The Ten Commandments of Tractor Safety

December, 2010

The Ten Commandments

&of Tractor Safety'

The Ten Commandments of tractor safety were developed by Kubota, and they are cons dered ndustry standard amon! tractor compan es" #ohn Deere, $assey %er!uson, %ord, and others all have s m lar tractor safety rules"
KNOW THE RULES FOLLOW THE RULES

Commandment (ne
Know )our Tractor, *ts *mplements, and +ow They ,orThe operator.s manual s re/u red read n!" 0ll tra n n! of employees must ncorporate the operators manual" Tra n n! s also re/u red by D(S+ a!r culture rules1 ,0C 2234506407017 f the tractor s e/u pped w th roll4over protect on"
89ample manual

Find, read and understand the operators manual for each piece of agricultural equipment you will be operating. Know the operating rules and equipment limitations before you begin work.

Commandment (ne
+ow To Tra n (perators : Tra n new and ne9per enced operators" : ;o nt out spec al ha<ards on the farm and how to avo d them" : Do not let operators dr ve on publ c roads w thout a dr ver.s l cense"

Source1 Te9as Dept" of *nsurance = D v" ,or-ers Compensat on

Commandment (ne = Tra n n! (perators

+ave operator pract ce n lar!e, level f eld or yard" Tra ner should dr ve around yard, demonstrat n! how controls operate" Tra ner should wal- near the tractor as the student dr ves, ! v n! nstruct on" % nally, after the student has learned to operate the tractor alone n a level area, then attach and operate the add t onal mplements" ?ew operators should !radually wor- nto more comple9 @obs of tractor operat on"

Source1 Cornell >n vers ty Cooperat ve 89tens on

Commandment Two
>se A(;S and Seat Belt Aollover ;rotect ve Structures &A(;S' do not prevent rollovers, but are 2CD effect ve n prevent n! death or ser ous n@ury"

Tractor Aoll (ver = s de or bac-

TA0CT(A +*TS D8;A8SS*(? E T*;S

0 rollover happens so fast, your human refle9es cannot poss bly react n t me to chan!e the outcome" Typ cally, a v ct m of a tractor rollover w thout A(;S protect on w ll e9per ence n@ur es such as bro-en bones, lacerat ons and contus ons" Crush n! head, chest and pelv c n@ur es, alon! w th collapsed lun!s should also be e9pected"

%oldable A(;S

Th s A(;S folded down resulted n fatal ty

*f you have a foldable A(;S, -eep t n the up pos t on and always use a seatbelt" (nly fold t down when you must and do not use the seatbelt when the A(;S s folded down" 0 A(;S and seatbelt assures that you w ll stay n the protect ve <one"

Commandment Three
Be %am l ar , th )our Terra n and ,or- 0rea ,al- the area f rst, use spec al caut on on slopes, slow down for turns, and avo d the h !hway f poss ble" Be espec ally aware of cond t ons at the end of rows"

(perat n! on Sloped Fround

Most tractor overturns occur to the side. Typical causes include hitting an obstacle, operating on steep slopes, using frontend loaders and operating at e cessive speeds. !n many cases, an implement is attached to the tractor or being towed. The attached equipment can increase the severity of the accident and complicate rescue operations.

Commandment %our
?ever Start 0n 8n! ne *n 0 Closed Shed or Fara!e

0ll nternal combust on en! nes, d esel or !asol ne, !enerate carbon mono9 de = a colorless, odorless !as"

The symptoms of mild carbon mono ide poisoning may be non"specific and similar to those of viral cold infections# headache, nausea, di$$iness, sore throat and dry cough. More severe poisoning can result in a fast and irregular heart rate, over"breathing %hyperventilation&, confusion, drowsiness and difficulty breathing. 'ei$ures, loss of consciousness and death can occur at high levels.

Commandment % ve
0lways Keep )our ;T( ;roperly Sh elded
;T( acc dents cause ser ous n@ury or death" +uman refle9es cannot compete w th the speed and power of a rotat n! ;T( shaft" (nce cau!ht, a v ct m has no t me to escape"

;T( properly sh elded

Cloth n! cau!ht on un!uarded ;T(

Commandment % ve
To ;revent ;T( 0cc dents
8nsure that ;T( sh elds are n place before wor- be! ns" Aeplace crac-ed or defect ve sh elds mmed ately" Stop ;T( before d smount n!" Keep cloth n!, ha r and all body parts away from a rotat n! ;T("
%atal ty report = employee - lled when cloth n! cau!ht on power ta-e4off shaft

Commandment % ve
To ;revent ;T( 0cc dents &Cont"' ?ever step over a rotat n! ;T( shaft" *nstead, wal- around t or turn off the e/u pment" 0lways use the dr vel ne or ;T( shaft recommended for your mach ne" ?ever use parts of one brand of mach ne n another model" ;os t on the drawbar properly for each type of mplement used"

Commandment S 9
Keep )our + tches Gow and 0lways on the Draw Bar
Th s prevents the tractor from fl pp n! over bac-wards" Aear overturns are less fre/uent than s deways rollovers, but are @ust as l -ely to be fatal"

Commandment S 9
To ;revent Aear (verturns

%ront chass s we !hts can be used to counterbalance rear4 mounted mplements and heavy drawbar loads" 0lways start forward mot on !radually" 0lways dr ve around d tches, never cross them"

Commandment S 9
To ;revent Aear (verturns &Con.t"'
,henever poss ble, bac- tractors up steep slopes and come down forward" *f you have to bac- down a slope, do t slowly n a low !ear" ?ever put boards or lo!s n front of dr ve wheels" Bac- out f you are stuc- n the mud"

Commandment Seven
?ever Fet (ff 0 $ov n! Tractor or Geave *t , th *ts 8n! ne Aunn n!" Shut the tractor off, set the par- n! bra-e, then d smount" Don.t start the en! ne from anywhere but the seat" (perators have been run over by not do n! that"
,hen the tractor has been left runn n!, and the operator s not n the tractor seat, there s the poss b l ty that the tractor w ll malfunct on n some way, start mov n!, and run over you or bystanders" 0 mov n! tractor can also dama!e or become dama!ed by ob@ects n the area"

Commandment 8 !ht
?ever Aefuel ,h le the 8n! ne s Aunn n! 4 or +ot
0lways shut the tractor down when add n! flu ds, fuels, and perform n! ma ntenance" 0 spar- from the !n t on system or hot e9haust could cause the fuel to !n te" >se caut on when refuel n! tractors" 0lways refuel the tractor outs de" There s always a r s- of f re and e9plos on" Fround n! out the tractor w th a !round w re or by dropp n! mounted e/u pment so t touches the !round can reduce stat c electr c ty"

Commandment ? ne
Keep Ch ldren 0way %rom )our Tractor E *ts *mplements 0t 0ll T mes
Don.t allow ch ldren to r de w th you on the tractor" ?o e9cept ons, unless t.s an enclosed cab w th a ch ld seat" Some new, lar!er tractors come e/u pped w th ch ld seats"
?ever assume that ch ldren w ll rema n where you last saw them" Keep ch ldren out of the wor- area and under the watchful eye of another respons ble adult" ?ever allow ch ldren to play on the tractor or mplement" >se e9tra caut on when bac- n! up, loo- beh nd and down 4 ma-e sure area s clear before mov n!"

?o A dersII
+ow many seats are on the tractorH The number of seats e/uals how many people should r de the tractor" There s no safe place e ther on the tractor or on any of the mplements" Teach ch ldren to dr ve only when they have developed the matur ty, s <e and stren!th to handle a tractor safely"

(angerous) (on*t do this) + small bump and the rider can fall off and be run over. +dditionally) There is no roll" bar on this tractor, putting the operator in e treme danger.

Commandment Ten
?ever Be *n 0 +urry or Ta-e Chances (n 0nyth n! To Do , th 0 Tractor" There s always t me to assure that your ne9t step w ll not be your last step"
Aemember, a tractor s wor-horse, not a racehorse" 0 tractor s des !ned for easy maneuverab l ty at low speeds, not h !h speeds" Slow down on turns or curves" 0 tractor.s center of !rav ty s h !her than a car and a fast sharp turn can result n a s de rollover"

+s you have learned, there is plenty to remember when it comes to tractor safety. (o your work carefully and safely, so that you leave your worksite under your own power, and not in an ambulance) ,eaving under your own power is a much better way to end the day.

$ore *nformat on
Kubota Corporat on = Ten Commandants of Tractor Safety ?at onal 0! Safety Database&?0SD' = 0 Fu de to Safe %arm Tractor (perat on ?at onal 0! Safety Database&?0SD' = ;ower Ta-e4off Safety ,ash n!ton State >n vers ty = Tractor Safety