Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. May 2, 2024.
Editorial: Spring requires caution on the road
Spring appears to have finally decided to stick around, and that means farmers are out working their fields on the days when it’s dry enough to do so. That means there’s a better chance of encountering farm equipment on the roads.
Most of the time when people think of farm equipment being out, it’s in the fall. That’s not unreasonable. The combines are certainly more noticeable than smaller equipment, and there’s an added hazard with their size.
We doubt an encounter between a tractor of any real size and a car would end well for either party, though. Crashes in the spring aren’t nearly as common as in the fall, but there’s a noticeable uptick as the weather warms. In fact, spring begins an upward trend that continues until after the harvest.
The Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health, part of the University of Iowa system, released a study a few years ago that examined crashes in nine Midwestern states between 2005-2010. The information is a little dated, but we don’t think there’s a real reason to think it has changed enough to make it unusable.
The states examined include Wisconsin, along with Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and both North and South Dakota. It turned up some real surprises. For one, about 30% of the crashes took place in urban areas.
The vast majority of crashes, eight out of every 10, were during daylight. Almost as many took place in clear weather. Being a little-traveled rural road with a low speed limit cut the odds of a crash — both speed and volume were linked to greater chances of a collision.
Only a tiny fraction of the 7,094 crashes studied were head-on, but rear-end collisions were much more common. That shouldn’t be a surprise. Farm equipment generally moves at a slower pace than other traffic. That should serve as a reminder that people need to exercise caution when they come over a hill when they can’t see the road ahead or approach blind corners.
Wisconsin ranked next to last when it came to laws regarding lighting and marking of farm equipment. The study compared state requirements to the American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineers’ standards. Enough time has passed to make us wonder whether Wisconsin may have improved, but if not that’s something the Legislature may well want to take a look at.
It probably shouldn’t surprise anyone that there’s a clear line in Wisconsin where crashes drop off sharply. That line begins just a little north of the Chippewa Valley, as the state transitions to the true northwoods. There are a few isolated crashes further north, but almost all are contained to the southern two-thirds of the state.
We know this editorial focuses on the people behind the wheel of non-farm vehicles. Farmers must be careful, too, but the reality is that most of the vehicles driven by other people are considerably more nimble than a tractor. It’s easier for other people to avoid the crash, so that’s where our focus is at the moment.
Being safe on the road means paying attention to what’s around you, a task that seemingly gets more difficult every time a new device is created. Simple awareness goes a long way. So that’s what we’re trying to do here. Consider this a gentle reminder that there are going to be more farmers moving equipment around, and that means we all have to be careful.
We hope this season works out well for Wisconsin farmers. Good luck, and keep your eyes on the road.
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