SeatBelts...

[Anonymous Poster]

Just wonderin.... I know in the owners manual they recommend using the seat belt, but I'm curious... has anyone ever rolled one wearing their belt? Should I plan on staying with the tractor in the event of a rollover or should I make an effort to try and jump free from it? Hopefully I never have to make that decesion tho... The 9N I USED to drive didn't have a seat belt, but my new TC33D sure does...

 

[MChalkley]

This question has been kicked around a few times before, but it wouldn't bother me if we kicked it around once a week or so, because I suspect most people wear it less often than they should.

The "official" line on wearing the seatbelt is that, if you have a ROPS, you should always wear it and if the tractor rolls, you should never try to jump off, just go along for the ride. I think it's the best thing to do, too. You're a lot better trusting the ROPS than you are your own reflexes, speed, grip, accurate split-second assessment of all the variables, etc.

 

[Youare]

My 8N does not have a seat belt either, but my Kubota does. I used the seat belt a few times when I first got the Kubota but it was an inconvience if you got on and off frequently. So, I just did not make a habit of using it.

However, when I do travel along the road for any distance I do wear the belt. I don't even what to think of a roll over.

Randy

 

[MossRoad]

There are aftermarket ROPS made for just about any model of tractor ever made. I would buy one and install a seat belt and always use it. My PT425 has a seatbelt and I have made it a habit to never take the brake off unless the seat belt is on, even if I am just going to move it across the driveway. I believe that accidents happen when you let your guard down. It only takes 5 - 10 seconds to fasten and adjust a seat belt and probably less time to die in a roll over. Be carefull, we'd miss you here on TBN.

 

[frank_f15]

with a rops, wear belt and stay with machine in the event it does roll, no rops = no seat belt . but best to keep yourself out of tht situation, by thinking beforehand. if in doubt? don't try it!!!!!

 

[Bird]

SOB, I started wearing seat belts in my car in '62 (car didn't come with them; I installed them). Then on December 29, 1965, I was a passenger in a car that crashed and have no doubt at all that the seat belt was the only thing that kept me from being killed (we hit hard enough that the seat belt broke, but it slowed me down enough that I only stuck my head partially through the windshield instead of going completely through it).

Now Randy says he just wears his on the tractor if he's going some distance. I'm afraid a lot of people do the same thing, and of course, I've been guilty of not wearing my motorcycle helmet just to run to the grocery store or some other place close when I was riding motorcyles. It seems almost logical; however . . ., I suppose there are instances in which car crashes, tractor rollovers, etc. happen when the operator is being careful and halfway expects it, but I can guarantee you those incidents are relatively rare. Most of them happen when you least expect it, and they happen so fast that you hardly have time to react. There's no doubt that tractors have rolled over and the operator has jumped clear, but the odds are against you.

So, as you may have guessed, I wear seat belts, whether in the car or on the tractor. And when you've been doing it as long as I have it just ain't comfortable without it./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

This experienced farmer was bushhogging for a neighbor. While traveling up the road where the truck is parked, he made a U-turn. The left tractor wheels dropped off the edge of the gravel road. The tractor flipped upside down and killed the farmer instantly. If his tractor had a ROPS, and if he had worn the seatbelt, the farmer almost certainly would not have been injured and would have walked away from the overturn.
~~~from the web~~~

 

[Anonymous Poster]

A ROPS and seatbelt can’t keep a tractor from overturning, but they do protect a person from being hurt or killed. Used together, ROPS and seatbelts are 98% effective in preventing injuries and fatalities during tractor overturns

Most tractors manufactured after 1970 can be fitted with a ROPS for about $800 to $1,000. This sounds like a lot of money, but just think of the economic and health risks a farmer takes by not having a ROPS on a tractor.

A recent study at the University of Kentucky estimated that a serious injury from a tractor overturn could cost $140,000 in medical bills alone, plus lost production and other non-medical costs. In one-third of the cases when a farm has this type of expensive injury (or a fatality), the family farm is lost. With this in mind, wouldn’t a ROPS and seatbelt be good investments for saving lives, money, and a way of life for farmers?
~~from the web~~~

 

[MChalkley]

And my wife wonders why I don't let her read TBN...

If she read these threads, she'd never let me on a tractor again! /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

 

[Egon]

Bird:

My first car didn't have seat belts and I also installed a pair. Fortunetly they were never put to the test.

Egon