With planting season upon us, traveling in rural counties is especially hazardous.

When I was living among the Amish in Indiana, they usually had weddings on Thursday nights; I don't know if that's true here as well. Drivers there knew that on Thursday nights, they needed to beware. Tired and drunk, an Amish man might fall asleep and let the horse find its way home, but horses don't understand right-of-way rules. They often ignore stop signs, and don't hesitate to take their half of the road out of the middle of the road.

Farmers Work LONG hours

There aren't many Amish weddings during planting or harvest time, but English farmers tend to work incredibly long hours in both seasons. You make hay while the sun shines, but planting and harvest sometimes run as late as midnight, and that's six nights a week, perhaps seven if the weather has been unfavorable.

And you need to be careful to protect your family. Oh, and that protects the farmer as well; he'd appreciate that. He's likely to be less than fully alert after working a 12-hour or 14-hour day, but farm equipment on the road is a hazard any hour of the day or night. If you're going 55 MPH, it only takes 7 seconds to crash into a tractor going 25 MPH - and since tractors don't have rear view mirrors, the farmer may not be able to dodge your oncoming car.

Use Care In Passing

Farm equipment may be 20 feet wide or wider, and while it can be reconfigured to travel down the road, a farmer trying to get crops planted before it rains may try to skip that step if he's only going a quarter mile or a half mile on the road. He'll try to keep an eye out for you, and pull over to let you pass, so don't be in a hurry to get around him if you haven't got a clear view of oncoming traffic. Three lanes of traffic on a two-lane road are bad enough, but if one is 20 feet wide, it's an invitation to a real mess.

By the same token, be aware of oncoming farm equipment, as some damnable fool may try to hurry past it without noticing you. The funeral director won't give your family a discount, simply because it was someone else's fault.

Amber Lights

Be especially aware of amber lights flashing in either lane. The batteries may be worn down, and the lamps may be covered with dust from working the fields, so they aren't always easy to see.

Finally, be careful when following someone towing an anhydrous ammonia tank. They look like the LP gas tanks used at some rural homes, although LP gas tanks are often silver, and anhydrous ammonia tanks are often white. These tanks will usually be pulled by a pickup truck, rather than a tractor, and they move at normal traffic speeds, but they are required to stop before crossing railroad tracks.

That's Not What "Rolling Stock" Is Supposed To Mean

Farm equipment tends not to be very easy to manuever it on the road, and while there are brakes on the tractor, there aren't any on the implement being pulled. What's more, if there's little or no shoulder, a rollover is a very real possibility.

Farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in the country - far more risky than being a policeman or fireman. We all need to work together to make it a little bit safer.

Other Bloggers On Related Topics:
amber lights - Amish weddings - anhydrous ammonia - occupational safety - safety - tractors