{"id":37441,"date":"2020-09-03T10:20:44","date_gmt":"2020-09-03T15:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/?p=37441"},"modified":"2020-09-03T14:01:27","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T19:01:27","slug":"buckling-down-on-rural-road-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/general-agriculture\/buckling-down-on-rural-road-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Buckling Down on Rural Road Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>As the weather cools, days shorten and fall harvest begins, safety on the road and farm are of the utmost importance for Wisconsin farmers.<\/p>\n According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, between 2011 and 2018 there were more than 1.300 crashes between motorists and farm equipment. Those crashes resulted in more than 670 injuries and nearly 30 deaths.<\/p>\n Cheryl Skjolaas is the Agricultural Safety and Health Specialist at UW-Extension. As the outreach specialist in ag health and safety, she reminds farmers that although harvest is a busy season, it is an important time to buckle down when it comes to safety.<\/p>\n “Farmers and motorists have a tendency to fall into the same bad habits,” Skjolaas said. “As a farmer operating large pieces of equipment, you have a requirement to yield, stop and follow the legal laws for operating on the road.”<\/p>\n While attentiveness is always necessary when operating implements of husbandry, there are several scenarios farmers should pay close attention to as they take to the roads this fall.<\/p>\n Passing<\/strong> It is important for farmers to be equally mindful of no passing zones. Farmers should never wave a driver to pass them; this can create extra confusion for the motorists and potential hazards for the farmer operating the equipment. Farmers should only pull over in a no passing zone to allow vehicles to pass if the road shoulder width and condition allow the machinery to completely move out of the lane of traffic.<\/p>\n
\nIt has been illegal to pass farm equipment in a no passing zone, regardless of the equipment’s speed, since 2014. Motorists are to wait until they have entered a legal passing zone to pass equipment once it has been deemed safe to do so.<\/p>\n