Road to Safety
Matt Nicol Sponsor Relations Account Executive
Nationwide
614-359-7342
[email protected]
Larger, faster equipment used by farmers
combined with increased traffic flow by the
public and other factors have created increased
risks for both farmers and motorists. Consider
these statistics:
Rural Road Crash Facts
• The National Safety Council estimates that
15,000 collisions involving
farm vehicles occur on U.S.
roadways each year.
• Though 19 percent of
Americans live in rural areas,
55 percent of highway deaths
occur on roads considered rural.
• More than half of the
32,885 traffic fatalities in the
U.S. occur on rural roads.
• The fatality rate per 100
million vehicle miles traveled
is 2.5 times higher in rural
areas than in urban areas.
• Crash victims are five to
seven times more likely to die
if arrival time to a hospital
exceeds 30 minutes.
• The time between a crash and arrival at a
hospital averages 36 minutes in urban areas and 53
minutes in rural areas.
• It takes more than twice as long for
EMS personnel to arrive at a crash scene in
a rural community as compared to an urban
community—19 minutes versus seven minutes.
Not to be overlooked is the fact that farm
machinery is getting larger—much larger—and
often extends dangerously over the center line.
Farmers are also acquiring more land, requiring
additional road time to travel to distant fields.
6 West Virginia Farm Bureau News
Plus, to get the most from every acre, crops are
planted closer to roadways, sometimes visually
obstructing intersections. Add to that the disrepair
of many rural roads and bridges and travel on
America’s rural roadways has become more
dangerous than ever.
Sharing the road with motorists unfamiliar
with large, slow-moving farm
equipment makes for a very
dangerous situation. According
to the National Safety Council,
accidents involving a farm
vehicle are five times more
likely to produce a fatality
than any other type of motor
vehicle accident.
Preventative Measures
Here are a few
commonsense tips to help you
avoid farm-vehicle accidents:
1. Clearly mark your
vehicle. Make sure your
vehicle and equipment are
well marked with reflective tape, lights or flags,
particularly if your equipment is oversized or
extends beyond one lane of traffic.
2. Use your lights. Keep headlights, reflectors
and turn signals clear of any dirt or debris that
may have accumulated during work, and always
use turn signals when turning and changing lanes.
Consider installing magnetic, battery-operated
lights that can be purchased relatively cheaply.
3. Install proper signage. Properly install slowmoving vehicle (SMV) emblems so motorists
see SAFETY, page 22