A combine travels along a rural road in Indiana while moving between fields. ISDA photo
Officials are offering safety tips as harvest season gets underway across Indiana.
Harvest season is officially underway for Indiana’s 94,000 farmers, which means more slow-moving farm equipment will be on Indiana’s rural roads and highways. To keep Hoosiers safe this year, state agencies are asking motorists to be alert and patient as they share the road with farm equipment this fall, according to a news release from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.
Farm equipment during harvest season could include tractors, combines, grain carts, grain wagons and large trucks hauling agricultural products. These vehicles are wide, sometimes taking up most of the road, and often travel at speeds no greater than 25 mph, state officials say.
In 2022, four vehicles were involved in crashes with farm equipment in Indiana which resulted in one death, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Safety tips for motorists approaching large farm equipment include the following:
- Be patient, as farmers may not immediately be able to find a safe place to pull over to let them pass.
- Be alert, a farm equipment is wide, sometimes taking up most of the road.
- Be careful when passing. Do not pass in a designated “no passing zone” or within 100 feet of any intersection, railroad grade crossing, bridge, elevation structure or tunnel.
- Do not try to pass a slow-moving vehicle on the left without ensuring that the vehicle is not planning a left turn. It may appear that the driver is pulling over for you to pass when it is actually preparing to turn.
- Avoid tailgating, as some farm equipment might have to make sudden stops along the road.
- Allow plenty of time to get to a destination, be aware of alternate routes and avoid distractions.
For more safety tips, visit isda.in.gov.
