Traffic accidents can occur in an instant. Things happen unexpectedly,
and drivers have no time to respond. More often than not, such incidents
involve both drivers. Your equipment, or the other car, might
suffer costly damage; you or the other driver might
get seriously injured – or worse. Non-farm motorists tend not
to understand the hazards of approaching slow-moving farm
equipment, and can become impatient when they need to slow down.
In most cases, the root cause of these accidents
is human error – not following the rules of the road, or
not anticipating the actions of other motorists.
By changing how you think about driving farm machinery on roads,
you can help everyone go home safely, night after night.
As you'd expect, the everyday rules of the road – obeying
stop signs and traffic lights, yielding at right-of-ways
– still apply to farm vehicles. And if you engage in
texting while driving, if you don't have the required lights on your equipment,
if you fail to signal when turning, and if you're driving with an
unstable load that could fall onto the road,
you could face charges under the Highway Traffic Act.
Farm vehicles are permitted to drive on the paved portion of public roads,
staying to the right of the centre line. But you must share
the road with motor vehicles traveling in both directions
by moving over and leaving half the roadway clear.
To stay safe when moving over, pay extra attention to soft
shoulders, or obstacles such as potholes or mailboxes,
that could affect your steering, and
ultimately compromise your tractor stability.
Rear-end collisions are one of the most common accidents
involving farm equipment on the road, and a key cause of these collisions
is closure time. When two cars are both travelling
in the same direction at similar speeds, the chance
of them colliding is relatively low. But when a car
that's going 70 kilometres an hour comes upon a
tractor doing only 25 kilometres an hour, there is precious
little time for the car's driver to see the tractor up ahead,
and then react accordingly. And if the car driver is distracted
by talking on the phone or sipping their coffee,
there's a very good chance they will crash into the rear end of the tractor.
These collisions don't just occur in bad weather or on slippery roads;
about 80 percent of tractor car collisions happen in broad daylight
on straight, dry roads. As the farm equipment driver,
you can reduce the risk of a rear-end collision by keeping
an eye out for what's happening around you, and by being as visible as possible
to other traffic.
The Slow Moving Vehicle sign, mounted on the rear of your farm vehicle,
is specially designed to make you more visible,
and thus help prevent rear-end collisions.
An SMV sign is required on every tractor, wagon or other piece of equipment
that travels slower than 40 kilometres an hour.
The sign must be mounted in clear view, and be in
good condition. Farm equipment must have white
headlights and red tail-lights so other motorists can see you,
and so you can clearly indicate when you're slowing down,
stopping, and turning. Whenever you're driving farm equipment
on rural roads, start out by following three
simple steps. First, STOP. Ask yourself:
What could go wrong? Could my tractor get hit from behind by a car?
Could the wagon I'm pulling come unhitched?
How bad could it be? Could the driver of the car that hit me
be seriously injured or even killed? Could the load in my wagon spill
and block traffic? Has anything changed? Is the sun
low in the sky, making it hard to see? Is this the first time I've driven
on this road?
Second, take a moment to THINK. Do I understand the task? Do I know the
correct way to drive when my tractor's front bucket
is carrying a heavy load? Do I know the proper hand signals to use when turning?
Am I physically and mentally ready for the job at hand?
Am I stressed or distracted? Am I taking any medication that affects
my concentration? Do I have the right tools and equipment?
Does my tractor have ROPS and a seat belt?
Am I using the correct hitch-pins and chains?
And finally, ACT. Make it safe. Conduct a pre-trip inspection to ensure
your equipment is in good repair and loads are properly secured.
Be sure to signal when turning.
Use the right tools and equipment. Lock your brakes together when
driving on roads. Carry a fully charged cell-phone.
Reduce risks. Always be aware of the other drivers on the road.
Avoid distractions – wait until you're stopped before
using your phone. If you can, stay off heavily
travelled roads during busy periods. If you have
any doubts whether you can complete the task safely,
STOP. Don't do it.
By anticipating the risks of driving farm equipment on rural roads,
and taking action to overcome those risks,
you can help ensure that Nobody Gets Hurt.
Thanks to Dowler-Karn and Esso for supporting the production of this video.
To learn more about rural road safety and about
Stop Think Act, visit wsps.ca/farmsafety.