08:06:03pm, Wednesday, May 01, 2024
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Safty rules written in blood
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People who gave their life to pulling
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I know with the recent accident has brought up the subject of safty,Pulling has been a part of my life for 50 years a sport that has allowed me to meet many of the finest people in the world,so let us not forget the ones that gave their lives to the sport we all love,or the accidents that have hurt people be them pullers or fans.Every safty rule we have today has been written in blood and safty should be number one,I saw my first death in pulling July 4,1976 when a super stock puller went under the left rear tire,should we start a list of people who have paid with their lives for our safty today,maybe create a memorial foundation,perhaps the knowledge or the shock of this would save a life.Accidents do and will happen. |
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Re: Safty rules written in blood
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memories
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Lester Hinson
Gene Donaldson |
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Re: Safty rules written in blood
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Registered: 04/04/2008 Posts: 1,522 |
like most on here i attend a lot of brush pulls throughout the summer,they range from garden tr to trucks.i have been trying to remember the last time that i heard or seen a puller turned away because the vehicle did not meet general safety standards.usually what is said is,fix it before you come back,or before the next pull.another bone to pick is,with beer,how many times is alcohol commonly known to be used in the pits by drivers at these places,im sure good judgement is skewn somewhat,during this time. |
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Re: Safty rules written in blood
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Registered: 10/17/2009 Posts: 84 |
I know Gene was killed in a pulling accident but have never heard the exact details, anyone know? thanks |
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Re: Safty rules written in blood
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thrown from the tractor
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He was thrown from the tractor and died in surgery as a result of the accident.
Dick Sullivan was hurt bad as a result of dead stop at the 75 foot mark we now have the uprights and bumper on the back of tractors for that reason. emergency kill cables,deadman throttle,fenders,rool cages,helmets,fire suites,tie bars,steel flywheel's,side panels,wheelie bars,have all been brought about by accidents. Brush pulls are the scariest,no rules enforced,big egos,alcohol impaired judgement,people crowding the track with no good judgement of their safty. |
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Re: Safty rules written in blood
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Registered: 09/02/2008 Posts: 182 |
Watched a 3020 go about 100 ft on the wheelie bars and 1 rear tire after the hitch broke and had no kill switch. Also ran a sled for a year and just about had to fight a group of people cause I wouldn't let a drunk puller hook to the sled. |
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Re: Safty rules written in blood
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Anonymous User
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Does anybody remember the Smog Frog JD that flipped on its side at the All Iowa Fair (Hawkeye downs Cedar Rapids, Iowa) in the seventys or early eighties. I know the driver walked away but the announcer said he want going to pull unless he could pull in road gear. Does anybody remember who the driver/owner was of the Smog Frog and if the tractor is still in competition?
DPS |
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Re: Safty rules written in blood
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Registered: 02/02/2010 Posts: 43 |
Was it Doug Ham? |
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Re: Safty rules written in blood
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Anonymous User
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Randy Rose at Tomah = Roll Cages |
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Re: Safty rules written in blood
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fixer
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And cage confirmed by Walsh's turbine tractor after sled malfunction shoving it thru a concrete barrier on it's side.
Good thing it was a Engler cage, and not a Harry cage !!!!!! |
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Re: Safty rules written in blood
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SSD
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Roger Peterson backs up the roll cage rule because of what happeded at Hutchinson Mn. back in the late 90's. |
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Re: Safty rules written in blood
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fixer
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If you watch Rogers crash in slow motion, it shows one drawback to the cage. He was in trouble WAY before he backed out of it. I am sure without the cage, he would have pulled back on the stick WAY sooner! He had a full stack of smoke still blowing when he was way over center on the roll to the side. |
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Re: Safty rules written in blood
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WI Puller
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When you pull your not driving in slow motion, it is real life. Our crank broke last year, and it happened so quick that the sled shoved me a 100 ft. I remember I had my foot slightly pushing on the left brake, to keep it straight, and then crunch. After we stopped my foot was still on the break, and I had the throttle pushed foward. It all happened in about 5-6 seconds. So no Roger probably wouldn't have done anything different because he didn't have a cage, and I know, he is thankfull for the roll cage. |
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WI Puller is right
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Anonymous User
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Accidents do happen fast! You get use to the normal routine of driving and then something comes apart and after youre over the initial surprise it is already too late to do anything about.
