Harvest season means more farm vehicles on the road

With the cool weather creeping back in and the kids heading back to school, Fall is right around the corner and for farmers Fall Harvest has begun.

“During harvest right now, for the next month, month and a half, make sure that when you go through a stop sign, that you’re looking both ways for trucks, tractors, and farm equipment on the highway,” said C & B Operations store manager, Chad Kenison.

Sharing the road with heavy machinery can sometimes add drive time to your trip. So you should always plan for it, just in case.

“The important thing to is not to get in a hurry, they’re trying to do what they can to get out of your way but the equipment is big enough that sometimes they can’t, so just be patient,” said Kenison.

Even outside of harvest time, safe driving is always in season, but being extra cautious around large farm equipment can be a fruitful endeavor.

“The operator, you know the person driving, can’t always see behind you or off to the side and sometimes visibility is a huge issue, they just can’t see you and so it’s good to not follow so close that if they do have to make a sudden stop, then you don’t hit them,” said Kenison.

These vehicles drive slower than the speed limit on a highway, so making sure you’re always alert in case you encounter one of them could save your life

“Looking down ahead to see those slow moving vehicles coming at them, so that they’ve got ample time to slow down, and they don’t have to slam on the breaks. A lot of those crashes are rear end tied collision and mostly tied to inattention,” said Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Brian Lovell.

Kenison says you can expect to see farm vehicles on the road until the end of October.