Regular drivers sometimes share the roadway with farmers and their equipment – which can become dangerous.
We spoke to officials at a Rural Road Safety Event about the dangers and farmers say there are plenty of horror stories when it comes to sharing the roadways and distracted driving is often to blame.
Officials and farmers from around the Cambria County area attended the Rural Road Safety Event organized by the Cambria County Farm Bureau Monday.
“To bring awareness to the motoring public that large, slow moving vehicles farm equipment will be on the highways now through the growing season and to slow down, farmers are not trying to slow you down were trying to just do our job,”
Yahner tells Channel 6 having an events like the Rural Road Safety Event is crucial.
“Unfortunately there’s, there’s some horror stories that could be told with injuries and deaths where farm equipment is involved,”
And especially in an area where there are so many regular motorists driving alongside farming equipment on a daily basis.
“It is no secret that western and central Pennsylvania is a very rural area, so what we’re doing is trying to make drivers in the community just more cognizant and more aware of the farm equipment that going to be on the roadway, As Pennsylvania State Police we investigate several tragic incidents per year, crashes and just incidents on the roadway too, right. Sometimes you get a disabled motorist or a disabled tractor, things like that. Its going to cause some backlog, its going to cause some traffic.”
The officials believe the more mindful and cautious we all are as drivers the less incidents and crashes there will be between regular drivers and farm equipment each year.
“It is no secret that western and central Pennsylvania is a very rural area, so what we’re doing is trying to make drivers in the community just more cognizant and more aware of the farm equipment that going to be on the roadway, As Pennsylvania State Police we investigate several tragic incidents per year, crashes and just incidents on the roadway too, right. Sometimes you get a disabled motorist or a disabled tractor, things like that. Its going to cause some backlog, its going to cause some traffic.”
The officials believe the more mindful and cautious we all are as drivers the less incidents and crashes there will be between regular drivers and farm equipment each year.
“Lot of modern equipment has big mirrors that stick out real wide, but yet when you’re pulling a big wagon or planter or some piece of equipment behind you, you can see with your mirrors. You don’t even know people are behind you so it can be dangerous and the motoring public need to know that. The farmer should and will try to pull over and let people around and get around you whenever its possible and safe,”
The officials say distracted driving is primarily the main culprit of the accidents that do happen between farmers and your average motorist.
“Well, its just you know, texting and being on your phone is just a horrible idea anytime, but you’re going along at 50 mile an hour and these, the farm equipment goes at 20 mile an hour you can come up behind it very fast so it can be dangerous,”
“If you’re speeding or you’re on your cell phone, by the time you look up and try to hit your breaks in a small sedan you’re going to be no match to this farm equipment unfortunately, Lots of backroads in Pennsylvania, lot of farms on those backroads, right. So, we have to be mindful of our speed, putting our devices down and just carefully driving.”
The farmers say there are events like this every year.