Security & Theft Kids Riding

[Deere Dude]

To all my friends that think kids riding inside a cab of a tractor is as safe as a car (and I did), think again. In southern Wisconsin yesterday a farmer was allowing his 3 and 5 year olds to ride with him while plowing with a cabbed tractor. They hit a bump and the 3 year old steadied himself by grabbing the door handle. It opened the door and he fell out and was run over with the tire before the father could stop and was killed. It's a heart breaking story to say the least, but I never would have dreamed that would have been unsafe.

 

[Johndeere3720]

It seems safe until stuff like that happens.

 

[TripleR]

So sad for everyone involved.

Like many older folks, I grew up in the fields with my parents as baby sitters were unknown. I rode on tractors combines, wagons, pickup beds, grain trucks etc. When I began farming, I did pretty much the same thing. No one I knew was ever injured by this, but I sure don't recommend it.

 

[Baby Grand]

If your vehicle has more people than seats, then it has too many people.
So far, the airlines observe this idea.
The subways don't.
Choose wisely.

 

[gladehound]

This hits close to home. Year ago I remember guy down the street had his 1 yr old on his lap on a bull dozer. something happened and the kid got run over by the track. Amazingly the kid survive. Pushed into the mud and they pulled him out and he was fine. But I'll always remember that, because the more likely senerio is that he kid is not fine.

I was a kid myself when that happened. Now I'm a father with 3 and 5 yr old girls who love to ride on the tractor with me. I makes me nervous but they love it so much. I generally go slow with them on (under 2mph so that I can stop really fast if I need to) but It still makes me nervous.

I like the comment about if you have more people than seats you have too many people. I've been thinking of a way to install child seats with belts and after this story I think it's about time I do.

 

[Transit]

Kids riding on a tractor is a good idea if you are trying to kill them.

 

[2manyrocks]

My daughter always wanted to ride, and I had to discipline myself to say, "no" and explain why.

The other thing that can happen if kids get used to riding is when they see you go off without them, they come running up to the tractor and get run over without you knowing they were even there.

 

[HunterWare]

I see these threads and realize that there is of course a kernel of truth here.

On the other hand plenty of kids grew up climbing all over equipment just fine. You try and be safe, you balance risks, in the end however sometimes horrible things happen. I read about a kid struck by lightning just a little while back, walking along in the rain... I'm pretty sure that "you only let kids ouside in the rain if you want em dead" is not the message to take from that.

I was a street medic for many years in a rural area and while tractor tragedies are horrible and anything should be treated with respect in proportion to it's power (which tractors and other ground engaging equipment have in spades), they aren't even in the top 20 of things I saw hurt and kill kids or people in general.

Some man was doing something that hundreds of thousands of people have done over that last however many years without incident. Something terrible and unexpected struck him and we should feel for him and his shattered family. The news report didn't say he was trying to see how fast he could go over bumps while telling the children that only sissies hold on with one hand.

My lesson from this is to take care of myself and those I'm entrusted with, and thank god lightning didn't strike around me.

 

[flyingcow]

So sad for everyone involved.

Like many older folks, I grew up in the fields with my parents as baby sitters were unknown. I rode on tractors combines, wagons, pickup beds, grain trucks etc. When I began farming, I did pretty much the same thing. No one I knew was ever injured by this, but I sure don't recommend it.

remember those times well. Riding on the fender of an open cabbed tractor. Never had seen a ROPs on a tractor. Rode the back of alot of equipment. Not saying it was right or wrong, just the way it was. usually the smallest kid would drive the hay truck, could hardly see over the steering wheel, let alone get your feet on the pedals.

 

[gladehound]

Kids riding on a tractor is a good idea if you are trying to kill them.

There is risk in everything and there are ways to mitigate risk. My kids have a higher chance of being killed in a car acident than on the tractor. But they could get killed on either. I was raised around tractors as was most of my family. As a kid I rode on tractors all the time. We never had an incident. I know of many local kids that were killed in car accidents. One that was run over by a bull doser. And none that were killed by a tractor. And when I was growing up, most people had tractors. There were no ROPS. And kids rode on them all the time.