With the fall harvest in full swing, large, slow-moving farm vehicles will be using roads around the state to move between farm and fields. These vehicles were designed primarily for use in the fields and travel significantly slower than passenger vehicles.
According to Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) Data, there were 510 crashes statewide in 2014 from accidents involving farm vehicles, resulting in 22 deaths and injuries to 169 people. So far in 2015, there have been 269 collisions and four deaths in accidents involving farm vehicles.
"Because tractors are slow-moving vehicles and things like peanut and cotton wagons often don't have lights, we're particularly warning folks to be careful at dusk and dawn," GOHS Director Harris Blackwood said in a press release. "We want to encourage motorists to yield to slow-moving vehicles no matter how inconvenient it might seem, but we also want to ask farmers that if their equipment doesn't have lights, to add a series of inexpensive, magnetic lights to keep themselves and other motorists as safe as possible."
When approaching a slow-moving vehicle, motorists are cautioned to slow down as soon as possible. If a vehicle is traveling at 55 mph and comes upon a tractor moving at just 15 mph, it will only take five seconds to close a gap the length of a football field.
Farmers should always make sure any equipment they have to drive on a public road is marked with the slow moving vehicle triangle, which is orange with a red border and is reflective. Data, however, shows that fewer than 30 percent of drivers know what that symbol means, which can be a matter of life and death for farm equipment operators. It symbolizes that the vehicle it is affixed to travels at speeds of 25 mph or less.
A common accident occurs when motorists try to pass farm vehicles turning left. The tractor may appear to be pulling to the right side of the road to let cars pass but is really preparing to make a wide left turn. Check the left side of the road for anyplace a farm vehicle might turn, such as gates or driveways. Also, watch closely for hand and light signals.
During a press conference at Sunbelt Expo Oct. 21, Blackwood and Captain Buddy Johnson, commander of the Georgia State Patrol Troop G in Southwest Georgia, encouraged farmers to install flashing lights on all equipment that will be traveling highways during harvest season. Blackwood and Johnson said the flashing light kits are readily available at most automotive or big-box stores.
"These lights are cheap and they're easy to install," Johnson said. "We don't care what color the lights are - red, yellow, orange or white - it will keep the driver of your [farm] vehicle protected. We love our farmers and we're out there to make sure you're safe."
Johnson also cautioned peanut growers not to overload peanut wagons and trucks headed to buying points and shellers.
"When you load up an eighty thousand pound truck with one hundred thousand pounds of peanuts it's a problem when you take a curve," Johnson said. "We realize there are exemptions [for ag trucks] but don't overload them beyond what's safe. Also make sure your drivers are capable of driving heavy loads and have the proper licenses they need."
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