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Richard Parry-Jones RIP

Tony Lockhart

Tony Lockhart

Avoiding Stress, at Every Opportunity
Andrew Frankel on Twitter yesterday:

“Awful news that Richard Parry-Jones has been killed on a tractor. You know how we all bang on about how Ford transformed its product in the 1990s, turning the lame Sierra and awful Escort into the world beating Mondeo and Focus? No one deserved more of the credit than RPJ. RIP.”

He really did turn Ford around. A sad loss.
 
I've never heard of him, but clearly he was a jolly decent chap, especially if he could do all those things with a Ford. "Our Ford which art in heaven...." with apologies to Aldous Huxley.
 
That's sad. Tractors are a common cause of death. It's very true that the Focus and Mondeo were a street better than the Sierra and Escort. It was widely reckoned that the 80s Astra was better than the Escort, and having driven both I agree. The Cavalier left the Sierra for dead, but fast forward to the mid and late 90s and the Focus and Mondeo were the far better choice of their classes.
 
Yes farms are dangerous places. Heavy machinery with blind spots, rotating shafts, nasty moving parts that can't be guarded or the machine can't work. Older people are at greater risk because they can't move out of the way so quickly.

Large animals also pose risks if you need to get close to them for any reason.

All ages are at risk, a local farming family lost a 21 year old daughter/granddaughter in a tragic accident while sowing spring crops.

It is now nearly 25 years since I worked regularly on farm, I would need to be very careful if I was helping my brother in law on his farm.
 
stevec67 said:
That's sad. Tractors are a common cause of death. It's very true that the Focus and Mondeo were a street better than the Sierra and Escort. It was widely reckoned that the 80s Astra was better than the Escort, and having driven both I agree. The Cavalier left the Sierra for dead, but fast forward to the mid and late 90s and the Focus and Mondeo were the far better choice of their classes.
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I agree. When I started getting company cars it was in the Cav era, all the reps and engineers had Cav CD1 2l with all the toys and I could not wait to get my own company Cav. I managed to get the job change I had been seeking and the car allowance and they gave me a hand me down baggy old Sierra estate Ghia 2l, I was gutted. I had a year to get through and then I could order my own car and choose from the std list and I had the car selected, Cav CD1 in Aubergine with the brand new ABS option. Then Ford launched the Mondeo so I had to get a test drive and there was no going back, the dream spec Cav was abandoned and a sea green Mondeo Estate 2l GLX was my first brand new company car. I loved it, even after I wrecked it and it never quite drove the same again.

Later on we had a Rover only policy and after 3 years with a 220GSi, I could not wait to get out of the Rovers and got one of the first Mk1 Focus in the country despite it being much cheaper that I could afford on my car budget, the way it drove convinced me; a black on black fully loaded (there was not an option it didn't have) Ghia 2l petrol. What a car, best driving company car until the BMW years, managed not to wreck it but it did get stolen and much later recovered by which time it had been replaced by an Audi A4 (first and only Audi).
 
What a tragic loss -- Richard was probably the most influential automotive engineer of our generation. A total car guy -- except when he was on his motor bike -- his concepts of natural control feel and steering linearity revolutionized Ford engineering thinking and had a major impact on the industry. Once Ford had made a good car everyone else had to up their game so you could say the dynamic quality of all current cars is in part down to him. Also a brilliant communicator -- image the day when he walked into the Focus Product Committee and said he wanted to spend over $100 per unit extra on a multi-link rear suspension when they probably thought they were there to discuss a few extra cents for an extra cup holder! Also a great mentor to young engineering talent and IIRC a major supporter of the Technical Specialist program that allowed engineers to progress their careers without having to join "management".
And to think that it appears to have happened on a bl**dy tractor -- probably the slowest thing he'd ever driven.
RIP R P-J
Rgds
Steve
 
steve6080 said:
And to think that it appears to have happened on a bl**dy tractor -- probably the slowest thing he'd ever driven.
Rgds
Steve
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They don't have to be going fast to kill you. I grew up in a farming area, every year there were fatalities. One mate's mother had a lucky escape, she forgot to check the linking pin on the split brakes, hooked up a trailer and went bowling down the road. Got to the field entrance, gave the brakes a good shove and on nice grippy tarmac it just turned itself around one rear wheel and spat her into the ditch. Fortunately the thing had a cab and a cage so other than bruising she was OK. It could easily have been another story.
 
Slammin’ Sammy Miller, a drag racer who was clearing 300mph for the ¼ mile in his rocket cars in 1979, was killed while driving his bulldozer at an oil well. You can never let safety go to the back of your mind :(
 
Living in the country and having a son in farming I'm aware of the dangers -- just can't understand how, with his analytical mind, Richard wouldn't be extra careful.
If anyone's interested author Steve Saxty has posted an obituary on his web site.
Rgds
Steve
 
steve6080 said:
Living in the country and having a son in farming I'm aware of the dangers -- just can't understand how, with his analytical mind, Richard wouldn't be extra careful.
If anyone's interested author Steve Saxty has posted an obituary on his web site.
Rgds
Steve
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Read it. Very fitting tribute.
 
I don't know if Richard Parry Jones had any family history in farming.

Farms are dangerous places. Tractors generally kill people in one of three ways: crushing by running over or against an object; clothing getting caught in a power take off shaft due to damaged/missing guards; and finally through overturning, simple crushing if no safety cab or being flung out of the cab as it rolls.

Fatigue and tiredness lead to people making mistakes. I remember coming close to a fatal mistake once, I could easily have been pulled into a baler being crushed on the way in and what was left would have been going round in the baler until someone came looking for me!
 
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