With harvest season upon us you can expect to encounter farm equipment on the roadways throughout Huron County.
The Huron County OPP offer motorists some safety tips on sharing the road with farm equipment:
- Be Alert and watch out for slow moving vehicle signs. The orange triangular sign indicates the vehicle is moving at a slow speed (less than 40 km/h). Some vehicles that may require a slow moving vehicle sign are: farm vehicles, construction equipment, buggies, street sweepers and fork lifts.
- Be Prepared to Share Your Lane – Remember some farm vehicles are very wide and may take up more than one lane. Some vehicles also have protruding equipment that can be hard to see. Give that farm vehicle space as some vehicles may not be able to pull off the road due to equipment weight or shoulder issues.
- Watch Out for Left Turns – Not all farm vehicles have turn signals, watch for farmer’s signalling a turn using the same hand signals as a cyclist. Be aware that farmers with long or wide equipment sometimes need to make a wide turn. If a tractor swings to the right, be careful, it may be starting a left turn.
- Only Pass If it’s Safe to do so – Wait for a safe passing zone, watch out for oncoming traffic and never take a chance by making a blind pass on a curve or a hill.
Sharing the road with farm vehicles is a necessity if you travel in rural parts of Ontario. They say please be courteous, be patient and cautious. They add that aggressive driving isn’t just unsafe it is against the law.
Huron County OPP and our farming community asks you to do your part in keeping our roadways safe.