Tractor Safety is no Accident
(Page 4 of 5)
April/May 2005
By George DeVault
Think Safety
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Roll-overs and run-overs receive the most news coverage, but the list of possible tractor hazards and safe operating practices is as long as the number of uses and attachments for a tractor. Good visibility — front, rear and on both sides — will reduce the possibilities of an accident and should be a major consideration when selecting a tractor. The sloping front end on many new tractors improves the view of the ground, reducing the chances of running over someone or something.
New Holland Product Manager Bob Warfel says compact tractors pose an even higher safety risk because they are often used around the home. “You have to consciously think about what you’re doing,” Warfel says. “It’s not the same as a farm tractor working in the middle of a 100-acre field.”
Features such as PTOs and front-end loaders that make tractors more useful also make the machines more dangerous. The same PTO that powers a mower, rotary tiller, baler, post hole digger, manure spreader or snow blower can also mangle fingers, hands, feet or even worse when clothing or hair becomes entangled in a spinning drive shaft. The working speed of most PTO-powered implements is 540 rpm. At that speed, a PTO entanglement can wrap a shirt sleeve or pant leg around the drive shaft up to nine times in just one second — taking the unfortunate operator with it. Always disengage the PTO, shut off the tractor engine and wait for the drive shaft to stop rotating before approaching the equipment. Keep all safety shields in place, on both implements and the tractor
“Front-end loader buckets are dangerous,” says Shepherd Ogden, who has two decades of experience with tractors. “I completely messed up my hands with a bucket. I basically crushed my fingernails, and they got infected.” Ogden farmed steep hillsides with a 17-horsepower tractor that had a narrow wheelbase and no roll bar. “I had it on one wheel several times,” he recalls. “I was the only one who would drive it if it wasn’t in the middle of a flat field.”
To help stabilize the tractor, Ogden usually removed the loader when it was not needed. If your tractor doesn’t already have one, a quick-release bucket is a great investment. When using a front-end loader bucket, never lift anything higher than necessary, never drive across a hill if you can avoid it and always go straight up and down a steep incline to reduce the chances of a lateral tip-over.
Each tractor should be equipped with a fire extinguisher and first-aid kit. Being prepared for accidents should be a high priority. Adding a cell phone or walkie-talkie to an emergency kit is a great idea. Even if you don’t have current service, any functional cell phone can dial 911. So if you have an old cell phone, keep it in your tractor. That way, you’re only a phone call away from help should you need it
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