This new shield was less likely to be removed from the power take-off drives, and provided greater protection for tractor and implement operators. However, even with this improved shield, there continues to be a large number of unshielded drives-a hazardous situation likely to be with us for years to come. Power take-off shafts generally vary with the size of the tractor. This means that a person caught in a PTO drive unit that turns at 540 revolutions per minute, conceivably could be whipped around the shaft nine times per second. If the weight of th person caught in a PTO shaft did not cause a slow operating tractor engine to stall, the accident could be totally devastating.
Power take-off accidents still are fairly common.
Open power-drive lines on augers, elevators and posthole diggers cause a major share of PTO accidents. Some operators remove the master shield on the power takeoff drive from the tractor. This easily could lead to a major accident. Power take-off accident injuries are similar to those of the past, even with newer equipment. The numbers of PTO accidents is partially a result of inexperienced operators who fail to observe many of the standar s required for safe operation.