Bear with me, this news really bothers me! Actor Jeremy Renner run over by his Sno-Cat while trying to help stranded motorist! The News is reporting his Pistin Bully Sno-Cat rolled over him while he was trying to climb back in and stop it, which screams all sorts of issues with that Cat, not to mention operator training or lack there of, and I suspect we will learn ether that Cat had several of it's safety interlocks disabled, or was otherwise ill maintained! What really bothers me here, I have VERY EXTENSIVE experience and training with Pistin Bully Sno-Cats, they are designed to be as safe as possible, and part of that are several safety interlocks that would prevent any sort of accident from happening! They say his Machine was a 400 to 480 series ( Could be as big as the 500 series) Park Model Cat, and from the photos I have seen, it's a pretty new one at that, that model would have ALL the safety interlocks ( Same as My Fav Pistin Bully 680 Winch Cat Groomer) so, this accident shouldn't have happened! Firstly, if he were to open the door, the cat would automatically take the Hydros off line and apply the parking brake, plus sound a very loud audible alarm. Second, that cat cannot move on it's own with out a driver actually seated in the operators seat, AND the Parking brake released, see above, and third, you have to release the park brake before the hydros can come on line to provide motive power, or to even be able to throttle up to operating RPM's, the cat should not be able to move with the engine at idle! Both the seat and door sensors should have stopped that machine in it's tracks, and sounded all sorts of very loud alarms to indicate something was forgotten, I know, part of my daily inspection before signing out my cat was to check EVERY SINGLE SAFETY FEATURE of that machine to ensure it all functioned properly, or I didn't take that cat that shift, and no one else would ether! Now, as an owner operator like Mr. Renner, the cats safety is all in his hands, BUT, the cats built in safeties should have been functional, and yet this happened and he may loose his leg, not to mention several months of serious re-hab in his future! Sorry for the rant, but besides this actor being a genuinely good person ( Rare in todays Holliweird), this hits pretty close to home for me being a Operator!
The only machine I had any experience with was an old Thiokol 1404 IMP. Had a Ford I think 4 cylinder gas engine and I don't remember it having any safeties, other than most of the time it wouldn't run. I will be interesting to find out what really happened to Renner.
.. .. all uv da newer models should have da safety features Sir Ura-Ki wuz talkin about similar ta how jetskis werk on water .. .. .. .. wuz da safety features disabled?? .. .. wuz da machine modified?? .. .. .. .. did da sensors fail n wuz never repaired?? .. .. .. .. dere is a limited number of possibilities .. .. .. .. wuz da machine owned or rented?? .. .. .. .. da investigaters should look into all dat n more .. ..
From what I've read, Renner owns the machine and retrieved it to rescue of of his vehicles operated by a family member. Upon retrieving the vehicle, the Piston Billy began moving while he was out of the machine and he was run over by it when he tried to re-enter the Cat in an effort to stop it.
All my experience with Rubber Track Snow Groomers is many decades old, when I was a Professional Ski-Patrolman in the Washington Cascades… I have driven Thiocol machines from the little 4cyl to the big hauler /Packers driven by Ford 6 cyl engines… Back in those days there were few if No Safety Systems… You either went, or you did not go…Hint… Just like any Track Vehicle, if you start to slide sideways down hill, the recover maneuver is to gun the engine, and turn into the hill, PERIOD… Any other maneuver can lead to disaster, ,as I learned my first day..I was lucky, I only had to change my pants….. but it was quite a ride….
I own both a Tucker and Thiokol Super Imp 1750 Sno-Cats, both are super dangerous if you don't treat them with the respect they deserve, further more, both are "Hot Rods" which makes them even more dangerous due to the HUGE power gains they have! That said, I ALWAYS practice safe operating practices when ever operating or working on ether machine! Neither have any safety features other then seat belts and strobe lights! The Super Imp is by far the coolest and most capable despite it's small size, size being it's only limit to what it can do, and it's insanely fast by Sno-cat standards, prone to throwing tracks if you push it to the limits!
