Deadly Farm Equipment Crash Raises Safety Questions
Harvest season in eastern Idaho means slow-moving farm vehicles are traveling down the road. And that can mean danger. In fact, one man died after crashing into the back of a combine.
The speed limit is 75 mph on Interstate 15, but farm vehicles are generally going well under the speed limit.
The Idaho Transportation Department said sometimes they’re going as slow as 25 mph and if people are traveling 75 mph, the farm equipment might as well be standing still.
Some who drove past the same combine accident Monday night said it was difficult to see it lumbering along the interstate and almost impossible to tell how far away it was.
Others said, we live in farm country and farm equipment is going to be on the road.
“Any kind of farm equipment is allowable on any street as long as it has a slow-moving-vehicle sign and certain other restrictions,” ITD district engineer Ed Bala said.
ITD said the once-rural community is getting a lot of traffic, making this problem worse.
“Traffic on Interstate 15 between Pocatello and Idaho Falls is now getting to almost unheard-of levels for us here in rural southeast Idaho,? Bala said. ?We’re getting almost 30,000 vehicles every day.”
In an area with so much farming and agriculture, it’s something people have to deal with often.
“And so folks should be really aware that machinery will be present starting about the first of August when harvest starts around southeast Idaho,? Bala said. ?That kind of machinery will be present up until Christmas and beyond.”
For now the transportation department said people need to be aware that as long these farm machines are on the roads I-15 can be a dangerous place to drive.
“I think probably the best thing is people need to be very defensive when they drive anywhere, but I-15 in particular,” he said.
Idaho State Police said they are investigating the crash to see if the combine had all the required lights and safety precautions.
The transportation department said the harvest will mean heavy farm equipment on major roads for at least the next few months.
