Two injured seriously by farm tractor

[HarryVanderpool]

Good people are killed on fairly regular basis by either connecting jumper cables directly to tractor starters, or jumping starter terminals with a screwdriver.
Happens all the time. WAY, WAY too often.
I know of 3 locally.
And yet, commenters here are often quick to recommend that procedure here to posters with very obvious limited mechanical ability.
"I've done it a hundred times, no problems". Fine. Knock yourself out.
Just think about not suggesting something here that kills many people every year.
ESPECIALLY to those of limited mechanical ability.
How about this:
If the tractor won't start, FIX IT!!

 

[k0ua]

Good people are killed on fairly regular basis by either connecting jumper cables directly to tractor starters, or jumping starter terminals with a screwdriver.
Happens all the time. WAY, WAY too often.
I know of 3 locally.
And yet, commenters here are often quick to recommend that procedure here to posters with very obvious limited mechanical ability.
"I've done it a hundred times, no problems". Fine. Knock yourself out.
Just think about not suggesting something here that kills many people every year.
ESPECIALLY to those of limited mechanical ability.
How about this:
If the tractor won't start, FIX IT!!

Some do post caveats "to make sure it is out of gear and parking brake set to prevent running over yourself" One poster who was fairly regular here did run over himself. He survived, but was injured pretty badly.

But you are correct it is a bad thing to do to tell people how to circumvent safety circuits. Because the people that have to ask don't have mechanical and electrical skills. If they did, they would not have to ask.

 

[HarryVanderpool]

....you are correct it is a bad thing to do to tell people how to circumvent safety circuits. Because the people that have to ask don't have mechanical and electrical skills. If they did, they would not have to ask.

Well said!

 

[Industrial Toys]

My guess is that if some guys tractor does not have a working dash mounted start switch with neutral interlock, it most likely doesn't have a working parking brake either.

 

[jgedmond]

My guess is that if some guys tractor does not have a working dash mounted start switch with neutral interlock, it most likely doesn't have a working parking brake either.

Like a previous poster said maintain your equipment. If you can't afford to maintain your equipment, maybe you need to get rid of it.

My Mahindra's neutral safety switch was a $50 piece of plastic crap and kept failing. I replaced it with a $5 momentary push button switch. While this setup allows the tractor to start it in gear, having to push the switch reminds my to put it in neutral. I always start from the seat in neutral and put the clutch in. My life / well being is worth than a few dollars. There are safer workarounds than starting from the ground if you give it some thought.

Not bashing the guys in NY, I certainly hope that they fully recover. Apparently they just got complacent and it bit them. "We always did it this way" is not a good reason to keep doing it that way.

 

[Industrial Toys]

All I can say, is humans can and do have very varying realities. One guy has had dozens of tractors in his daily life for half a century, the next guy, just bought his first Kioti.

Some guys still remember starting their tractor with a nasty old crank, out front, so using a screwdriver standing at the side, is quite safe by comparison.

 

[jgedmond]

All I can say, is humans can and do have very varying realities. One guy has had dozens of tractors in his daily life for half a century, the next guy, just bought his first Kioti.

Some guys still remember starting their tractor with a nasty old crank, out front, so using a screwdriver standing at the side, is quite safe by comparison.

Yes, I am just buying my first Kioti, but I guess you just ignored the rest of the post. Are you intentionally being obtuse or just obtuse? I guess 1969 (half a century ago) was the epitome of tractor technology in your reality, so you can just live there if you want to.

 

[Jstpssng]

Good people are killed on fairly regular basis by either connecting jumper cables directly to tractor starters, or jumping starter terminals with a screwdriver.
Happens all the time. WAY, WAY too often.
I know of 3 locally.
And yet, commenters here are often quick to recommend that procedure here to posters with very obvious limited mechanical ability.
"I've done it a hundred times, no problems". Fine. Knock yourself out.
Just think about not suggesting something here that kills many people every year.
ESPECIALLY to those of limited mechanical ability.
How about this:
If the tractor won't start, FIX IT!!

I've only had it happen once, but you can hook up battery to battery and still have the starter engage. It's best to set the brake (or trig the wheels well) and put the tractor/vehicle in neutral first.

 

[Diggin It]

I'll hazard a guess that an 86 year old who has possibly had the same tractor for decades (we don't know if he bought it new or used, or when) may have been doing the same things the same way for so long that he was more or less on auto-pilot and just simply missed a step he'd taken thousands of times before.

And no, I don't believe he'll recover anywhere near fully, if at all. His field days are done. Maybe the son's too. Which brings up the question, what happens to the farm/property if there isn't any other family?

 

[wheelbuilder]

I'll hazard a guess that an 86 year old who has possibly had the same tractor for decades (we don't know if he bought it new or used, or when) may have been doing the same things the same way for so long that he was more or less on auto-pilot and just simply missed a step he'd taken thousands of times before.

And no, I don't believe he'll recover anywhere near fully, if at all. His field days are done. Maybe the son's too. Which brings up the question, what happens to the farm/property if there isn't any other family?

Or maybe one operator had his way of doing this, but the other took over and presumed the first guy did it his way. I can see different processes causing a problem.
Familiarity breeds contempt. It happens to everyone to a degree. We've got to stay alert and mindful of what we're doing.