PT425 ROPS Spares Fool - - Followup

[Sedgewood]

<font color="red"> Glad to hear you did not actually roll, since most folks legs will not keep even a 180 from tipping over if that is what it wants to do.
</font>


Having, been lucky enough to have survived more than my share of "experience is the best teacher" experiences, I'd like to point out the key ingredient these things have taught me to respect.

TIME, reaction time that is.

As we use our "sixth sense" indicator of how close we are to the edge of going over whatever cliff we're walking along, we are cocky enough to think we can clutch, brake, steer, or whatever to step back from the edge. That's fine up to a point. Misjudge that point and we are at the bottom of the cliff long before Oops! even becomes a concept.

Once tip over starts we are so far down the cliff and so far off balance before our reaction time runs out that nothing we do after that will affect the outcome. As just one example there was that time back in '67 when I was working with my foot poised over the clutch to dump it the moment things got to the hairy edge (I was moving dirt in one of those three point hitch bucket attachments). Ha! When the tractor went over (backwards!), it moved so fast that when I stabbed for the clutch it was no where near where my foot shot out - it was up much closer to my ear than it should have been and all I stabbed was air as the tractor went by. I was lucky that time. And so many times since.

We survivors aren't smarter - we're just luckier /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Let the good times roll,
Sedgewood

 

[MossRoad]

Good advice, Sedgewood.

I'd add that we should avoid getting in those situations in the first place, but sometimes you need to do some close in work. So we need to go slower, make the work area larger, attack it from a safer angle, etc... and most importantly, use the proper equipment and safety gear at all times. Hey, if a job takes a little longer or costs more, so what? At least we will be alive to enjoy the completed project.

An example of unnecessary risk taking would be me and ice fishing. It can be done safely. I have safety gear, etc... but many times I have measured the ice and wondered... how thin can the ice be before I go through? How will I ever find out? How can I tell strong ice from weak ice? 4 inches of strong ice held me fine. 10 inches of slush didn't. Is a bluegill worth dying for? Not today... I'm not that hungry! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif But if I was starving, I might take that risk.

Applying that train of my logic to tractoring...

How do I know if the soil I am working on is solid or slush? It held me yesterday, but we had some rain overnight. Will a bucket of light soil weigh twice as much today because of moisture? Will the tractor hold that slope today like it did yesterday? Is a landscaping project worth dying for? Not today... step back and take another look at your project. Slow down a little and re-evaluate the situation. Take your time and be alert. And try not to put yourself in a dangerous situation. Sometimes dangerous work has to be done. If we choose to do it ourselves, we have to ask ourselves these questions constantly.

Do I follow my own advice all the time? I try to. Sometimes I have a lapse in good judgement. Sometimes the unexpected happens. That's why they call them accidents. I just try to keep safety in the front of my mind and constantly re-evaluate the situation as the day progresses and learn from my experiences and the experiences of others like the good folks here at TBN. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif