# Could have been much worse



## TominDallas (Aug 4, 2015)

Reading about the rollover accident reminded me how quickly things go bad. I love tractors and I love motorcycles but they will both kill a person.
In 1982 My father was building a freestanding awning from oil well pipe. Welding assemblies of three pipes. One vertical on each end of a horizontal overhead welded together. About fifteen feet high, fifteen feet across. The long rectangular awning required about six assemblies.
He was laying the pipe pieces flat and plumb, Fishmouths on the horizontal, welded to the verticals. With the horizontal chained to the front end loader he'd pick it up and walk it over to weld the other side.
On about the third assembly, it stood up, chain went slack, came unhooked. On it's way down it fell onto the tractor. It fell on my father really. Hit the side of his head, took out his collarbone, knocked him backwards. He fell onto the box blade and three-point. The tractor was in reverse. He rode the three-point and box blade on his back until it hit a tree where it stopped and began to spin the tires.
One ear nearly fully ripped off, collarbone, couple of ribs and lots of bruises. He could have used bailing wire or electrical tape to hold the chain hooked, but that's retrospect.
They kept him in ICU overnight, but discharged him the next day. I believe they were tired of hearing him complain. The shed turned out to be very nice.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Many years ago, my cousin got stuck (tractor and baler) while he was baling hay. My uncle came to him with another tractor and connected a chain (over the axle) to the tractor my cousin was using. The tractor came over on top of my uncle. He was hospitalized for a long time, but he did recover. 

Lesson for the day: Never hook a chain over the axle for pulling.......always under the axle. 
__________________

Another story my father told me. There was a man driving tractor in the woods during a logging operation. He drove between two trees that were a tight fit for the rear wheels of the tractor. The rear wheels wedged between the trees and the front end of the tractor came over on top of the driver.....Just a reminder for you guys working in the woods.


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

Yeah,Once the rear wheels are stopped by something,and it's still in gear,it flips the tractor backwards.Something has to move,so it's the tractor.
This can even happen on a lawn tractor. That's why they have ROPS on them,now.


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