7-22 NWR Drive Carefully

7-22 NWR Drive Carefully

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Farmers and motorists face summer harvest

Drivers cautioned to be alert as farm machinery is likely to be on the road.

Motorists all through the Northwest this summer this summer are likely to face heavier traffic due to vacation travel and road construction. Add in slow moving farm machinery during harvest and it's a recipe that calls for ultra awareness and extra caution. From the busy and crowded traffic lanes of the more congested areas to the wide open spaces, the general advice is the same– be on the alert, slow down, and have patience.

"There are more drivers on the road this time of year and there is more road construction," says Katy Coba, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. "The constant message is slow down. That's the exact same message we want to get across when it comes to the summer harvest season. If you see farm equipment on the road, please slow down."

Farmers can legally drive trucks, tractors, combines, and other equipment on public roads. Sometimes this requires a tractor, combine, or farm truck to be out on the road, driving between 10 and 25 miles per hour to get from farm to field. This is perfectly lawful as long as the equipment has a clearly visible triangular, orange-and-red Slow Moving Vehicle (SMV) sign on its back end. That sign is a warning for drivers to slow down immediately.

Farmers normally try to avoid using high traffic roads as much as possible, but sometimes that just can't happen. Urban development has moved closer to agricultural operations, which increases the risk of motor vehicle accidents involving farmers and non-farmers.

Amity farmer Bruce Ruddenklau was involved in an accident on Highway 99E just before the Fourth of July. His wife Helle says it was a miracle there were no injuries.

"Bruce was bringing the windrower home at 5:30 in the morning," says Helle. "It was reasonably light out, all the road lights were on, including the flashing orange lights, and the SMV sign was clean and visible. [The driver of a car] approached from the back and ran straight into the left rear wheel of the windrower. The wheel snapped off, the windrower was pushed along at a higher speed than the 14 miles per hour it normally can go, and the car flipped over, grazed the side of the windrower and landed upside down on the roadway. Then in the evening [about a week later], while driving the combine home, somebody tried to pass Bruce on the left, just as he was about to turn left! Again, all the appropriate lights were on, and the turn signal was on. This happened only half a mile further up the road from where the windrower was hit. This time nothing happened, but it was still scary."

Not all accidents involving farm machinery and motorists are so fortunate. Statistics provided by the Oregon Department of Transportation indicate 25 traffic accidents involving farm vehicles and equipment in 2015 and 40 in 2014, including three fatal crashes.

Education and awareness campaigns seem to be helping. In 2011, there were 235 motor vehicle accidents involving farm vehicles and equipment, resulting in eight fatalities.

The Oregon Farm Bureau (OFB) is among several organizations that have been very active the past few years in educating the public and the farm community on how to be safe on the road. A "Rural Road Safety" brochure contains some very good and important information on how to share the road safely.

"The goal of the brochure is to save lives," says Anne Rigor of the Oregon Farm Bureau Health and Safety Committee, which produced the brochure. "It's heartbreaking to hear about injuries or deaths involving farm equipment that could've been avoided if drivers had simply slowed down."

Just as more urban motorists are on rural roads, farmers are busy planting, cultivating, and harvesting the many crops of the season. That makes the brochure's information more timely than ever.

"If you're driving 55 miles per hour on a highway and come upon a tractor that's moving at only 25 miles per hour, it takes only 8 seconds to close a gap the length of a football field between you and the tractor," says Rigor.

The brochure, which can be downloaded at , is useful to both motorists and farmers. Among the key tips provided by the publication:

·      If you decide to pass farm equipment on the road, please do so with caution.

·      Be watchful of vehicles behind you that may also try to pass.

·      If you must enter the oncoming lane of traffic, do not proceed unless you can see clearly ahead of both you and the vehicle you will pass.

·      If there are any curves or hills ahead that may block your view or the view of oncoming vehicles, do not pass.

·      Do not pass if you are in a designated "No Passing Zone" or within 100 feet of any intersection, railroad grade crossing, bridge, elevation structure, or tunnel.

·      Do not assume that a farm vehicle that pulls to the right side of the road is going to turn right or is letting you pass. Due to the size of some farm implements, the farmer must make wide left-hand turns. If you are unsure, check the operator's hand signals and look at the left side of the road for gates, driveways.

Motorists shouldn't assume that the farmer knows they are there or that the farmer can immediately move aside to let the motorist pass. Farmers generally understand they are slowing things down and will pull off the road at the first available safe location to allow motorists to pass. Slowing down to 20 miles per hour and following a tractor for two miles will take only six minutes of additional time to reach your destination. That's roughly the same as sitting at three stoplights.

Common sense and caution can help make travel safe this summer for everyone, on and off the farm.

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