Farm Equipment Safety: Share the Road This Harvest Season
Harvest season is an exciting and busy time across the Midwest. As farmers work to bring crops out of the field, drivers can expect to see more combines, tractors, grain carts, semis, and other large equipment traveling on rural roads.
For everyone on the road, a little extra awareness and patience can go a long way toward keeping harvest season safe.
Slow Down When You See Farm Equipment
Farm equipment often travels slower than passenger vehicles and may take up a large portion of the road. When you come up behind a tractor, combine, or other agricultural equipment, slow down and give the operator plenty of space.
Avoid following too closely and be prepared for the equipment to stop or turn.
Be Careful When Passing
Before passing farm equipment, make sure you have a clear view of the road ahead and that passing is legal and safe. Remember that what looks like a slow-moving vehicle simply staying on the road may actually be preparing to turn into a field, driveway, or another access point.
Never pass when you can’t clearly see what’s ahead.
Give Wide Turns Plenty of Room
Large equipment needs significantly more space to turn than a typical vehicle. A tractor or combine may move toward one side of the road before making a wide turn in the opposite direction.
Don’t try to squeeze past equipment during a turn. Slow down, stay back, and wait until you know the operator’s intentions.
Watch for More Than Tractors
Harvest traffic isn’t limited to tractors and combines. You may also encounter grain carts, semis hauling grain, pickups, and service vehicles traveling between fields, grain elevators, and farms.
Put the Phone Down and Stay Alert
Harvest season is not the time to be distracted behind the wheel. Put your phone away, keep your eyes on the road, and be prepared for slower-moving traffic.
A few extra minutes on your drive is worth it when it helps everyone get home safely.
Share the Road This Harvest Season
Farmers have a job to do, and rural roads are often the only way to get that equipment from one field to another. The next time you come across a combine, tractor, or semi during harvest, remember to slow down, give them space, and be patient.
At Kibble Equipment, we want to help make harvest season safe for farmers and everyone who shares the road with them.
Slow down. Stay alert. Share the road.
