Weirdest close call with-OUT tragic results

[medic1050]

Last summer, I had just moved into our new farm. We were planing a pig roast and had invited all of our friends. I was mowing the ditch edge on the road when I saw my new neighbor out in her yard. I had not really met her yet so I pulled into her driveway to invite her to the party in two days. As I drove in her dog came barking. I shut down the tractor and spoke to the dog, hoping he would let me off. He seemed quite friendly and was happy for some attention. I then started walking toward the neighbor explaining about the party when I heard a whine from behind me. It started low but grew in pitch and did not stop. I looked back over my shoulder to see my tractor starting to roll down her driveway. It hit me in a flash I didn't set the parking brake when I got off trying to make friends with the dog. I sprinted back down quickly catching up to the moving machine. I grabbed the steering wheel and stepped up as we were rolling, spinning with my momentum I smashed my foot down on the brakes. The tractor came to a skidding halt. I engaged the parking brake and finished inviting the neighbor. Two days later at the party she remarked how incredibly dangerous it was to jump on to the moving machine, any misstep would have resulted in the tractor crushing me with the front wheels. She was right I was very lucky, but the pig roast was fantastic.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Double wow!!! :confused2: :confused2:

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Back in the late 70's, I was mowing the median strip of a 4-lane Federal highway (Rt. 33) in our area. Tractor was a 504 IH with a 5' Danco belly mower.

The mower picked up a rubber spring snubber, and threw it into oncoming traffic in the southbound lanes. It was like a scene from the Six Million Dollar Man, where things went into slow motion. It was in direct line with my vision.

It hit the door post between the windshield, and the open side window of the car, right at head level. It put a sizeable dent in that door post. I heard it hit, over the noise of the tractor, and mower running full throttle. Cars were probably running 55-60 mph.

The driver, a company salesman, immediatley pulled to the berm, visibly shaken... He wasn't the only one....!!

I offered to call the Ohio Highway Patrol, to make about a report, to get his car repaired, but he refused... He was just happy it did not hit a nano second later. Me too... Both our guardian angles were with us that day...

A fear of mine.

I try to watch for cars and be stopped when they past when I clip the shoulders on a two mile strip so walkers can step off the pavement. I do not kill the bushhog but just stop moving so as not to pick up new stuff.

 

[crazyal]

When it's cooler out I bump up the hand throttle on my 580k when I first start it to get the oil flowing. As the engine and hydraulic fluid warms up it I don't back off the hand throttle the engine will speed up. Being a little eager to finish up putting dirt around the foundation I set off a bit sooner than normal.

Off I went about moving some dirt up a hill to fill in around my foundation. For whatever reason while going up the hill the front, even with the dirt in the bucket, started getting light so I left off the throttle. Normally when it happens letting off the throttle stops the tires from lifting. This time I had forgot to put the hand throttle back to idle so when I let off the foot pedal the front kept coming up. Before I could do anything the BH started to go over backwards.

By the time I realized why it the motor was still going strong the BH had come to a rest with the front wheels several feet off the ground (facing uphill). What had stopped me from going over was the ruts my tires had made left a high spot between them that the pivot for the backhoe had bottomed out on. I carefully put the brake on and lowered the outriggers to push the front down.

How do you say it, "grace of god"? Well once back on flat ground I decided to rethink how to go up that hill. I'm much more cautious now. Now I make sure the hand throttle is off before moving and keep the bucket as low tot he ground as possible. Also if width permits I keep the outriggers close to the ground.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

When it's cooler out I bump up the hand throttle on my 580k when I first start it to get the oil flowing. As the engine and hydraulic fluid warms up it I don't back off the hand throttle the engine will speed up. Being a little eager to finish up putting dirt around the foundation I set off a bit sooner than normal.

Off I went about moving some dirt up a hill to fill in around my foundation. For whatever reason while going up the hill the front, even with the dirt in the bucket, started getting light so I left off the throttle. Normally when it happens letting off the throttle stops the tires from lifting. This time I had forgot to put the hand throttle back to idle so when I let off the foot pedal the front kept coming up. Before I could do anything the BH started to go over backwards.

By the time I realized why it the motor was still going strong the BH had come to a rest with the front wheels several feet off the ground (facing uphill). What had stopped me from going over was the ruts my tires had made left a high spot between them that the pivot for the backhoe had bottomed out on. I carefully put the brake on and lowered the outriggers to push the front down.

How do you say it, "grace of god"? Well once back on flat ground I decided to rethink how to go up that hill. I'm much more cautious now. Now I make sure the hand throttle is off before moving and keep the bucket as low tot he ground as possible. Also if width permits I keep the outriggers close to the ground.

Good point on power making bad things happen faster.

 

[Redneck in training]

I have two. Shortly after I got my tractor I discovered leaky sight on the trany. Went to the dealer and got new design sight and was instructed to place the tractor nose downhill and pop the sight out and press new one in.
So I drove the tractor over an edge of a slope on the edge of our driveway let off the HST pedal and the tractor wouldn't stop. I hit the brakes but it gained more speed. It made almost complete doughnut on the bottom while balancing on two wheels for while. Then settled on all four. Then I figured that I have to use FWD when going downhill especially when the FEL bucket is on.

