Farm Bureau Urges Safety Emphasis
The Armstrong County Farm Bureau is celebrating Rural Roads Safety Week April 17 – 23, by encouraging county residents to travel safely on the roads this spring.
This time of year, farmers are busy working in the fields and driving tractors, farm trucks, wagons and large equipment on roads. To the distracted or impatient motorist, vehicles such as these can pose a threat when safe driving practices are not observed. For example, if a car is moving 55 miles per hour and comes upon a tractor moving 15 mph, it only takes five seconds to close a gap the length of a football field between the car and the tractor.
Remember not to rush when driving on roads where you might encounter large farm machinery, slow down immediately when you see the orange Slow Moving Vehicle (SMV) triangle and pass farm equipment only when it is safe for you to do so. Pennsylvania law requires farmers to place a SMV reflector on any machine that travels the road slower than 25 mph. It is illegal for any resident of Pennsylvania to display the Slow Moving Vehicle triangle emblem on permanent, stationary objects such as mailbox posts, driveway entrances and fences.
Farmers will make every effort to accommodate motorists. Machine operators will drive on the shoulder of paved roadways, whenever possible, in order to give other motorists a better view of road conditions and enough room to pass slower moving farm vehicles. Keep in mind that if the shoulder is soft, wet, or steep, the farmer cannot move aside because it would cause his/her equipment to tip. If the farmer cannot pull off the road and you feel you must pass, do so with caution.
Armstrong County Farm Bureau Director Jason Overly said he encourages all residents to be aware of farm equipment during their travels on rural roads.
“By working together, we can make the trip safe for motorists and farmers,” Overly added.
Local News | KP NewsDesk April 20, 2016
1 Comment
Other Links to this Post
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
By goober, April 20, 2016 @ 7:01 PM
you can always come out between nu mine and rural valley and dodge the atvs they run up and down the road constantly without a cop in sight. its not until one of these unlicensed things run into someone before anything is done.