Fall harvest is busiest, most dangerous time for rural Wisconsin drivers and farmers. Here's why.

Autumn signals many changes in rural Wisconsin: cooler temperatures, shorter daylight hours and an uptick in farm machinery traffic as farmers harvest this year's crops and prepare fields for winter.

Wisconsin Farm Bureau President Brad Olson says fall harvest time can be one of the busiest and most dangerous seasons of the year for those involved in agriculture.

"All motorists share the goal of returning home safe to their families," Olson said. "During this time of year, it is important to take extra precautions and pay careful attention to increased hazards on rural roadways.”

Statistically, agriculture is one of the most dangerous occupations there are. The University of Wisconsin Center for Farm Safety compiles data related to the factors that contribute to farm fatalities, whether they are on the farm, in the field or on the road with farm equipment.

Roadway crashes are the leading cause of injuries and death in agriculture. Last year, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation reported 153 crashes involving farm vehicles. Speed and inattentive driving are often cited as the cause of crashes between farm machinery and drivers.

I read editorials about the danger to nonfarm vehicles when they are driving our rural roads, especially during planting and harvesting season, but there is no mention of the danger to our farmers as they work to feed our world. 

Just since the beginning of October I have read of a custom combine operator who was rearended in North Dakota by a truck who partially pushed the driver and combine over the edge of a bridge. Fortunately, the driver jumped out quickly and the combine did not fall into the water below. However, in a season when timely harvesting increases the quality of a crop and therefore the price of it, this accident not only was an unneeded expense to the combine owner, but also to the farmers expecting him for harvest. And the bridge needed to be closed for inspection as well.

On Oct. 5 a semi-driver lost his life when he rearended a tractor pulling a loaded wagon on Highway 13 in Clark County, Wis.      

I personally have known farmers who were killed while operating farm equipment by an inattentive or speeding driver. The farmer who is killed is not only someone’s son or daughter, but they are also either a major contributor or owner of the farm business.  In an instant, the farm business AND family has just suffered a life-altering blow on multiple fronts. Or imagine carrying on with your work when you have to drive past the spot daily where your farm child was killed.

During a recent presentation he gave for National Farm Safety & Health Week, John Shutske, agricultural safety and health specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said crashes between vehicles and farm equipment can happen in only a matter of seconds. These are some of the reasons why these accidents happen:

• The difference in speeds between a vehicle traveling at highway speeds following a tractor pulling two 250-bushel gravity boxes moving 18 mph doesn't give the driver much time to react.
• "The SUV is approaching the back of a 27-ton train at a ‘relative’ speed of 54.3 feet per second. In this ideal case, we have 600 feet/54.3 feet per second or around 11 seconds (to react and take action)," Shutske says. "If I glance at a text, I burn up 200 feet."
• Add in factors that limit visibility, such as curves and hills, or environmental factors like rain, fog and glare from the rising or setting sun, and the time to avoid a serious crash has nearly disappeared.
• Most motorists are unaware of the physics involved in stopping a tractor pulling a loaded grain cart that can weigh upwards of 50,000 pounds. Although the machinery is moving at slower speeds, it requires a greater stopping distance. Physics and common sense are the reasons why wagons or manure trucks cannot move through an intersection at a high rate of speed. They run the risk of tipping their vehicle and load over if they are driving too fast. It is also why all drivers need to give them time to slow down and stop. Pulling in front of a manure truck or grain cart is a dangerous maneuver if it is done abruptly because of the inability of the farm driver to slow down quickly.
• Since 2014, it has been illegal to pass farm equipment in a no-passing zone, regardless of speed. Motorists must wait until they enter a legal passing zone and can safely pass.
• Even if a motorist can legally pass a large piece of equipment within a very short distance of a controlled intersection, the action itself has a dramatic impact on the reaction time of the farm equipment operator, according to Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.

Farmers are keenly aware they are involved in a dangerous occupation and at times, driving on the road can be a frightening experience for them. As more people move to rural Pierce County, it brings a higher volume of traffic thereby increasing the hazards on the roads for farmers, who have been travelling the roads doing their work for years. 

"Farmers and motorists share the responsibility of ensuring roadway safety. Attentiveness is a constant requirement on the road, but being prepared and exercising caution during peak times is vital to a successful harvest," Olson said. "At the end of a long, hard workday, everyone deserves to return home safely."

In addition to UW-Madison and the Center for Farm Safety, part of this op-ed is taken from an article Colleen Kottke wrote on Oct. 1 in the Wisconsin State Farmer.