hube2
Veteran Member
My take on it is this. The manufacturer, in most cases, has not put a safety measure in place to protect the owner, at least not completely. Yes, the ROPS can save your life, but that is not their main concern. Their main concern is their own liability or a lawsuit that made them liable which likely resulted in some regulation that they had to install that safety feature.... My point is: Rules are so people don’t have to think. Or, perhaps they do think and come to the wrong conclusion...
Why does the coffee cup warn you that the contents are hot and could burn you? Because someone did something stupid and then sewed someone for their own stupidity. The warning is not there to protect you, it is there to protect the company from further litigation.
None of this is about having a brain and being able to think and come to the right conclusion, it's about who is liable when you don't.
If you, as the owner, disable or otherwise modify that safety feature you have removed the manufacturers liability. You are consciously deciding to take the risk and you are liable for your own actions at that point.
Now, think about the dealer or the mechanic that needs to drive your tractor. If that safety device is not in place and he knows that it is not in place and he does not fix it then he is taking the risk and he is liable for anything that happens because of that action. On the other hand, if he does not know the safety device is not in place then the owner is liable since it was the owner that disabled it. The dealer is protecting themself and the owner by putting that safety device back in place when he sees that it's disabled.
If I removed or otherwise modified my ROPS I would not be surprised to find that my dealer refused to work on it do to that modification.
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