Tractor Safety: Be Wary of Your Equipment

We decided to follow up yesterday’s article with a few more tractor safety pointers. Yesterday, we focused on ROPS as a means of protecting rollovers and we looked at the importance of surveying the work place before operating a tractor. Today we are going to look at ways that a tractor operator can keep themselves safe from the mechanical workings of their vehicle.

Utah State University’s excellent “The Ten Commandments of Tractor Safety” includes some very useful suggestions in regard to preventing mechanically related accidents. First and foremost:

Dress Properly—Well fitted, belted clothing is a must. Flared pants, shirt tails, scarves and other loose clothing are too easily (and too often) caught in moving parts or controls. Invest in sturdy safety work shoes or boots with non-skid soles and steel toe caps. Protect yourself from the sun in summer and the cold in winter. Heavy work gloves are a plus, as are safety goggles or sun glasses with tempered lenses.

This is something that we have looked at on this blog numerous times in the past. It is great advice not just for tractor drivers but for all operators of heavy equipment. Loose fitting clothing can accidentally engage controls, cause you to slip or in the worst case scenario, become caught in the moving parts of your tractor.

Power Take-Off—An operating power takeoff (FITO) can be the most dangerous part of your tractor, which is why it comes equipped with protective shields. USE THEM AT ALL TIMES. An unguarded shaft, running at 1000 rpm’s, can wrap your clothes around it at the rate of 8 feet per second, and it can’t be stopped. It is many, many times more powerful than you are. It pays to treat it with the greatest respect.

The power take-off has featured in fatal accidents in the past and is sure to feature in more in the future. You need not fear the power take-off as long as it is properly protected. A tractor with an exposed power take-off is an accident waiting to happen.

By following proper tractor safety procedures, you can play a part in reducing the unacceptable level of tractor related fatalities and injuries that occur each year throughout the United States. If you are interested in tractor training or in learning how to operate any other type of heavy equipment, please contact us at any time.