amount of welding and have yet to see a length of box tube fail because I welded on it. I don't think that welding on a few brackets to mount lights will alter the performance of the ROPS. I think the manufacturer will advise against it because it makes their life easier if they need to litigate in a lawsuit involving a rollover accident.

I take my toddler for rides around the yard on the tractor. Low throttle, no blades spinning or implements engaged, just a slow tour of the perimeter of the property. She sits on my left leg and I don't need my left foot or left hand to operate the machine. Throttle, brakes, and hydrostatic controls are all on the right side, so my left arm is dedicated to holding her on my lap.

I also occasionally swim just minutes after eating a sandwich, sit very close to the television, and read in poorly lit rooms.

I do always put the toilet seat back down. I'm no dummy.



And go.

I agree and feel that I too fit the category in which you place yourself. Unfortunately 99% of the population feel the same way and a great many of them ARE NOT JUSTIFIED in holding that belief as proven through real world collected statistics.

This is without venturing into the world of litigation, risk adversity, or the wrong headed philosophy that we are all created equal (at least in reference to ability.) Equal rights is a great idea but it is delusional to hold that folks are otherwise equal. Disagree? Shoot pool against a true expert, fast draw against a real gunslinger, wrestle a Sumo, swim race an Olympic swimmer, etc, etc.

Nearly every product on sale at Harbor Freight comes with a warning that it contains substances known by the state of California to cause reproductive harm and cancer. Yet, we buy lots of HF stuff. Many of the manuals for HF stuff contain more pages of cautions and warning than assembly and use instructions. Does HF have a manual for ANY of their products that doesn't tell you to use safety glasses?

Most of this BS is driven by liability issues related to bozos trying to substitute litigation for winning the lottery and bears no practical factual relationship to the use of the product. Hold a cup of boiling coffee by wedging it in your crotch if you want to but do so at your own risk, unless your lawyer will take the case on contingency with nothing up front.

Pat

 

[texasjohn]

I don 't follow all the safety rules, but I DO try to be safe!