RURAL MUTUAL Rollovers Can Happen Fast

By Bruce Kyes, Loss Control Consultant

The Village of Cadott’s siren suddenly broke the quiet one late-fall afternoon. Back in the 1970s, the siren notified the Cadott-Goetz-Sigel Volunteer Fire Department (and everybody else in town) that either a fire or some other emergency was in progress.

My dad and I were just coming in from the fields. He was a volunteer on the fire department. When he headed for the pickup truck, I jumped in with him.

The ambulance already passed by the time we made it to the Highway 27 corner. With our pickup truck flashers on, we joined the convoy of others on the department following the ambulance north. Based on how fast we were going, I remember my dad saying it might be a bad one.

When we came up to the driveway, several cars and pickups were already parked. Dad and I ran over to where the ambulance had parked by a garage.

The farmer’s garage was built next to a steep ravine. At the bottom of the ravine was an up-side-down tractor and end loader with the farmer still pinned underneath. In one big motion, the assembled group of neighbors and rescue volunteers rolled the tractor off the farmer and held it so the ambulance crew could move him from underneath. Once he was clear, everyone soon realized it was too late. A quiet overcame the scene.

It happened fast. The recently retired farmer was leveling off some backfill around his new garage. The tractor tracks showed where the rear tire got too close to the soft edge. The overturned tractor crushed and pinned him underneath. This was a tragedy in so many ways.

Just recently, I was reminded of that sad day when a text from a friend showed up on my phone. The text had a picture of small tractor and end loader nearly turned up-side-down on a steep hill. My friend’s retired neighbor was moving fill material, bucket-by-bucket, along a path on a steep hill. With the bucket raised high, he hit a bump and the tractor rolled down the bank.

Fortunately, this story had a much different ending. There were no sirens, speeding ambulances, rescue volunteers or gathered neighbors. The retired neighbor was able to walk away from the tipped tractor without a scratch. The rollbar on the tractor kept the unit from going all the way over. He was also wearing the tractor’s seatbelt, so he wasn’t ‘thrown’ underneath the tractor or the rollbar when it came down. The rollbar worked so well, even the tractor was undamaged.

It still happens fast. Tractors with end loaders are still dangerous and can roll over quickly. But what’s different today is tractor rollover protection and seatbelts can prevent tragedies when used. This was certainly proven with my friend’s neighbor’s experience.

When paired with a seatbelt, Rollover Protective Structures (ROPS) are 99% effective in preventing injury or death in the event of an overturn. Tractor overturns are the most frequent cause of death on farms even today. Most farmers think it will never happen to them. But even if you abide by every safety protocol – remaining focused, not going too fast, and keeping young children out of the way – rollover incidents can, and do, happen.

Farmers work so hard and this is a proven technology that can save you in case of an overturn. You don’t want to say, “if only.”: “If only I had put on the ROPS and my seatbelt”, “If only I could have prevented this.” All it takes is some uneven terrain for an incident to change a life forever.

Farm tractors without proper protection are still present on many farms. Unprotected tractors can be retrofitted with mounted rollbars and seat belts. The National Farm Medicine Center’s ROPS rebate program offers approximately 70% in rebates for rollover protection installation on unprotected tractors. Cost is still one of the main reasons farmers hesitate to purchase and install a ROPS but ask yourself what price a life is worth.

Call the ROPS hotline at 877-ROPS-R4U or visit www. ropsr4u.com. Hotline staff will research all ROPS options for your tractor’s make and model, as well as provide estimated costs and sources for purchasing a ROPS.

Save a life. Protect yourself and your family and install a ROPS today.