.. .. dis is da 400 ParkPro .. .. .. .. if dis is da same as da un involved in da accident .. .. it could have been a 100 or 300 or 400 or 600 .. .. .. .. dey is German tech .. .. dey must be equipped wid all kinds of German stuff n things n safety tech as Sir Ura-Ki wuz sayin last night .. .. even an older used un should have safety features .. .. .. .. heck some uv da newer models has LIDAR .. .. .. .. da pic we seen in da media aint clear enuff ta figure out which un it wuz .. ..
Hate all the safety interlocks on my MF tractor, but having been to too many funerals for people who disabled that sort of thing, put up with them. Seat sw, have to be on seat to start and move tractor or even keep it running if brakes not set is a real pain when running chains to drag wood out, but I never have to try to stop a moving tractor either. Odds may be one in million that something will happen, but then I also buy lottery tickets so it could happen.
.. .. dey is reporting dis is da reel un involved in da accident .. .. .. .. dey also said it is no longer made .. .. .. .. seems ta be a much older model .. .. possibly from da 1980s or 1990s .. .. .. ..
Can't say I don't disable some of the safety stuff on tractors and machines...... Like I can find no valid reason why I should not be able to mow in reverse with the new garden tractor or get off of it while it is running without having to set the brake. I fixed those two things but left the shut down if the blades are still engaged safety feature. And then there is my old MF'r Tractor the ignition fried a couple decades ago and a piece of wire or a screw drive has been its key since. It became a religion to make sure both tranny sticks are in neutral when starting it. Standing right up against a big tractor tire at a minimum is a hard bump to the side and at worst the tractor fires and drives that tire over you. Steel Tracked equipment is NOT nearly as forgiving as Rubber and tires. If as the story goes, he attempted getting in while it was moving, he had to step on moving tracks. Which is very unstable footing at best. Not familiar with the snowcats etc at all but looking at the pics there would be zero margin for error as the track would dump you right in front of the track instantly before you could react. Just like a PTO shaft can snatch a loose shirt sleeve and wrap you around the shaft before you can even blink. I respect the guy IRL and even like his Movie Character but at the end of the day I am going to bet this was operator error. I assume that like with most equipment you can't exit with the tranny engaged so it makes me wonder how it got in motion in the first place? Was it pointed down hill with the parking brake not set and gravity put it in motion? The blade was obviously not down to act as a secondary parking brake of sorts........ Was it left running and the machine put its self in gear? I learned with Mrs Kraps New Truck that when you open the drivers side door it spins the knob over to park if the engine is running, also learned that tech can fail, when I closed the door and the truck put itself back in drive when I closed the door and it gently ran into a tree....... Also locked the doors on its own at the same time preventing me from stopping it LOL. Something about a faulty sensor....... I will stick with my 2001 Big Red Thunder Chicken that does not have all the buttons, dials, gizmos and sensors! So modern tech can fail and do really stupid things in the process. Cough the parking brake being applied can at least slow that stupid stuff down If the Old MF'r had any kind of brakes at all I would set the parking brake before starting it The bucket is the brakes. No excuse for not setting the parking brake on Mrs Krap's truck, I just hopped out to grab a set of wrenches and coming right back........ What I learned also from the Truck incident is that one faulty sensor can cause a cascade of failures in computer. Could not even start the truck after it bumped the tree and had to have it towed to the dealership and it threw like 30 codes for various things that failed starting with the transmission disengage sensor. Could be he had the same type of malfunction. But anything at this point is just speculation, I am curious though if it was operator error, machine malfunction or a combination of both. I do know we are seeing A LOT more human machine interactions that end poorly for the human over the last couple of years. More people moving out here and buying bigger and more unforgiving equipment. The worst thing folks with little or no experience with bigger equipment should do is disable any of the safety features. Had one up the road disable the blade engaged shot off on their lawm mower....... She has half a left foot now. And then everyone that takes the deck discharge flaps off......... then wonders why they get rock holes in the house and vehicle windows....... Or why their dogs and kids are missing eyeballs. Nail in my hand was my own fault I set the air out to 200PSI to air some tractor tired up and didn't set it back down to 100PSI for the nail gun, the 200PSI shot the nail straight through the 2x4 and 3" into my hand side ways with 200PSI pushing it...... Old nail gun that does not regulate the air in the gun whatever the PSI going in is just gets amplified when it sends the nail out. Fortunately just a deep hole in the left hand and some tore up muscle to remind me I did a stupid every time it went spas. Pretty much every thing on a farm, homestead, farmstead, hobby farm wants to hurt or kill you in one way or another. 99% it only manages to do it because you were ignorant, careless, or knowingly decided not to do it safely That 1% is just the shit happens factor.
