Sloppy/complacency is one thing. Ignorance is another... and yes, I was ignorant. The very first time I mounted my slasher onto my brand spankin' new tractor (see left).
LORD! I cursed a blue streak trying to align the shaft onto the PTO. Finally it slid on, or I thought it did... I didn't know about the locking position. Fortunately, when it did come away from the PTO, the shaft just nose-dived into the ground and left a rut. I dug the dirt out and figured out what I'd done wrong.
Later I discovered that there is not a standard in shaft locking configurations. Some have 'buttons' that need to be depressed, others have a collar that needs to be pulled back. There are probably more variations that I've yet to encounter.
I did the same exact thing first day I had my tractor with the finish mower. Mine just wedged in the pto cover and broke of one of the chains that keep the guard from spinning. Oops lesson learned, luckily no more mishaps since. Ive grew up mowing with my dads tractor but it was a dedicated mower and we never removed it so was never taught the proper way to hook up the pto shaft.