[IYAS9YAS]

The Lawrenceburg, Indiana, anesthesiologist was removing dying ash trees in June 2015 when his tractor overturned as he was pulling a tree up a hill.

At the tender age of 8-years-old, I asked my farmer grandpa what the weights were for on the front of his John Deere... Shortly thereafter, I could have told this 63-year-old anesthesiologist why what he was doing could result in death...

[GreyFriar]

Also was the front wheels of the tractor “narrow or wide” spaced; i.e. narrow is wheels are not much more than the width of the tractor engine (close to the centerline); while wide is the front wheels are set far out from the centerline to parallel the rear wheels.

[iontheball]

At the tender age of 8-years-old, I asked my farmer grandpa what the weights were for on the front of his John Deere... Shortly thereafter, I could have told this 63-year-old anesthesiologist why what he was doing could result in death...
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Front weights are helpful, but making sure the load is attached to the factory installed draw bar is the key. The center of pull must always remain below the rear axle or the front of the tractor will wrap around the drive axle and go over backwards when the drive wheels do not break traction first. It all happens in a split second.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

My dad had a 55 gallon barrel of cement on the front of his tractor. I have an old 1966 CASE tractor and am very careful about how high on a hill I should go when brush hogging.
Situational awareness seems to be missing in some people.

[meatloaf]

It also depends on where you hitch the load. Above the midline of the rear axle and you’re screwed. Below the midline is safer. It’s simple physics.

[shotgun]

It’s a pretty scary feeling when that front end starts to lift. I had that happen in HS using the school’s FFA tractor rototilling a person’s garden.