Editing Power take-off (section)

==Safety==
[[File:TractorPTOshaftMay04.jpg|thumb|Protective plastic sheath enshrouding a PTO shaft]]

The PTO, as well as its associated shafts and [[universal joint]]s, are a common cause of incidents and injury in farming and industry. According to the [[National Safety Council]], six percent of tractor related fatalities in 1997 in the United States involved the PTO. Incidents can occur when loose clothing is pulled into the shaft, often resulting in [[bone fracture]]s, [[Amputation|loss of limbs]], other permanent disabilities, or death to its wearer. On April 13, 2009, former [[Major League Baseball]] star [[Mark Fidrych]] [[Mark Fidrych#Death|died as a result of a PTO related accident]]; "He appeared to have been working on his truck when his clothes became tangled in the truck's power take-off shaft", District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said in a statement.<ref name=espn-fidrych>{{cite web|title=Examiner: Fidrych suffocated to death|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=4073519|work=ESPN.com|access-date=7 January 2014|date=16 April 2009}}</ref> Despite much work to reduce the frequency and severity of agricultural injuries, these events still occur.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Tinc|first1=Pamela J.|last2=Sorensen|first2=Julie A.|date=2019-01-02|title=Marketing Farm Safety: Using Principles of Influence to Increase PTO Shielding|journal=Journal of Agromedicine|volume=24|issue=1|pages=101–109|doi=10.1080/1059924X.2018.1539421|issn=1059-924X|pmc=6353692|pmid=30346257}}</ref>

Some implements employ light free-spinning protective plastic guards to enshroud the PTO shaft;<ref name="NSC">
  {{
    cite web
      | url=https://www.nsc.org/news_resources/resources/documents/power_take_off%20(pto).pdf
      | url-status=dead
      | access-date=2022-07-28
      | title=Power-Take-Off (PTO) Safety
      | date=May 2009
      | publisher=National Safety Council
      | at=
      | language=en-us
      | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428005350if_/http://www.nsc.org/news_resources/Resources/Documents/Power_Take_Off%20(PTO).pdf
      | archive-date=2014-04-28
      | archive-format=PDF
  }}
</ref><ref name="Privette">
  {{
    cite web
      | url=http://www.clemson.edu/safety/pto.htm
      | url-status=dead
      | access-date=2022-07-29
      | title=Farm Safety & Health - PTO Safety
      | last=Privette
      | first=Charles
      | date=2002-03-01
      | department=Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
      | publisher=[[Clemson_University | Clemson University]]
      | at=
      | language=en-us
      | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050328215328/http://www.clemson.edu/safety/pto.htm
      | archive-date=2005-03-28
      | quote=shields and guards were developed to prevent injury from these rotating shafts
  }}
</ref>
these are mandatory in some countries. {{
  Citation needed
    | date=July 2022
    | reason=There were 2 Citations at end of sentence. Work in neither citation mentioned mandate for PTO guards.
}}
In the UK, [[Health and Safety Executive]] guidance is contained in a leaflet.<ref name="AIS40">
  {{
    cite web
      | url=https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ais40.pdf
      | url-status=live
      | access-date= 2022-07-29
      | title=Agriculture Information Sheet No 40 (AIS40). Power take-offs and power take-off drive shafts.
      | date=October 2013
      | orig-date=January 2013
      | website=[[Health and Safety Executive | Health and Safety Executive UK]]
      | at=
      | language=en-gb
      | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031104639if_/https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ais40.pdf
      | archive-date=2021-10-31
      | archive-format=PDF
  }}
</ref>