Safety 1st? Right?

GerardC · Mar 17, 2004

I'm saying this after reading the threads about people being killed or maimed after falling or getting bounced off their tractor. I think the problem with safety is that we (in general) don't understand what the words "common sense" really mean. In short, sound judgment. We don't think of the everyday task at hand as a potential hazard. We live in a "fast food world". We want it now. We don't improvise which leads me to this...

My wife would not let my son get on our lawn tractor to mow the lawn without a seatbelt. "Aw, come on, whats going to happen" I said. She got me thinking and she was right. Then my son, 9 at the time, came over to me with a belt (he wanted to drive). My wife saw that and got a rope (belt was to short). We tide it around the seat and made him a seatbelt. I actually did feel better, as did my son and wife, that he was strapped in.
I hope you all understand where I'm coming from. I hope I didn't offend anybody, just had to get it off my chest.

IMPROVISE

Junkman · Mar 17, 2004

I'm old enough to remember when seat belts first were introduced in cars, it hurt sales and the manufacturer stopped advertising them. The general comment was, "those cars aren't safe, and you need a to wear a seat belt when driving in them", or something to that effect. That was back in the early 1950's and I believe that it was American Motors that first introduced them. Chevrolet introduced them in 1957, but they didn't sell very well. By 1962, they were starting to catch on, and in 19665 they were made standard equipment. The interesting thing is that collector cars were exempt from the seat belt laws until recently when some states took the exemption away and made them mandatory. This is a catch 22 for some collectors because there is no exemption for judging where they were not originally available. Those cars that it was available such as a 1957 Chevrolet, the originals are so rare, that it is impossible to find a single belt no matter how much you are willing to pay.

RoyJackson · Mar 17, 2004

"My wife would not let my son get on our lawn tractor to mow the lawn without a seatbelt. "Aw, come on, whats going to happen" I said. She got me thinking and she was right"

But you only want to be belted in IF you have a ROPS. With a ROPS, you want to stay within the safety envelope the ROPS provides.
No ROPS, you really want to try to get clear of the machine if it rolls.
Even a lawn tractor weighs in excess of 500 lbs.
Unless your lawn tractor has a rollover bar, you might want to reconsider that seat belt.