ACRE Safety Thought #57

Spring Fever will soon be here and so will be the use of farm tractors. It is important that tractor drivers are trained and familiar with safe tractor operations. The owner’s manual is a great place to find safe operation information. Some key points are 1) understand how to start and stop the tractor, 2)never allow riders unless the tractor has an approved “buddy” seat or unless you are training a new driver, 3)understand how to connect to an implement with a low hitch on the draw-bar only, 4)know the safe way to connect and use hydraulics, 5) be completely trained on the safe use of a PTO (power take-off), 6)know how to use dual brakes, 7)know when to lock the dual brakes together for road use, 8)avoid roll over accidents by slowing down on curves and being careful on hillsides, 9)use the tractor’s front-end loader as low as possible to keep the tractor stable, and 10)know the area where you will be using the tractor and scout it for hazards. Think, plan, and work safely at ACRE. Jim