Spring has sprung and farmers are getting ready for another crop-growing season.
It also marks the beginning of sometimes-contentious encounters between farmers driving tractors and other farm equipment on roads and drivers trying to get to their destinations in a timely manner.
Johnson County farmer Steve Duke knows the phenomenon all too well.
A lifelong farmer with properties in Bargersville, Franklin, Whiteland and Mooresville, he finds that often on busy thoroughfares, such as Whiteland Road and State Road 144 between Bargersville and State Road 37, drivers get impatient with farmers.
They try and get out of their way as quickly and safely as possible, Duke said.
“From my experience, normally White River Township is the worst. People, don’t have the patience and understanding that farmers can’t pull off the road immediately when they see a car. There are mailboxes, telephone poles, power lines. We want to pull over at a safe place for both people,” Duke said.
“Unfortunately, people in cars and trucks are in such a hurry, they don’t look for a place to pull over. Most of the time, it’s easier for the vehicles approaching us to pull over into a driveway.”
Patience is the most important thing to maintain road safety, said Jennifer Campbell, who has been farming in Franklin for 30 years.
“You can run into people who are impatient, who are in a hurry. I like to say, ‘We’re on our way to work just like everyone else is,’” Campbell said. “Our mode of transportation moves a bit slower and is a bit bigger, but trying to pass tractors is dangerous. If it’s a no passing zone, don’t pass. If it’s uphill and you can’t see what’s coming at you, don’t pass, you’ll lose. Tractors are that much bigger than you.”
Last year, a driver got injured when they misjudged the speed of a farming vehicle in front of them, crashing into towage equipment on State Road 135. It is important for drivers, both of standard cars and farm vehicles, to make sure their vehicles are well lit, said Mike Pruitt, assistant chief of the Bargersville Fire Department.
Farmers should pull over at the first available opportunity, but drivers need to exercise patience when trailing a farm vehicle, Pruitt said.
“There’s lot of responsibility on both sides to make sure you don’t have collisions,” he said. “Cars against farm equipment can cause death or serious injury. Both parties need to be patient with one another.”
