Harvest Safety Tips

Harvest Safety Tips

Harvest is right around the corner, and the farmer's safety is our top priority! The Kansas Highway Patrol has shared their harvest safety tips to help remember the importance of being extra cautious when drivers encounter farming vehicles and equipment on the roads.

The Kansas Highway Patrol provided six main points to store away in citizens’ brains as harvest approaches.

Don't assume the farmer knows you're there.
Pass with extreme caution.
When a farm vehicle of any type pulls to the right side of the road it does not mean it's turning right or allowing you to pass.
Be patient.
Think of the slow-moving vehicle emblem on the back of their equipment as a warning to adjust your speed.
Pay attention.

Let’s dive further into these safety tips!

Farm implements are often loud, larger machines. This can hinder the operator’s ability to hear traffic behind them. Farmers often check behind them, but they are mainly focused on the road in front of them and any oncoming vehicles. Passing farm equipment needs to be an extremely cautious act. Do not pass around curves, in no-passing zones, especially if you are approaching intersections, tunnels, bridges, etc. Also, due to the width of many of these implements, they must take turns wider. Be attentive to the farm vehicles ahead of you. They may not be getting over, in fact, they are likely about to turn left, and passing them would result in a bad accident.

Slow-Moving Vehicle Emblem

The slow-moving vehicle emblems are put on farming equipment for a reason. As soon as you see the emblem begin slowing down; it is often hard to determine just how fast or slow the farm vehicle is moving. It is better to be safe than sorry!

It is a normal human reaction to become impatient when things are seen as an inconvenience. When you approach a slow-moving farm vehicle remember they have families at home too, they are trying to get to their jobs as well, and when we choose to live in areas of high farming implement traffic it is likely we come across this multiple times a year and being 5-8 minutes late is better than causing an accident. These special people we call farmers help feed your family, so in return let’s help keep them safe.