All tractors manufactured since 1976 have a special rollover protective structure, or ROPS, that provides a safe environment for the operator if the tractor rolls over. The use of seat belts on tractors with ROPS will protect the operator from serious injuries. Extra riders have no such protection. There is no safe environment for extra riders on tractors. Older model tractors without ROPS can offer no rollover protection for operators or extra riders.
Many people have the mistaken idea that enclosed cabs protect extra riders.
This notion only gives tractor operators a false sense of security. Many tractor runover deaths happen when the child falls out of an enclosed cab. An enclosed cab can reduce the chance that a rider will be bumped off a tractor, it cannot eliminate that risk. The small measure of protection from an enclosed cab is not a guarantee of safety for extra riders. The only situation in which an extra rider should be allowed on a tractor is during professional instruction of new operators.