Wear Your Seat Belt

DustyRusty

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Today I came across this ad from Catipilar, or as it is more commonly known CAT. Below is a quote from the advertising page for a seat belt compliance system.
A POTENTIAL LIFESAVER ON-SITE

Most machines come equipped with rollover protection systems (ROPS) and don’t move very fast. So why is reminding operators to buckle up so important? It can mean the difference between life and death. When the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration took a look at 50+ rollover accidents, there were zero fatalities only when operators wore seat belts in ROPS-protected cabs.
 
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GreensvilleJay

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gee 50 rollovers....that the sum TOTAL for ALL of the USA ?? Or did 'they' cherrypick the numbers ??

I'm kinda surprised 'they' haven't mandated safety interlocks...no seatbelt...no start and run....
 
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John D 2

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gee 50 rollovers....that the sum TOTAL for ALL of the USA ?? Or did 'they' cherrypick the numbers ??

I'm kinda surprised 'they' haven't mandated safety interlocks...no seatbelt...no start and run....
SSHHHH!!! Don't give them any ideas.
 
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Daren Todd

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It's not only rollovers that it protects you from. It keeps you in the seat.

Here's a real life example that I witnessed back about 16 years ago.

A guy was operating a large trackhoe and unloading me. He picked up the equipment. Swung around and overextended the boom changing his center of gravity.

The trackhoe tipped slamming the bucket into the top of the equipment.

When the trackhoe tipped, he wasn't wearing his seat belt.

Operater got his face slammed into the front windshield.

It was quite comical seeing his face smooshed into the front glass, but very painful for the operator.

If he didn't have that windshield stopping him, he would have probably been ejected from the cab.

That seat belt protects you in case of rollover. But it also keeps your bottom planted in that seat in other instances as well.
 

UnEasyRider

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I am a new operator and trying to get into the habit of using mine like I do in my car. Just doesn't feel right in such a slow moving vehicle.
 
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DustyRusty

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I am a new operator and trying to get into the habit of using mine like I do in my car. Just doesn't feel right in such a slow moving vehicle.
When I was operating my 1964 Minneapolis Moline Tractor, loader, and backhoe, the right front wheel dropped into a hole that I hadn't been aware of. That was all that it took to put the machine on its side. As it started to tip, I got up out of the seat and was looking for a place to jump, when the machine evicted me from the operator's platform, and threw me away from the rolling-over machine. I was very lucky because I could have been crushed by the machine if I wound up under it. There were no safety devices on that machine, so I put it up for sale and then bought my first Kubota.
 
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Flintknapper

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I am a new operator and trying to get into the habit of using mine like I do in my car. Just doesn't feel right in such a slow moving vehicle.
Relatively slow speed has nothing to do with it.

I've been operating tractors for about 53 years now and until last summer, never had a serious incident or particularly close call.

But I learned a valuable lesson one day when NOT wearing my seat-belt.

I was mowing (rotary mower) along the road frontage of my property. It was in an area I don't mow very often (couple of times a year). In certain spots there are ditches and 'side-hill' terrain so I am careful to go slowly (perhaps 3 mph at most).

I was watching my rear view mirror for traffic that might be coming up behind me and didn't see a small sink hole that had developed since the last time I had mowed.

My right front tire dropped down into it (lifting the left rear tire). The hole was large enough to stop the tractor dead. It threw me from the seat onto the steering wheel and had I not grabbed the steering wheel with both hands would have thrown me off the tractor on the downhill side.

I quickly pulled myself back upright into the seat. Fortunately I was NOT in 4wd so with the left rear tire in the air it was spinning with no power going the other side.

Now I admit....when mowing flat pasture land....I still don't wear the seat belt, but PLEASE do not think for a moment that 'slow speed' equates to 'safety'. I do not fail to wear my seat belt when mowing road frontage now.

3 mph doesn't sound like much speed...and it isn't, BUT if the tractor comes to an abrupt stop (as mine did) YOU will continue to go forward at whatever your previous speed was (if not restrained).
 

UnEasyRider

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L3302 LA 526 loader, Box Scraper, Grappler, Forks, Rotary mower, Big Tool Rack.
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When I was operating my 1964 Minneapolis Moline Tractor, loader, and backhoe, the right front wheel dropped into a hole that I hadn't been aware of. That was all that it took to put the machine on its side. As it started to tip, I got up out of the seat and was looking for a place to jump, when the machine evicted me from the operator's platform, and threw me away from the rolling-over machine. I was very lucky because I could have been crushed by the machine if I wound up under it. There were no safety devices on that machine, so I put it up for sale and then bought my first Kubota.
So in that instance you would have been better off seat belted in and staying with the machine??? 1964 definitely no ROPS either I'm sure.
 

UnEasyRider

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L3302 LA 526 loader, Box Scraper, Grappler, Forks, Rotary mower, Big Tool Rack.
Apr 14, 2023
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Florida
Relatively slow speed has nothing to do with it.

I've been operating tractors for about 53 years now and until last summer, never had a serious incident or particularly close call.

But I learned a valuable lesson one day when NOT wearing my seat-belt.

I was mowing (rotary mower) along the road frontage of my property. It was in an area I don't mow very often (couple of times a year). In certain spots there are ditches and 'side-hill' terrain so I am careful to go slowly (perhaps 3 mph at most).

I was watching my rear view mirror for traffic that might be coming up behind me and didn't see a small sink hole that had developed since the last time I had mowed.

