Have you ever heard of a defective ROPS responsible for injury?

[Dr_Zinj]

The roll over protection really is not a bother, I do have some trees and low lying stuff and it helps remove some of it, you just have to watch out for what springs back, some branches do not break (do not ask me how I know).

Seatbelts on tractors, mowers, etc etc is overkill IMO, anyways mine do not have them and I do not want them. I resent having to put on a helmet on a bicycle as I grew up with more freedom, but on a bike yeah it is a good idea for many reasons, i.e stops sunburn too ! I also have an old truck that never had seatbelts, but they made me put in a lap one, almost useless, but in a car, yes I do not mind.

I see much of this stuff for the ppl who either do not think, or are very thick or have evil Knievel tendencies.

Don't mean to be a buzzkill, but the seat belt isn't overkill, it's a necessary component to the system. It sounds like you've had the fortunate of never experiencing a tractor roll over. No seatbelt means you will be tossed out of your seat, and the odds are, have the tractor roll over on top of you, or worse, have that very ROPS be the instrument that crushes you because you're not in your seat. But then I live in NH and have plenty of opportunity to hang from the seatbelt and look down the slope at where I'd land as the tractor goes rolling on over me.

 

[Midniteoyl]

So at the beginning of this year I dove under a an overhang by accident with my 2yr old kioti dk45 still on the flatbed trailer (parked in reverse)
Forgot to fold the ROPS.
Very slow speed, creeping under the overhang. As soon as I head the crash, I stopped.
The overhang part I hit is made from tonge and grove pine boards, about 1/2 thick, 5 inch wide. One 5 inch board was crushed, the next one splintered a bit, mostly intact though.

2x3 framing. And aluminum flashing covering the face. So if you were to kick that, you'd probably bust through.

The impact bent and folded the ROPS forward about a FOOT like it was made of clay. The bend started all the way from where it's bolted into the transfer case, and then in the middle, halfway to top, it folded, bent like with a pipe bender.

The amount of damage to the ROPS, compared to the damage to the overhang, BLEW MY MIND.

I still can not believe how a couple of half inch pine boards could have caused so much damage to something that is meant to save your life by keeping a ton or 2 of weight away from crushing you to death if you flip over.

There is no way that they would do anything to prevent any sort of injury, if they fold like this from a simple push.
2yr old tractor, no modifications or holes or anything. All stock from factory.

Worst part was having to wait for 7 months for kioti to get me new ROPS. The 2 vertical bars cost $1500 up here in chinada

And then there's me who forgot that the ROPs was all the way up due to driving on county roads and drove into the pole barn at some speed, breaking one of the 2x10 headers in half and pulling the other one completely out while also doing a pretty gnarly wheelie...

Tractor was fine outside a few scratches.

 

[Jstpssng]

When I was about 13 my brother took a safety course. Back then one of the most common tractors on farms was the Ford N series.
Anybody who has run one knows how high geared they are. He was told a lot of kids were injured or killed on them because they'd be horsing around, pop the clutch and put it over backwards.

 

[sunandsand]

When I got my tractor (2018) I realized that I really didn't know anything about tractor safety. I also realized that if I desired to maintain my health and well-being, I ought to learn about it.

Turns out there are NO tractor safety courses offered within a thousand miles of here! Nearest ones are Michigan and Minnesota, mostly for young people who need to drive tractors on public roads, and they are mostly on-line pamphlets.

In the six or so years I've been on Tractor By Net, I've learned a HUGE amount about tractor safety (and operation and maintenance), much of that comes directly from the experiences of TBN contributors.

And I thank you. Will Rogers once said there's those who learn from the experiences of others and there's those who only learn when they p*ss on the electric fence themselves.

I really, really prefer the first option.

Best Regards,
Mike/Florida

 

[CalG]

A note:

I needed to clear the spot in front of the shop this morning. 'Helping the neighbor to replace a water pump on his wife's car (Anything for the gals!)

This meant moving the B2601 down to the lower level.
Thinking of this thread, and wanting to be "safe", I re-positioned the ROPS from the fully folded position to the 45 degree back, half folded position. Yes, there is a pin placement for that position ;-)
When I got the tractor under the entry and shut down, I happened to glance up at the cast concrete header over the passageway. The ROPS tucked under by less than two inches!

Whew!, That would have made enough racket to wake me right up!

;-)

 

[Up to the Axles]

You’re not making sense. Seatbelts on tractors are extremely practical with a ROPs. The ROPs prevents the machine from rolling completely over, and the seatbelt keeps the operator from falling out of the seat and being crushed by the machine.

I watched a friend hit a pothole with the RF wheel, he went off the seat to exactly where the rear tire would crush him. Fortunately, it stalled and he survived.

 

[CalG]

I watched a friend hit a pothole with the RF wheel, he went off the seat to exactly where the rear tire would crush him. Fortunately, it stalled and he survived.

Obviously the fault of a defective ROPS!


Was the fault that the operator DIDn't land at the crush point, because that point never happened?
or......?

Oh! This is all so confusing...
;-)

"In action, Watch the timing"

 

[CalG]

Twice I have slipped off the operators seat FORWARD, to a point of having no control of the tractor. Seat belts are important.

In the snow skiing industry, the Sno-Cats, i.e. grooming machines, have places up on the dash board to put your feet for the extreme down hills.
(there are no foot controls on a snow cat, it's all at the hands!)

 

[Up to the Axles]

Was the fault that the operator DIDn't land at the crush point, because that point never happened?
or......?



The point was he was too stoopid to be wearing his seat belt. If he had been, there would be no story.

 

[5030]

Lots of people want to control your life. How you react to that is your decision.

Very well stated. I'm the 'captain' of my own ship so I decide 100%. Been farming for over 20 years now and still have all my fingers and what is left of my hair so my decisions must be working, for me.