Other drivers have special responsibility during harvest

There are four pages of advice for farmers in the National Farm Safety Week edition in today's paper, but they are not the only ones who should be careful this time of the year.

As a matter of fact, those of us who use rural roads have a special responsibility to look out for those who are hurrying to get their crops out of the fields this harvest season.

"It's the time of year when we're bound to see an increase in agricultural equipment on state roadways," said Col. Bradley Rice, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. "We want motorists to be aware of and utilize caution when approaching, following or passing farm vehicles."

Drivers who are used to negotiating gravel roads tend to travel at higher speeds, but they can quickly overtake slower vehicles like combines, grain carts tractors, and other agricultural implements.

Such vehicles are at their best in open fields, but their drivers can be at a disadvantage when it comes to using rural roads. They can also be surprising to cars and pickup trucks that encounter them just beyond hills.

Changes in the farm economy over the years have caused the size of farm equipment to increase along with the size of farms, increasing travel distances between fields as well.

Large equipment such as combines and semi-trailers take a lot of space, so if you come upon a truck crowding the right side of the road, it might mean it is preparing to turn left.

Tall corn, narrow bridges, blind intersections, hills and other rural road hazards mean all drivers must be on the lookout for other vehicles.

Farmers are just as prone as every other driver to be distracted by cell phones, texting friends, checking weather or Facebook. All of us should lend our full attention to the road.

Plus, humans are only the most predictable creatures one can encounter on a road. Wildlife and domestic animals can create a hazard for rural drivers as well.

Farm machinery often use the shoulder of the roadway when it's available and should use Slow Moving Vehicle warning triangles and flashing yellow caution lights whenever they're on the road.

They should also buckle up if seatbelts are available, and take special care when turning left to avoid collisions with vehicles that may be attempting to pass.

You may have noticed the sun seems to align directly with east-west roads, making sunrise and sunset particularly difficult times to drive.

Col. Rice said, "Roadway safety is a shared responsibility. Let's all do our part to have a safe harvest season."