I remember an IH at Tomah that was pullling and the sled failed. By the time the driver realized it he basically had to power slide the tractor out the exit gate. The tractor was about 45 degrees to the end of the exit area. I know this puller was expereienced but look how long it took for him to realize there was a probelm and do somethign to correct it. Accidents like the one in MN youre referring to. you would have no idea you werer as far gone until it was too late becasue we are all taught as young drivers to stay in the trottle to keep the forward momentum. In and out of the throttle and braking can quickely change the physics of a pull and can be catastrophic. Seen it hapen! DPS |
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Re: WI Puller is right
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Posts: 105 |
I remember that run at Tomah, it was Bill Miller on the Cruisin Mule. He did a hell of a job keeping the damage to a minimum, if I remember right all he broke was a spindle or a rod end, nothing major considering. I still can't believe the sled didn't lock up the brakes or something, Bill had quite the head of steam. |
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NY Puller
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Mark Hayes
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The person I seen was Buster Wilkinson in schaghticoke ny.
Poor kill switch, no seat belt, no roll cage, no fire suit. We have come along ways. |
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Re: NY Puller injured
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Mark Hayes
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I also seen Earl Horton get really hurt.
That was a poor sled |
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Re: NY Puller injured
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Anonymous User
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what sled was it ? |
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Re: NY Puller injured
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Vermonster. |
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Re: NY Puller injured
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Rich Horton
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i would not say it was a poor sled but, more of a new operator that paniced!!! My father was very luckey |
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Buster
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Registered: 04/09/2008 Posts: 277 |
Mark
Several years ago I was at the hospital near my home, I do not remember why, could of been the ER but I do not think so. Some how tractor pulling was mentioned. The nurse that was caring for me said many years ago she was in the ER room near Albany NY, 4 hours from where she was with me, they brought in someone who had gotten hurt by a pulling tractor and subsequently died at the hospital. She told me the entire story, it was Buster, it was probably 15 yrs before she was caring for me. It is a small world, and the story gave me a better insight into Busters & his families ordeal and made it much sadder! |
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Re: Buster
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Registered: 04/04/2008 Posts: 1,522 |
didn't larry mcmasters get in a fatal accident with his 6030"putty cat" back in the '80s,if i remember it had something to do with tuning it in the driveway,i think oswalds also pulled it after that for a while.. |
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Re: Buster
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Registered: 04/28/2008 Posts: 20 |
If I am not mistaken Todd this is the tractor of McMasters. I believe Fred still has it and his son ran it a few years ago. |
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Re: NY Puller
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Hi mark, Buster was my father. I was 4 years old and at the fair that day.
I'm always looking for stories about that day to better understand what happened to my dad. Please feel free to reach out. Rebecca |
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I Know Of 3 Deaths Here In The Midwest
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Long Time Puller
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Sadly I can remember 3 deaths of pullers here in the midwest.They all happened within 200 miles of each other from about 1976 to the late 1990's.
1 Lester Hinson from iowa 2 Gary Capesius from Kansas-lived several weeks after the accident 3 Troy Swizgood from MO All 3 were great guys and would have survived if we'd had cages back then. |
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Re: I Know Of 3 Deaths Here In The Midwest
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How about Lee Swift and Mr. Thundermaker in tomah back in 2003 tractor rolled end over end and without a cage i am positive that we would not have Mr. swift around today!!! |
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Re: I Know Of 3 Deaths Here In The Midwest
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Registered: 03/26/2008 Posts: 494 |
That is not the only one Swift ever crashed. There are many more: Bauer's times 3 or 4; Jon Schisler at BG; Josh Everett at Connersville, the list goes on. I will attest to roll cages. Our first year, Jesse went over in Kentucky. No roll cage and the whole unit is on top of him. The cage actually stopped the complete turn over. I wouldn't even consider running anything without a cage. Get AP Productions "wrecks" videos and see some very lucky pullers. JW |
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Gary
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Mbn
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It was about my second year into pulling when Gary lost his life. I remember helping collect money for the family at McCouth the next weekend. My understanding was that the weight box didn't load and he took it out the end to try and slow it down but had to dodge some cars and when turning the pan climbed a back tire and rolled him over. It broke his pelvis and he died the next week from a blood clot while still in the hosp. Sorry for your loss |
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Re: Gary
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Mbn
