Two injured seriously by farm tractor

[Jstpssng]

^^^
Just one. I couldn't figure out how to simultaneously sit in the seat of my Kubota while also running the backhoe. It's HST anyways though, and won't start if the pedal is even slightly engaged.

 

[RickB]

NONE. But I'm not talking about the screwdriver method. Heck on most modern machines, you can't even see the starter motor.

So if your answer is zero you are not likely to injure yourself. I happen to know the NSS on an IH 1066 is on the clutch pedal which is between 4 and 5 feet off the ground. So if it is functional starting the tractor from the ground is difficult at best. And if the circuit is not functional there is the recipe for tragedy. I fail to see what the motivation is for you to repeatedly attempt to normalize unsafe behavior on what was very likely to be poorly maintained equipment. This horse has been beaten long past death and frankly I am done with it.

 

[Threepoint]

Seriously though. Who gets on their tractor to start it, to warm it up? Any more than I would get in my Mule to warm it up. Reach in, turn the key. Walk away.

That would actually make for an interesting survey!

I'll start. Call me crazy, but I do.

Sometimes I leave the tractor in gear when I shut it down; sometimes in neutral. Sometimes I set the parking brake; sometimes not, relying on the level terrain and the implement/attachment position on the ground. I don't always remember which I've done, even if it's just to get off to move an obstacle. I sure won't remember overnight. When I'm doing woodworking or metalworking, I always measure twice and cut once. :laughing: Speaking only for myself, I've made enough lame-brained mistakes just through carelessness or inattention not to have grown even more cautious around machinery as I get older.

 

[k0ua]

That would actually make for an interesting survey!

I'll start. Call me crazy, but I do.

Sometimes I leave the tractor in gear when I shut it down; sometimes in neutral. Sometimes I set the parking brake; sometimes not, relying on the level terrain and the implement/attachment position on the ground. I don't always remember which I've done, even if it's just to get off to move an obstacle. I sure won't remember overnight. When I'm doing woodworking or metalworking, I always measure twice and cut once. :laughing: Speaking only for myself, I've made enough lame-brained mistakes just through carelessness or inattention not to have grown even more cautious around machinery as I get older.

Exactly. The older we get the more "lazy" we get, the more complacent we get and the more rationalization we do. It may hurt to climb back into the cab to start a tractor. But I guarandamtee you that the 86 year old is hurting a lot more now with his lapse in judgement than climbing back into that cab would have done. And as for not repairing the tractor enough to allow key starting so that it must be "screwdriver started" is JUST STUPID. And that is all I have to say about that.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I would say that people familiar with equipment have a different outlook than people that simply operate machines and just parrott safety talk. Having said that. Probably many of these starting accidents involve very technically knowledgable people.

 

[RickB]

I would say that people familiar with equipment have a different outlook than people that simply operate machines and just parrott safety talk. Having said that. Probably many of these starting accidents involve very technically knowledgable people.

I farmed full time almost half my life and have been driving tractors for 57 years. I’ve seen guys I know with similar experience as myself end up injured or dead because they became complacent. So far I have avoided that kind of fate. If that makes me a parrot, so be it.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I'm talking more about the person with two acres and a compact, that suddenly knows everything. And virtually nothing from personal experience.

 

[jgedmond]

That would actually make for an interesting survey!

I'll start. Call me crazy, but I do.

Sometimes I leave the tractor in gear when I shut it down; sometimes in neutral. Sometimes I set the parking brake; sometimes not, relying on the level terrain and the implement/attachment position on the ground. I don't always remember which I've done, even if it's just to get off to move an obstacle. I sure won't remember overnight. When I'm doing woodworking or metalworking, I always measure twice and cut once. :laughing: Speaking only for myself, I've made enough lame-brained mistakes just through carelessness or inattention not to have grown even more cautious around machinery as I get older.

I'm with "crazy". :laughing:

I start from the seat too. Sometimes I stay there during warm up (which isn't long in southeast TX most of the year). Sometimes I climb down to get stuff ready to go in the field during warm up.

 

[MossRoad]

I'm talking more about the person with two acres and a compact, that suddenly knows everything. And virtually nothing from personal experience.

I've got 1 acre and a compact little machine. But I worked around airplane propellers, jet engines, and fuel farms for 6 years, and high speed printing presses, conveyors and other machinery in a printing plant for 30 years. Just broke my first bone and got my first stitches 2 months ago.... partially due to complacency on my part, and faulty equipment on my employer's part.

I sit on my machine to start it. Probably because the key is on the right and the throttle and choke are on the left. But I get in all my vehicles before I start them. Never reach in the window to crank them. Why? Because I was raised on cars with stick shifts and no safety interlocks. I've seen a couple times people try and start a car in gear and have it lurch forward or backward because it was in gear. It's just a good practice and procedure to do things the correct way each and every time.

Heck, I even use turn signals and look both ways even when no one is around, just to keep it a good habit. :laughing:

 

[k0ua]

I've got 1 acre and a compact little machine. But I worked around airplane propellers, jet engines, and fuel farms for 6 years, and high speed printing presses, conveyors and other machinery in a printing plant for 30 years. Just broke my first bone and got my first stitches 2 months ago.... partially due to complacency on my part, and faulty equipment on my employer's part.

I sit on my machine to start it. Probably because the key is on the right and the throttle and choke are on the left. But I get in all my vehicles before I start them. Never reach in the window to crank them. Why? Because I was raised on cars with stick shifts and no safety interlocks. I've seen a couple times people try and start a car in gear and have it lurch forward or backward because it was in gear. It's just a good practice and procedure to do things the correct way each and every time.

Heck, I even use turn signals and look both ways even when no one is around, just to keep it a good habit. :laughing:

You actually look BOTH way?. c'mon now. That is just wasteful!