Released August 24, 2009
COLUMBIA, Mo. –As harvest season arrives, urban drivers on rural roads should be extra cautious when sharing the road with heavy, slow-moving farm equipment.
This year’s National Farm Safety and Health Week, Sept. 20-26, stresses the importance of rural road safety.
Rural roads account for only 40 percent of road travel, yet 60 percent of road fatalities take place on rural roads, said Karen Funkenbusch, University of Missouri Extension agriculture safety specialist.
“Large farming equipment is likely to be out on rural roads during harvest season,” she said. “Tractors or combines are designed to move at no more than 25 miles per hour. A car moving at 55 mph can overtake a tractor moving 15 mph in about five seconds.”
Safety rules
Urban drivers unfamiliar with rural road travel should keep some basic safety rules in mind, she said.
-Slow down immediately when you see a triangular red and orange slow-moving-vehicle sign.
-Be patient. Farmers will pull off the road at the first available location to allow you to pass.
-If you pass a farm vehicle, do not assume the driver knows you are there. Pass with caution.
-Don’t assume when a farm vehicle pulls to the right that it is making a right turn or letting you pass. Some large pieces of equipment must execute wide left turns.
Rural roads often are narrow and have sharp turns or blind spots for the approaching driver, she said. Rural road maintenance also may be poor.
Drivers should avoid any risky maneuvers. While the number of accidents involving slow-moving farm equipment is relatively low, such accidents usually prove to be severe, she said.
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http://extension.missouri.edu/news/DisplayStory.aspx?N=496
Source: Karen Funkenbusch, 573-882-2731
Writer: Robert E. Thomas, 573-882-2480, thomasr@missouri.edu
