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Carol
J. Lehtola and Charles
M. Brown
University of Florida IFAS Extension
The tractor is involved in a high percentage of agricultural
injuries and deaths. A tractor rodeo is a great (and fun)
method to communicate the importance of safety. It can be
used to teach safety to youth as well as experienced, adult
tractor operators.
In a tractor rodeo, participants perform common equipment
operations, such as driving tractors or hooking and unhooking
equipment. The driving will be done on a course laid out by
the instructors, and it will test precision, safety awareness,
and attention to detail. Likewise, handling equipment will
be a test of accurate execution of a task. (There is no time
element; needless rushing to accomplish tasks is the source
of many injuries.) A score sheet is used by judges to assess
the performance of each participant.
The rodeo can last through a morning or afternoon, or it can
be an all-day affair and include lunch and an awards ceremony.
In addition to the activities, safety information can be built
into the introductions, announcements, and event publications
so that it is clear that safety is the bottom line of the
day's activities. A special award for the safest driver is
a good idea, in addition to best overall and best in various
categories.
Participants can compete individually or as teams, perhaps
based on their group affiliations.
The following examples are taken from the materials developed
by Lake and Orange County Extension offices over 20 years
of conducting tractor rodeos.
The Lake-Orange County Tractor Rodeo is an all-day event which
starts at 8 in the morning and ends around 3:30 in the afternoon.
The schedule emphasizes education in the morning; the rodeo
takes place after lunch.
Here
is a sample program:
8:00 - 8:30 am -- Registration and Announcements
8:30 - 9:00 am -- Personal Safety
9:00 - 9:30 am -- Pesticide Safety
9:30 - 10:00 am -- Defensive Driving
10:00 - 10:30 am -- Break
10:30 - 11:00 am -- Safe Tractor Operation
11:00 - 11:30 am -- Be Careful, Hazardous Materials
11:30 - 12:00 pm -- What's for Lunch? (Food safety in the
field)
12:00 - 1:00 pm -- Lunch
1:00 - 3:00 pm -- Rodeo
3:00 - 3:30 pm -- Awards Presentation
The Lake-Orange County rodeo includes three events. Individuals
compete in only one event, but organizations have one representative
in each event. The events are:
Event #1: Backing -- A trailer must be backed into
a 'stall'. Once the tractor is in reverse, it must be kept
in reverse.
Event#2: Hooking Up -- Back a supply truck up to a
speed sprayer. Each contestant has to back 'blind' to hook
up (that is, with no one spotting or assisting).
Event #3: Driving Course -- A course must be traveled
at constant speed without knocking down the cones.
The 'stall'
is an area of the course marked out with cones for the participant
to back the trailer into.
Judges for the Lake-Orange County rodeo use a scorecard (see
Table 1) to evaluate each participant's performance. A perfect
score is zero, meaning that points are scored for omissions
or errors. Participants are scored in five areas: Pre-Warm-Up
Preparation, Engine Starting, Warm-Up and Clutch Operation,
Driving, and Safety. A sample scorecard appears at the end
of this publication.
Table 1.
Tractor
Operation Scoring |
Number
of Infractions |
Total
Points Off |
|
Pre-Warm-Up
1.
Failure to Check Water |
_____ |
x |
7= |
_____ |
2.
Failure to Check Oil |
_____ |
x |
7= |
_____ |
3.
Failure to Check Fuel |
_____ |
x |
7= |
_____ |
|
Starting
Engine
1.
Failure to Check Neutral Position |
_____ |
x |
10= |
_____ |
2.
Failure to Disengage Clutch while Starting Engine |
_____ |
x |
10= |
_____ |
3.
Switch Not Turned On |
_____ |
x |
3= |
_____ |
|
Warm-Up
and Clutch Operation
1.
Failure to Warm-up Engine for Period Specified |
_____ |
x |
7= |
_____ |
|
Driving
1.
Number of Pull-ups to Improve Position |
_____ |
x |
2= |
_____ |
2.
Markers Scraped (number) |
_____ |
x |
4= |
_____ |
3.
Marker Moved or Upset (number) |
_____ |
x |
5= |
_____ |
4.
Killed Engine (number of times) |
_____ |
x |
2= |
_____ |
5.
Grated Gears (number of times) |
_____ |
x |
1= |
_____ |
6.
Rough Clutch Engagement (number of times) |
_____ |
x |
1= |
_____ |
7.
Failure to Disengage Clutch (number of times) |
_____ |
x |
2= |
_____ |
8.
Number of Inches Wheel Off Center |
_____ |
x |
2= |
_____ |
9.