My right front tire dropped down into it (lifting the left rear tire). The hole was large enough to stop the tractor dead. It threw me from the seat onto the steering wheel and had I not grabbed the steering wheel with both hands would have thrown me off the tractor on the downhill side.

I quickly pulled myself back upright into the seat. Fortunately I was NOT in 4wd so with the left rear tire in the air it was spinning with no power going the other side.

Now I admit....when mowing flat pasture land....I still don't wear the seat belt, but PLEASE do not think for a moment that 'slow speed' equates to 'safety'. I do not fail to wear my seat belt when mowing road frontage now.

3 mph doesn't sound like much speed...and it isn't, BUT if the tractor comes to an abrupt stop (as mine did) YOU will continue to go forward at whatever your previous speed was (if not restrained).
Wow! You were lucky. I was strapped in every time I hopped on today! Did you know it takes 3 weeks of doing something regularly to become a habit. By next month I will have a new habit! ;)
 
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fried1765

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I have owned an 8N for 50 years.......No seat belt available.
I have a Ford 1920 FEL with ROPS.....I do not use seat belt.
I have a Kubota L48 TLB ( ROPS intentionally removed )....I do not use seat belt.
My property is basically flat sandy ground.
I ALWAYS use a seat belt in automobiles.
I have 30,000+ hours of pilot time, including some aircraft carrier landings....ALWAYS seat belt.
I have been shot at in flight.
I am nearly 83 years old, and have survived prostate cancer (26 years ago)
I have AFIB, and other heart/kidney issues.
I'm just takin my chances?
"Different strokes for different folks",.... I think!
 
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armylifer

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I have owned an 8N for 50 years.......No seat belt available.
I have a Ford 1920 FEL with ROPS.....I do not use seat belt.
I have a Kubota L48 TLB ( ROPS intentionally removed )....I do not use seat belt.
My property is basically flat sandy ground.
I ALWAYS use a seat belt in automobiles.
I have 30,000+ hours of pilot time, including some aircraft carrier landings....ALWAYS seat belt.
I have been shot at in flight.
I am nearly 83 years old, and have survived prostate cancer (26 years ago)
I have AFIB, and other heart/kidney issues.
I'm just takin my chances?
"Different strokes for different folks",.... I think!
Just because the wheel of chance did not bite you does not mean safety should be ignored. To each their own. Take the chance or not, it is individual choice. However, I recently read about an old man in his 80's or 90's that had a rollover while mowing his lawn and he was killed. So, you still have time for that final hurrah!
 

Jchonline

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gee 50 rollovers....that the sum TOTAL for ALL of the USA ?? Or did 'they' cherrypick the numbers ??

I'm kinda surprised 'they' haven't mandated safety interlocks...no seatbelt...no start and run....

No that sounds like some ridiculousness for Canada and the Nanny state.
I have owned an 8N for 50 years.......No seat belt available.
I have a Ford 1920 FEL with ROPS.....I do not use seat belt.
I have a Kubota L48 TLB ( ROPS intentionally removed )....I do not use seat belt.
My property is basically flat sandy ground.
I ALWAYS use a seat belt in automobiles.
I have 30,000+ hours of pilot time, including some aircraft carrier landings....ALWAYS seat belt.
I have been shot at in flight.
I am nearly 83 years old, and have survived prostate cancer (26 years ago)
I have AFIB, and other heart/kidney issues.
I'm just takin my chances?
"Different strokes for different folks",.... I think!
Yes I would say you have earned the right to do whatever the hell you want!

Personal choice, but I always wear a seatbelt on the tractor. Hills EVERYWHERE here, rocks, uneven ground all around. Heck I even wear it in the excavator all the time. As you mention...the situation/environment and personal common sense go a long way to safety.
 

fried1765

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Kubota L48 TLB, Ford 1920 FEL, Ford 8N, SCAG Liberty Z, Gravely Pro.
Nov 14, 2019
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Just because the wheel of chance did not bite you does not mean safety should be ignored. To each their own. Take the chance or not, it is individual choice. However, I recently read about an old man in his 80's or 90's that had a rollover while mowing his lawn and he was killed. So, you still have time for that final hurrah!
If I roll over on my lawnmower at 83....so be it.
I have already passed my dad by nearly two years!
 

armylifer

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If I roll over on my lawnmower at 83....so be it.
I have already passed my dad by nearly two years!
I am still a youngster at 69 years old. I hope that I am still able to make good or bad choices if/when I reach your age. Who knows, maybe by the time I reach your age we won't have the ability to make bad choices anymore. The nanny state will surely invent a way to prevent us from getting near any machine without PPE.
 
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Flintknapper

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L2350DT
May 3, 2022
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Deep East Texas
I have owned an 8N for 50 years.......No seat belt available.
I have a Ford 1920 FEL with ROPS.....I do not use seat belt.
I have a Kubota L48 TLB ( ROPS intentionally removed )....I do not use seat belt.
My property is basically flat sandy ground.
I ALWAYS use a seat belt in automobiles.
I have 30,000+ hours of pilot time, including some aircraft carrier landings....ALWAYS seat belt.
I have been shot at in flight.
I am nearly 83 years old, and have survived prostate cancer (26 years ago)
I have AFIB, and other heart/kidney issues.
I'm just takin my chances?
"Different strokes for different folks",.... I think!
Me thinks you have a VERY good (and exhausted) Guardian Angel. ;)
 
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dirtydeed

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ha...just last month!

Beast Mode Idiot.JPG
 
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dirtydeed

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Inquiring minds want the whole story!:)
Unfortunately...it can be found here: