Bad accident serves as reminder

[Bob Perry]

http://www.wmtw.com/news/man-survives-after-being-trapped-under-tractor/30534174?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=FBPAGE&utm_campaign=WMTW-TV%20-%20wmtwtv&Content%20Type=Story&linkId=11540546

This man very lucky to be alive, although he must have major injuries.

Does anybody know what model this could be?

[Barnyard]

I'm glad they released this statement;

Police said the chain being used to haul the logs was attached too high to the rear of the tractor and caused it to flip end over end.

Hopefully others reading that paper will pick up on that as being a danger.

[Bob Perry]

Good point, even if just one person was more careful, by reading that. I think we all need reminders of various safety issues once in a while.

[Jim Becker]

Logs are among the most dangerous things to move with a tractor. Not only are they heavy, they tend to snag, dig into the ground or run into other things (like another tree) that cause them to abruptly stop. You can see the log he was pulling in the foreground of the picture. It still has the chain attached and is resting against another tree. The log isn't all that big, nor is the tree.

The tractor is a Farmall Super C. Note that it has 3 sets of rear wheel weights (about a half ton) and some aggressive tire chains. That was probably enough to prevent spinning in if the log abruptly stopped moving. Hitching too high allowed it to flip rather than stall.

Given the size of the log and the equipment on the tractor, it was probably pulling quite easily. That is a good combination for not paying attention. It probably isn't fair to guess what was in his head just before this happened. But if he had been going slowly and watching the log, he may have been able to stop before it caught on the tree.

I think it is clear that there were several factors that contributed.

[Bob Perry]

Good points, Jim. It's that sudden snag that gets ya. I hope the guy will be OK.