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Need to correct something, the sled was a Landol trailer type and there was something about too much dust that the operator couldn't ride anymore. I wasn't there. I had a mini rod sled that the box didn't load on me that same night and I when under a chain link fence and into a Ford quarter panel !! |
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Re: Gary
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Anonymous User
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Thanks for shedding some light on this mbn. My family has wondered for many years exactly what happened. We are from Iowa and was not at the pull. Im glad I was'nt. They sure have come a long way with safety features but is still a dangerous sport. But then again its probably more dangerous just driving down the highway in our car. Atleast he died from doing something he loved to do. |
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Re: Gary
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I am Gary's daughter, and I was 15 at the time of the accident. The pull actually was in our home town of Oskaloosa, July 1978. |
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Re: Gary
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Anonymous User
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I was 9 years old then and I remember my family traveling to the wake and funeral then. |
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Re: I Know Of 3 Deaths Here In The Midwest
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Anonymous User
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To long time puller. Gary Capesius was my cousin. I was pretty young when he died. Were you at the pull when his accident happened or anybody else that is reading this? If memory serves me correctly he was in his home town and the tractor flipped backwards on him. I think the accident happened in 1979 in Kansas city Kansas. I was just wondering what actually happened that day. Also what did he pull for a tractor? I appriciate any info anyone has on this. Thanks. |
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Re: I Know Of 3 Deaths Here In The Midwest
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Long Time Puller
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Thankfully I wasnt at the pull that day when Gary flipped his twin engine modified...I saw Gary pull quite a few times in the late 1970's...He was a nice guy... |
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Re: I Know Of 3 Deaths Here In The Midwest
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Its just a matter of time till someone gets killed standing on the side of the track. The midsouth pulls I go to I see people standing to take a video or picture about 10 feet from the out of bounds line.They are family and crew people but if you watch when a tractor comes loose from the sled there is not any time to get out of the way.Watch the stormy video at Murfreesboro a few years ago and you will see what Im talking about. |
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Re: I Know Of 3 Deaths Here In The Midwest
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Moderator Registered: 01/11/2009 Posts: 1,579 |
KY4430 I'd like to know what events you attended. I attended nearly every MidSouth event the last 2 years and I cannot think of one where anyone doing video or taking a picture were not at a minimum an adequate distance (20ft or more) from the track or behind a barrier, and the distance that most crew members are off the track is pretty typical of any track I've been on personally regardless of the sanctioning body. As a photographer and pretty big guy, you will not see me within 30ft of the track. I haven't had that gear in my arsenal since high school to move quickly and I have an "escape path" that I look for. Your message offers the perception that the MidSouth's attitude towards safety is relaxed and inappropriate; that perception is absolutely, positively, untrue. |
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Re: I Know Of 3 Deaths Here In The Midwest
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Anonymous User
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Do you know what caused the tractor to flip? Did people use wheelie bars back then. I found it was 1978 when he died at 36 years old. |
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Re: I Know Of 3 Deaths Here In The Midwest
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IH#1 & Long Time Puller. I am Gary's daughter, I was 15 at the time of the accident. The pull was actually in our home town of Oskaloosa, July 1978. |
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Re: I Know Of 3 Deaths Here In The Midwest
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good ol indiana boy
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i was at switz city tractor pull a few years ago when charlie dutton and his 966 hot farm flipped on its side.. sad part of the story is that that man couldnt even turn his head around to back up to the sled because he was in such bad shape and health. the old man had to have someone guide him backwards. shouldnt have ever been able to pull if he couldnt move his head. can you imagine the rest of his reflexes? slllooowwww. sure would have been horrible to see someone get hurt there. maybe the promoters should start stepping on a nfew toes instead of trying to be friends with everybody and throwing the safety concerns out the window.. |
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Re: I Know Of 3 Deaths Here In The Midwest
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i agree
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i agree 100% with ya! |
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Re: Safty rules written in blood
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Old Guy
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Robert Galloway on The Hulk in South Carolina pulling with UPOC going down the track drifted to the right & he over corrected turning to the left & the sled jack-knifed the tractor laying it on its right side while sliding up the track. I helped pick up the weights & get the tractor back on its wheels. One of the guys helping said "look at that". It's been 20 years & the kill switch still hasn't been pulled by the sled operator. |
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