Rural Roads Safety Week April 19 - 26
Indiana, PA - With the Spring season upon us, many motorists may encounter slow-moving farm machinery on area highways. Sharing the road with large and slow-moving farm machinery is often easier said than done.
PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau offer motorists some important facts and safety tips when driving around farm machinery.
Important facts to remember:
• All slow-moving equipment (25 MPH or less) must have a yellow-orange fluorescent triangle with a red reflective border displayed to the rear of the vehicle.
• All slow-moving equipment must pull over and let traffic pass at the first available area that is safe.
• Farm machinery typically travels at speeds less than 20 miles per hour.
• Some farm machinery is very large, wide and can be awkward to maneuver on the highway.
• Farm machinery operates at very early and sometimes very late hours.
• Rural road crashes peak during the hours of 3 to 6 p.m.
• Farm machinery can be very difficult to see and also for the operator to see out of.
• Farm machinery seldom travels very far on highways.
• Everyone uses farm products on a daily basis.
Important safety tips:
• Patience is the best policy when you're confronted with a slow-moving machine. More than likely, the farmer will not be traveling far.
• Keep your distance. Do not travel too close to the machinery. This can make it extremely dangerous for you and the machine operator.
• Be alert for clues of a farming area such as large fields, silos, livestock, fencing or precautionary road signs.
• Make the situation a learning experience for your children and not a lesson in how to be an aggressive driver.
• Always remember that it's much better to arrive a little late than not at all.
• Farm machinery operators may not be able to see you so be very careful if you do decide to pass. Remember they might be planning to turn.
Agriculture is one of Pennsylvania's biggest industries. It's PennDOT's hope, through working cooperatively with motorists and area farmers, that the overall safety will be improved for everyone. PennDOT asks motorists and farm workers to give each other the respect necessary to share the road. |