Veteran Farmer dies in tractor accident!

[SkunkWerX]

N80, I'm with you. My first thought was yet another very old fella dying.

Each time I hear of an 80+ senior in an accident like this, I often wonder if they are doing what they like, or just doing what they have done for 50 years, more out of routine than anything.

This story is real example of how a little slip, and a last grab for a handle, results in a fatality.

When the time comes, we take the car keys from the elderly, so they don't hurt themselves or others. We need to think about the operation of heavy equipment, as well.

It is becoming apparant, by these frequent news stories, that there may be a safety issue with the elderly operating tractors/equipment.

 

[DesertRose]

It is becoming apparant, by these frequent news stories, that there may be a safety issue with the elderly operating tractors/equipment.

I don't live in an area like the Mid-West with lots of farming. But I sure haven't noticed frequent news stories about elderly farmers being killed in farming tractor accidents. In fact, it's just the opposite. When I was much younger I would see many stories of young boys who were killed in tractor rollovers. Many tractors used on farms in the 50's and early 60's had the tricycle front ends and would flip over pretty easily if operated by people not used to their basic instability. In some cases a pretty young boy was operating the tractor or was riding on a fender next to dad who was operating the tractor.

The design and safety features we have on our tractors today came about because of those and many other accidents caused by design flaws or operator mistakes. I remember when I first saw tractors with seat belts and ROPS and they looked weird.

The news article about this accident doesn't say if any interlocks had been over ridden but it's very sad to read that that a farmer died while operating his tractor. But it just reinforces my reasons for not using the excuse of minor inconveniences for justifying defeating any safety device our tractors come equipped with.

It would have been much more fitting if the farmer died while sitting on his porch looking out on his fields. As much a I love my land and my tractor, dying by being crushed by my tractor is not they way I wish to depart.

Tom

 

[bialecki]

Weather you are 8 or 80 being crushed to death is painful and tragic and it is not the way to leave this life. Being older doesn't make the pain any less. When I read these stories it reminds me of not taking tractor safety for granted.

 

[N80]

Not many people are fortunate enough to exit this world in a way that they or we consider the 'right' or preferred way. And though I agree that being crushed to death is hardly on anyone's top ten list of exit strategies, I might still consider it better than dying sitting on the porch looking over my fields if sitting on that porch is all I can do or all that anyone will allow me to do when I'm old. Given the choice of having a porch or bedroom be my prison vs. living an active life but with the risk of a grizzly death at the hands of a tractor, I'm pretty sure I'd pick the latter even now when I am not old and even more so when I am old.

And some might prefer the more Utopian idea of being active and safe around tractor when you are 80 but reality and the facts really just don't support that notion. The simple truth is that when you are 80 years old your reflexes, your vision, your strength, your mental skills and your stamina are greatly diminished. This is a natural process and while all of us know octogenarians who seem to defy the process....they are the great exception and not the rule. So for an 80 year old to be truly safe around a tractor, especially an old one...he needs to be a spectator at a safe distance rather than an operator.

Sound harsh? Sure it does. But it makes sense too. Why lose grandpa in an unnecessary tractor accident? How critical is it for an 80 year old man to be operating a tractor anyway?

But when I'm 80 do I want my family to park me on the porch or stick me in a corner? Heck no. If its at all possible, I'll be on my old tractor too (probably the same one I own now), risking a horrible death that would still seem preferable to dying slowly and neatly on the porch.

 

[frank_f15]

Was just wondering if this tragic accident happened BECAUSE THE MAN was in his 80's or just a case of a man slipping and grabing for a handle. could it have happened to a younger man? i know a few young men that have had serious accidents and age had nothing to do with it.

 

[texasjohn]

Tragic accident, but I kinda want to go quick and doing what I love to do.

I had an uncle who saddled up, rounded up a bunch of sheep with his son, loaded them into a trailer, son went to auction, he rode back to the barn, unsaddled both horses, went to the house around noon and was found a couple of hours later. He had survived many life threatening medical problems including anthrax, gullion-berret(sp?), broken pelvis from horse sitting in lap, fall from roof with resulting broken leg and arm.


Accidents happen because you are in the situation. Their probability increases with the less judgement, skill, knowledge, strength, care or in some cases, luck that you have, regardless of age, sex, race, or religious preference.

I have come to regard my tractor cab as a key unanticipated safety feature for me because:

avoid limbs, insects, rocks in the eye
avoid temperature extremes, rain, wind
hard to get thrown out if doors closed (not substitute for seat belt)
long handles on both doors assisting entry/exit, also hang on to when rough
branches cannot rech in and knock the FEL hydraulic handle
overhead light at night
keep elements away from seat, instruments, thus less slippery