Seat belt?

[MLB]

I'm finally getting some hours in now and it sure seems like tipping type situations come up more often and easily than I prefer. Doesn't take much of a pile to make it dicey.
I can't get comfortable wearing my seatbelt.
I feel like I would be better off baling off the high side, trusting my instincts and athleticism to get me to a safe spot vs taking the ride over with the tractor. (if it ever came to it)
I'm sure I will get chastised for this but i keep feeling the same way, even as the hours mount (120).
I don't think this is the same for everyone, but I was an athlete my whole life and diving and tuck/roll is just a natural thing to me.
Anyone else?

 

[MLB]

I never drive my truck or car without a shoulder belt on so it's not me not liking them.

 

[AndyM]

I am a big fan of ROPS and seat belt. Working with tractors and forklifts, I have seen people jump off and get crushed. The safest place to be is in your seat, belted in.

"Trusting your instincts" won't aways work in a surprise situation that you aren't expecting.

 

[JerryG]

Look at it this way. Would you rather take a chance on your athletic ability or just stay strapped in and let the ROPS do the job that it was designed to do? By taking a chance you are endangering the future life of not only you but you family by taking away their husband, father, brother, son etc. Jumping of is just a chance, unsnapping the seat belt after a roll protected by the ROPS is what it is designed to do. Wear the seat belt and don't take chances with your life.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

I'm not nearly as good about wearing my seat belt as I should be on my tractor or in my trucks, but I'm trying to get better. One thing I will mention has to do with your perceived ability to 'jump free to safety.'

I don't think you have a real appreciation for how quickly things can happen when you're tractoring. One example I'll cite here has to do with using your tractor to pull. If you happen to make the all-too-common error of attaching higher than the center of your rear axle and the tractor starts to flip over, you have 1.5 SECONDS to feel the motion start, analyze the situation, physically react to it and then jump clear all the while having the tractor turning you upside down.

Personally, I don't think the most highly skilled and trained professional athlete could pull that off, much less one of us north state Hoosiers. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif Besides, if your luck is anything like mine, if you were able to pull off this feat, you'd impale yourself on a t-post when you jumped. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Wear your seatbelt and I'll try to wear mine. Maybe we'll both live longer. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I feel like I would be better off baling off the high side, trusting my instincts and athleticism to get me to a safe spot vs taking the ride over with the tractor. )</font>

I can certainly understand that, and think it's a pretty normal feeling, but I also know for sure that only in the very rarest of cases would you actually succeed. For one thing, most accidents happen too fast for the best athlete in the world to react quickly enough and for another . . . well, have you ever tried to jump from a platform that's moving in the opposite direction?

 

[frank_f15]

trust the seat belt! most people get on and off the trator from one side, it is a naturla thing. if u are used to getting off on the left and that happens to be the downside of the tip over , u are naturally going to jump that way. if u ever have the misfortune to tip, try to just hang on and let the seatbelt and rops do their job.

 

[Henro]

Hi,

Nice to be back after being erased!


In my opinion the simple fact is that you will not have time to jump, tuck and roll if you get yourself and your tractor in a dangerous situation and start to roll it.

So you have two choices. 1) strap yourself in and stay within the designed protective envelope, or...

2) risk being thrown somewhere outside that protective bubble and possibly being crushed by the tractor or roll bar.

My personal worry is the tractor rolling and the roll bar sliding down the side of a tree, and me getting crushed between the seat and the tree...but I still wear the seat belt. I figure in the end the chances are it will save me rather than otherwise. All things considered...

Bill near Pgh, PA....

 

[Typhoon]

Every time my tractor moves, the ROPS is up and the seatbelt is on. If something happens and I roll it, im holding on tight to the steering wheel and staying put. The ROPS is heavy guage steel, I have total confidence that I am safe under it. I would say your chances of jumping clear of a dangerous situation would be slim to none. Buckle up man... trust me...
-Brad

 

[RoyJackson]

"My personal worry is the tractor rolling and the roll bar sliding down the side of a tree, and me getting crushed between the seat and the tree...but I still wear the seat belt"

I've got a briar patch I worry about...same thing, if that's where the tractor rolled, I'd end up in a bunch of sticker bushes.

But, the oods are that it'll be the ROPS that crushes you if you go over unbelted.
If I'm working the tractor, the belt is on...