Know Your Tractor

• Read the manufacturer's operation manual. Perform regular walk-around inspections to ensure that every thing is in working order. Knowing every part of the machine ensures completion of adjustments and repairs before they become a problem.
  
  

Check Fluid and Tire Pressure

• Check all fluid, fuel levels and tire pressures before operating the tractor. Adding fluids of any kind to a running or hot engine may result in damage to parts of the engine, explosion, or combustion causing serious injury or death.
  
  

Safety First

• Keep safety guards and rollover protective structures in place. Safety guards and ROPS are there for a reason -- to keep the operator safe. Removal of these items may result in serious injury or death.
  
  

Adding Equipment

• Follow manufacturer's specifications for hooking up and operating attachments. Do not assume that just because it fits you can use it. Check to make sure that your tractor is equipped to handle the attachment and that the attachment will work with your tractor. Maintain a lower center of gravity by keeping hitches low and adding counterweights as necessary to ensure balance of the tractor and its equipment in relationship to the grade to prevent rollovers.
  
  

Ventilation

• Never start a tractor or any machine equipped with a combustion engine indoors. Open the doors as a means of ventilating the area to avoid exposure to carbon monoxide -- an odorless, colorless and deadly gas.
  
  

Made for a Purpose

• Tractors are farm machines, not recreational vehicles. Unless the tractor is equipped with additional seats and safety restraints, do not allow passengers. Teach children that a tractor is a useful and powerful tool with inherent dangers; it is not a toy.
  
  

Know the Terrain

• Walk through the work area, making note of any changes in grades, obstructions, depressions or dangers, such as overhead power lines, buried cables, fencing or bodies of water.
  
  

Do Not Rush

• Do not rush to get the job done. Accidents can result from the operator being in a hurry or behaving carelessly. Working safely and staying alert minimizes many of the risks associated with operating a tractor.
  
  

Turn it Off

• After completing the job, turn off the tractor and set the parking break. Never walk away from the tractor while it is running.
  
  

Respect

• Respect the power and usefulness of your tractor. Never allow yourself to become complacent when operating your tractor. Many of the accidents involving tractors can be avoided by simply giving this machine the respect it deserves.