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Safety We at Union Farm Equipment are concerned with your safety. Every spring we host a Farm Bureau tractor safety course at our dealership. This course is designed for the inexperienced tractor operator. The course runs 1 night each week and concludes with a Saturday dedicated to driving tractors. When we deliver a new tractor we spend time with each customer so that they feel comfortable with the safe operation and maintenance of their new tractor. Kubota has a short pamphlet "The 10 Commandments of Tractor Safety" which we provide with new tractors. This pamphlet is a concise overview of how to safely operate your tractor. Please read your operator's manual(s) before driving your tractor. The operator's manual has an excellent overview of the safe operation and maintenance of your tractor. If you have any questions we will be happy to assist you. Modern tractors are designed with your safety in mind. A new tractor comes with ROPS (Roll Over Protective Structure), or ROPS/FOPS (Falling Object Protective Structure) and a seatbelt. Seat belt usage is important. The ROPS will be of little use if you are not in the seat. In most applications it is recommended that the operator keep the roll bar up and wear the seatbelt. A tractor is not a sports car. Tractors do not have any suspension. Tractors have a higher center of gravity than most automobiles. Always drive slowly enough to maintain control. The tractor is designed for one-person operation. At no time is it safe to have a passenger aboard the tractor. Pulling should be done from the drawbar only. Hitching to the axle or top link can cause the tractor to flip over backwards. Pulling from a cross drawbar on the three point hitch has caused many rollovers. If the operator raises the three point hitch it changes the center of gravity and can cause the tractor to go over backwards. This is one reason that tractors have ROPS today. When driving with a loader always keep the bucket low to the ground. Always operate the loader slowly and steadily. Make sure the tractor is properly counterweighted. When raising the loader make sure the ground is level to avoid rollover. Hillsides require special caution. Do not depress the clutch or attempt to shift gears. Backing up a slope is the safest way. Usually, if you are uncomfortable doing something with you tractor, don't do it. |