Nail guns have a nylon type bumper in the bottom that limits the depth by stopping the piston. Has some give, but it is all that prevents way overdrive and protects gun. But gun has a good sized piston area and F=MA, so more air and the nail is moving a lot faster when it hits the stop as well and at some point it will overdrive. Thank God the damage was as limited as it was and that nothing blew up in the gun due to over pressure and ended up with frag damage as well. I use a regulator set to 80 or 90 lbs to get a uniform drive depth and to protect me and the gun. Friend killed himself working with Bobcat bucket and on a flail mower. Propped bucket up with 2 by 4 as he had a lot of times before, in order to clean and lube the mower but somehow got single stick valve lever into float instead of hold, so bucket didn't drift down, it fell down when it kicked the 2 by 4 out. Mother found him dead under mower, not a good scene. Lots of hydrolics have up, down, and float positions. A ;lot of people never recognize how to set float or bump valve into float detent. A whole new and dangerous ball game.
Its is a old nail gun designed to drive larger nails into hardwood trailer floors. LOL It will work with up to 300psi and not blow aprt the seals. Will shoot just about anything from paper tape to wire welds from 28-31 degrees. I should have been using one of the dewalts or bostich guns and cough remembered to turn the compressor PSI back down. I got that old gun when a freight terminal shut down and for driving the the oak lumber from the sawmill. LOL the other nail guns would get a nail 1/4 inch in this one drives right through the toughest oak to the head.........and right through a pine 2x4 LOL thank God my hand stopped the nail so the new concrete floor didn't get chipped
We wont handle them, too da** dangerous and too much money, but you can buy nail guns that run at 500 psi, drive nails into steel and concrete and do work. Have to know just exactly what you are doing and keep them under lock and key. Drive into a 1/4 in luan plywood without any backing and the flying nail in free flight could kill you at many feet. Wrong hose or fitting on compressor at 500 psi etc can kill you. High Pressure Fastening Tools | Aerosmith HN120 Steel & Concrete Pneumatic Nail Gun
Yep there are some real beast Nail guns out there and they are NOT toys. Even the lower PSI ones can hurt you FAST. Oneof the few things I wear good clear face shield when using. Seen too many guys get unwanted facial piercings when a nail deflect and shot out sideways on a hard knot or other hidden obstacle. Guy years ago had one deflect back and go in the middle of his lower jaw and pin his tongue to the roof of his mouth. Did not look like fun at all and made me a believer in wearing protection........ no one wants to be THAT Guy Big Tools or Little Tools they all want to kill, crush, cut, puncture or chop you up. Guy a bit north of me didn't disengage the PTO on Square baler 6-7 years back and was clearing some blockage in the pick up teeth and a tooth caught his clove and pulled him right in and ran him through the bale chamber and baled him. The fire dept/rescue team literally had to feed more grass in to get his baled corpse out of the baler. Not how I would like to make the 10 O Clock News. Another guy to the South somehow grabbed a spinning PTO shaft with no shielding on it with both hands, he survived but is now missing both arms at the shoulders. Another one a few years back ran himself into a grain bin through the Auger. Another chopped himself up in his silage chopper and got blown into the silage wagon, another grabbed a spinning PTO (not the shaft but the splines the shaft mounts on) It stripped every bit of skin and meat from his palm down to the bones before he could let go. Another guy shredded and cut his junk off with a little 10" eco battery chainsaw. Stuff like this all happens fast and without mercy way to often. You gotta respect those tools and treat them like they want to main or kill you...... Because they have no respect for you and DO want to kill or maim you!
