Seven Tips to Operate Your Tractor Safely

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Follow these tips while operating your tractor and keep your work site safe for everyone working around you. If you have any questions, let our friendly team at Southern States Milford address them. We’re in Milford, DE, and we happily welcome our friends from Dover and Harrington, so stop by today.

1. Know Your Model

Read your owner’s manual for any safety recommendations your manufacturer may have made about your particular tractor model. Also, be attentive to any safety labels and colors on your tractor itself, such as yellow for caution signs, orange for warning signs, and red for danger signs.

2. Dress Right

Next, you’ll want to wear proper gear before starting your tractor.

Avoid wearing loose-fitting clothes that can get caught in parts of the machine, and wear sturdy shoes with non-skid soles. Also, use appropriate safety gear like heavy work gloves and safety glasses before you start your unit.

3. Starting Safely

Another safety tip that you’ll want to follow is starting your tractor only when you’re in the cab. When you’re outside it, you won’t know if the transmission is in neutral or park. Starting the engine with the manual transmission in gear will cause your machine to move. This can lead to someone getting run over.

Also, you must have only as many passengers as seat belts on your model, and remember to mount and dismount carefully.

4. Avoid Rearward Rollovers

When working on slopes, if your tractor’s rear wheels do not rotate properly, they won’t be able to move your vehicle forward. Instead, it will tip it backward.

To avoid a rearward tip-over, back up your tractor on inclines and stabilize it when you’re going to be doing heavy work. Also, you should use tire chains or boards to improve traction and hitch any attachments correctly.

5. Avoid Sideways Rollovers

When driving your tractor on a steep incline, you can tip your vehicle onto its side. This is a dangerous situation, which you’ll want to avoid at all costs. To minimize damage, get a roll-over protection structure (ROPS) on your machine to keep the operator safe in case a rollover does happen.

6. Roadway Rules

Tractors are slower moving vehicles than commuter vehicles, so you should avoid driving yours on the road. However, if you must bring it on a public road where there’s little to no traffic, ensure you have a slow-moving vehicle emblem on it. Use your turn signals and hand signals to let motorists know you’re allowing them to pass you. You’ll also want to use pilot vehicles to escort your farm machinery on the road.

7. General Safety Tips

It’ll be a good idea to have a daily inspection checklist in place that all operators must run through. They can include points, such as:

Start the machine in an open or well-ventilated space.
Make sure there are no humans or animals in the way.
Always be aware of your blind spots.
Never leave a running tractor unattended.
Be aware of any terrain hazards.
Keep the floor of your operator cab clean.

We hope this guide helps you stay safe while operating your tractor. For more ideas or help upgrading your machine to the latest model, visit Southern States Milford. We have a fine selection of tractors for sale, and we can help you choose a model that suits your needs. To look at what we have available, swing by our dealership in Milford, DE. We are proud to serve those from Dover and Harrington, so reach out today.