Rural Road Safety Week
It is the time of year again when you will be seeing many more pieces of farm equipment on your rural roads. So, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau wants to remind you how to arrive at your destination safely, while sharing the road with your farm neighbors. While driving on a rural road, you may encounter farm equipment. This equipment comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Sometimes you will see a single vehicle, such as a tractor or combine. Other times the equipment will consist of a tractor with an implement in tow.
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Farm equipment is designed to be used primarily in a field and is not designed to travel at typical highway speeds. Most farm equipment is designed to travel at speeds of 15-25 miles per hour. Farm equipment may be wider than other vehicles, and perhaps even wider than the lane of travel. However, farm equipment must be operated on highways in order to travel between a farm and a field or field to field.
Just as motorists are entitled to operate their vehicles on public roadways, farmers are legally allowed to operate farm equipment on these same roadways. Caution, courtesy and special attention to the following safety tips will help ensure the safety of motorists, passengers, and operators of slow-moving farm equipment.
1. Recognize the Slow Moving Vehicle Emblem -- brake immediately!
2. Be patient
3. Pass with caution
4. Yield to wide vehicles
5. Don’t assume that the farmer knows you’re there
Most operators of farm equipment will regularly check to see if there is traffic behind them. However, the farmer must spend most of the time looking ahead to keep the equipment safely on the road, and to watch for oncoming traffic. Also, most farm equipment is very loud, and the farmer will probably not be able to hear your vehicle. Therefore, do not assume that the farmer knows where your vehicle is. Before you attempt to pass, use your car’s horn to signal to the farmer that you are there.
By being aware of farm equipment during your travels on rural roads this spring, summer and harvest season, you can help make the trip safe for both you and Pennsylvania’s farmers.
Bill Buser
County Farm Bureau President
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