I bought several cubic meters of freshly cut pine board many years ago. To get them home from the mill I borrowed friends boat trailer. It was heavy two axle trailer without brakes.
I loaded first load of board and drove home. I was driving pretty slow and carefully and made it home safely. Initially I planned to bring it in three loads but since it was easy to bring the first load home I got somewhat braver and decided to take the rest of the boards in one load. I was also driving somewhat faster. All went well until I came to a traffic light that changed from green to red just when I was approaching the intersection. Initially I wanted to make it through on green so I was speeding up to make it but now I had to stop. I hit the brakes, locked the wheels (no ABS) and skidded cross the intersection with smoking tires. Then it occurred to me that the load plus the trailer was most likely about triple the mass of the car.

 

[treman]

While mowing a few years ago I was attempting to do a better than average job as we were having a party. Well the front tread was ever so slightly narrower than the rear and I had forgotten this momentarily and I put the edge of the front tire right at the end fence post as I passed it. I don't know why I did this because I had just mowed along the entire length of the fence like normal. either way the rear left tire caught the post. This sent me spinning around the post and sending the front end sideways towards a tree on the back side of the post. If it could bruise I think the clutch would have been black and blue for a month after that one.

Another one, or few I guess. At work we normally try to mow all we can with the mowers and batwings before we have to get sent out with the ditch bank mower. its nicer and easier, that is unless the banks are just steep enough to lay the tractor on the opposite side of the ditch bank. Its always funny when someone calls on the radio to get pulled out. nothing hurt but a little pride.
be safe on those slopes!

 

[Depmandog]

When I was seventeen and living with a new to me foster family, I was helping them with the harvest. Farming wasn't new to me, but their operation was.

They had an old MF sitting stationary using the PTO to operate the grain elevator, i positioned the grain truck and raised the grain bed a few feet. Hopped onto the MF and started it up, engaged the PTO which started the elevator.

Back then, there wasn't any shaft covers - so I was particularly aware of that rotating shaft. I was working my way into position so I could open the grain door of the truck bed - staying way clear of that shaft - and tripped on something and fell onto the running conveyor.

I had on a pair of work coveralls - and somehow a patch of cloth near my shoulder blade caught up in the conveyor chain. Up I go, pinned on my back by my full body coveralls.

Now this grain bin was a good sized one / but was empty as this was the first load. I pictured myself going up the conveyor then getting dumped head first into an empty bin and crashing head first onto the concrete bin floor. Not a pleasant thought.

So I did the only I could do, I rolled left out of the conveyor hoping to free myself. Good plan, but the coveralls are still caught Now I am still going up, but hanging off the side of the conveyor - feet dangling, my face scraping along the old rusted metal. I am really panicking. Not only am I trapped, but now also choking because my zipper was cutting off my air. So I kicked, twisted and contorted enough to finally cause my coveralls to rip enough to release me. Whew I thought! Until I realized in that nano second that what goes up must come down.

Now I don't know for sure how high I was, but I felt that I must have fallen 15' to the ground. Fortunately, I didn't break anything in the fall, and aside from some road rash on my face, a nasty pinch mark on my back and a ripped pair of coveralls, I was fine.

And to think this all started because I WAS trying to be safe

 

[Gale Hawkins]

When I was seventeen and living with a new to me foster family, I was helping them with the harvest. Farming wasn't new to me, but their operation was.

They had an old MF sitting stationary using the PTO to operate the grain elevator, i positioned the grain truck and raised the grain bed a few feet. Hopped onto the MF and started it up, engaged the PTO which started the elevator.

Back then, there wasn't any shaft covers - so I was particularly aware of that rotating shaft. I was working my way into position so I could open the grain door of the truck bed - staying way clear of that shaft - and tripped on something and fell onto the running conveyor.

I had on a pair of work coveralls - and somehow a patch of cloth near my shoulder blade caught up in the conveyor chain. Up I go, pinned on my back by my full body coveralls.

Now this grain bin was a good sized one / but was empty as this was the first load. I pictured myself going up the conveyor then getting dumped head first into an empty bin and crashing head first onto the concrete bin floor. Not a pleasant thought.

So I did the only I could do, I rolled left out of the conveyor hoping to free myself. Good plan, but the coveralls are still caught Now I am still going up, but hanging off the side of the conveyor - feet dangling, my face scraping along the old rusted metal. I am really panicking. Not only am I trapped, but now also choking because my zipper was cutting off my air. So I kicked, twisted and contorted enough to finally cause my coveralls to rip enough to release me. Whew I thought! Until I realized in that nano second that what goes up must come down.

Now I don't know for sure how high I was, but I felt that I must have fallen 15' to the ground. Fortunately, I didn't break anything in the fall, and aside from some road rash on my face, a nasty pinch mark on my back and a ripped pair of coveralls, I was fine.

And to think this all started because I WAS trying to be safe

at this point I calling this in the top 10.

 

[RaydaKub]

at this point I calling this in the top 10.

at least!