Number of Inches Trailer is + or - 4 inches from
Rear Boundary |
_____ |
x |
2= |
_____ |
|
Safety
1.
Skidding or Spinning Wheels When Starting (number
of violations) |
_____ |
x |
2= |
_____ |
2.
Turning Too Short and Fouling Implement (number
of violations) |
_____ |
x |
2= |
_____ |
3.
Operation of Tractor at Unsafe Speed (number of
violations) |
_____ |
x |
4= |
_____ |
4.
Moving Tractor with Brake Set (number of violations) |
_____ |
x |
1= |
_____ |
5.
Failure to Dismount to Insert or Remove Drawbar
Pin |
_____ |
x |
2= |
_____ |
6.
Failure to Bring Tractor to Complete Stop |
_____ |
x |
2= |
_____ |
7.
Failure to Lock Brakes Before Dismounting to Hook-up
or Unhook Implement at Finish Line |
_____ |
x |
5= |
_____ |
8.
Excessive Use of Brakes (number of violations) |
_____ |
x |
2= |
_____ |
9.
Failure to Wear Safety Belts |
_____ |
x |
10= |
_____ |
|
GRAND
TOTAL (TRACTOR OPERATIONS)______
|
Figuring
Final Score
1. Written Exam (number missed x 4) |
_____ |
2. Tractor Operation (number missed) |
_____ |
3. Oral Exam and/or Demonstration
(number missed) |
_____ |
GRAND TOTAL _____
|
Specific
judging areas and their point values are:
1.
Failure to check water (7 points for each infraction)
2. Failure to check oil (7 points for each infraction)
3. Failure to check fuel (7 points for each infraction)
1. Failure
to check neutral position (10 points for each infraction)
2. Failure to disengage clutch while starting engine (10 points
for each infraction)
3. Switch not turned on (3 points for each infraction)
1. Failure
to warm up engine for period specified (7 points for each
infraction)
1. Number
of pull-ups to improve position (While backing into the 'stall'
or driving through the course) (2 points for each infraction)
2. Markers scraped (number) (4 points for each infraction)
3. Markers moved or upset (number) (5 points for each infraction)
4. Killed engine (number of times) (2 points for each infraction)
5. Grated gears (number of times) (1 point for each infraction)
6. Rough clutch engagement (number of times) (1 point for
each infraction)
7. Failure to disengage clutch (number of times) (2 points
for each infraction)
8. Number of inches wheel off-center (2 points for each infraction)
9. Number of inches trailer is +/- 4 inches from rear boundary
(2 points for each infraction)
1. Skidding
or spinning wheels when starting (number of violations) (2
points for each infraction)
2. Turning too short and fouling implement (number of violations)
(2 points for each infraction)
3. Operation of tractor at unsafe speed (number of violations)
(4 points for each infraction)
4. Moving tractor with brake set (number violations) (1 point
for each infraction)
5. Failure to dismount to insert or remove drawbar pin (2
points for each infraction)
6. Failure to bring tractor to complete stop and/or turn tractor
off before dismounting points for each infraction)
7. Failure to lock brakes before dismounting hook up or unhook
implement at finish line points for each infraction)
8. Excessive use of brakes (number of violations) (2 points
for each infraction)
9. Failure to wear safety belts (10 points for each infraction)
The low
score wins.
![Two-Wheel Course Layout](1.jpg)
For more information about tractor safety, visit the Florida
AgSafe Network Web site:
http://www.flagsafe.ufl.edu
The following publications are available at your county Extension
office and at the EDIS Web site, <http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu>.
(IFAS Publication Numbers are in parentheses after the titles.
The second set of parentheses contains the Web address at
which the publication can be viewed.)
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Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not
represent NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears
by permission of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 08/2002
1. This document
is
AE308
, one of a series of the Agricultural and Biological
Engineering Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service,
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of
Florida. Supported in part by the NIOSH Deep-South Center
for Occupational Health and Safety, University of South Florida,
Tampa, Florida. First published September 2001. Please visit
the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.
2. Carol J. Lehtola, assistant professor, Department of Agricultural
and Biological Engineering, and Extension Agricultural Safety
Specialist, and Charles M. Brown, Assistant Coordinator for
Agricultural Safety and Health, Institute of Food and Agricultural
Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611
The
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative
action employer authorized to provide research, educational
information and other services only to individuals and institutions
that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap,
or national origin. For information on obtaining other extension
publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension Service
office. Florida Cooperative Extension Service/Institute of
Food and Agricultural Sciences/University of Florida/Christine
Taylor Waddill, Dean.
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