Go Bottomseat belt or not
 | Eric Edwards
Join Date: Posts: 1 
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2000-05-21 16488
Anyone have any advice on the use of seat belts on a compact tractor. Specifically; to use them or not. My brain says, if the tractor tips over then my torso is unlikely to get pinned if I'm wearing my seatbelt, although my leg or arm could, which would be bad since I am skidding logs alone. My gut says there's no way you're gonna strap me to this thing and the end result is that I don't heed the mfr's written advice. I never wear it. (I do wear an auto seat belt). Any good stories out there?
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| JerryGoucher
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 100 NW AR
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2000-05-21 16489
By all means, always wear your seat belt. I have had a neighbor that died from a turn over on a pond bank and I have had to get a man out from under a flipped 8N. The 8N man was lucky, he didn't die. Play it safe, wear it. Only ONE accident can kill you. JerryG ....
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| Eric Edwards
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-05-21 16491
Jerry, that is a truly sad story. It sounds like these two accidents happen in the open. My question is, what if I'm in the woods (typical for me) and the tractor tips into a tree or a boulder. I may be in my seat but unable to react or be pushed aside because I'm restrained and therefore crushed, by whatever object was in the way. This may be a weak argument but it does concern me. ....
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| mbjacobs
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-05-22 16493
There are a few situations where the seat belts in your car will kill you. There are infinitely more situations in which they will save your life. The same applies to your tractor. All we can do is play the odds, and the odds definitely say to WEAR YOUR BELT. ....
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| KenB
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-05-22 16497
WARNING: Don't wear seat belt without ROPS. Unless your tractor has a roll bar, wearing a seat belt will prevent you from escaping a rollover. I doubt there are many tractors out there with seat belts and no ROPS, but just in case... ....
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| MichaelSnyder
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 0
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2000-05-22 16498
Eric,
So let me get this straight. the tractor starts tipping to the left, and like a
skeet thrower in slow motion, the seat starts pitching you to the left as well. But somehow your strong and fast enough to jump over the tractor the opposite direction??.. OR, if you jump off to the left, you'll move out of the way before the tractor lands??.. But I thought a tree or boulder was in the path you are jumping towards??.. I don't mean to sound like a smart ass, but 9 months ago we buried a really nice guy from our church who thought just like yourself. He was able to jump off alright.. Just didn't count on the tractor landing on him before he could move out of the way.. ....
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 | Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York 
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2000-05-22 16499
Seat belts should always be warn on tractors with roll bars. The most often seen deaths is from the roll bar crushing the operator from not clearing the tractors path as it rolls. Without the roll bar they didn't put seat belts on tractors. Think of the pounds per square inch of a roll bar vs a tractor fender or hood. There are some other nasties out there like the steering wheel or the hydraulic levers to get stabbed by or shifting levers. Best bet is to keep the wheels down. ....
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| Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 962 
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2000-05-22 16506
Eric, we can all think of arguments against wearing a seat belt, but in real life situations, none of them hold up. You say you do wear it in the car. So do I; in fact, consistently since 1962. And there is no doubt whatsoever that it saved my life on 12/29/65. And the closest I've come to turning a tractor over was when I least expected it. Now I, personally, don't like "laws" or "requirements" that only make you protect yourself, like the seat belt laws (I figure that should be up to you), but I wear mine in the car AND on the tractor. ....
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| MichaelSnyder
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 0
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2000-05-22 16507
Well said... Bird. ....
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| Eric Edwards
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-05-22 16515
OK..OK..I give. Good stories, all, or should I say sobering stories. I have made up my mind to wear my belt not only in my truck, as I always do, but in the field as well. Thanks for the wake up! Eric in NH ....
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| Kim Hartshorn
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-05-23 16533
I built a rops for my tractor that I use exclusively in the woods. I have not put a seat belt on it yet and may not. I have found that the way in which I use the tractor, mostly for hauling logs and building roads, I am often standing up. I tried to make myself sit down while doing this work but I felt that it actually was much more difficult and maybe dangerous because the main reason I was standing was for visibility, front, back and to the sides. The second reason is that I rarely take the tractor out of lowest low when I am doing work. The few times that I have encountered unstability the tractor was moving very slow and becoming unstable quite slowly. I do worry about sliding sideways inadvertantly and I do plan on putting in a seat belt...but for myself...I have decided that I will not wear it in all situations. I do think that wearing a seat belt with a ROPS is highly advised in most Agricultural situations and every time you are trying to do work on slopes of any kind.
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| Richard Harburn
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-05-23 16553
Just a quick note from a person who used to do power line clearing, right of way clearing and topping by climbing and by bucket truck. ALWAYS, ALWAYS,USE YOUR HEAD AND APPLY COMMON SENSE AND USE SAFETY EQUIPMENT. Many people don't realize that when you leave the house, you might not come back. Many accidents are sudden and catastrophic. A piece of equipment has no heart and does not care if you get killed or just a good scare. Sometimes you get a lifetime of second chances and sometimes only one bad accident that takes or ruins your life. Install a roll bar and wear the seat belt. Don't think you are skillful enough to always finesse your way out of trouble. We all have those days when our presence of mind is not what it should be. I have a friend who did tree work for years and still got 40 stitches in his knee from a saw cut. That was just a peck on the leg compared to what sometimes happens. Why? Because he was working around the house and didn't bother to put on his saw chaps. It can and will happen and we just have to be ready and protected. ....
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