Deadly farm equipment crash involving ‘bachelor’ contestant prompts warning to East Idaho drivers
As spring planting begins, farm equipment will soon be taking to Idaho roads. Idaho State Police say a deadly accident in Iowa involving a former “The Bachelor” contestant is a good reminder to be safe around farm equipment.
“They will be out there,” Idaho State Police Trooper Jared Shively said.
According to a press release from the Buchanan County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office, Chris Soules, 35, was arrested and charged with “leaving the scene of a fatality motor vehicle accident (a class D felony). Investigators say Soules rear-ended a tractor driven by a 66-year-old Iowa man and left the scene. The victim in the crash died at the hospital.
It is unclear what caused the accident but according to Idaho State Police, inattentive driving is the No. 1 factor in any accident, not just those involving farm equipment. When farm equipment is involved, Trooper Shively says the crash is more likely to be a fatality.
Deaths in tractor-related crashes, about 250 a year, account for more than a third of agriculture-related fatalities in the U.S., according to a 2004 report by The Centers for Agricultural Disease and Injury Research, Education, and Prevention.
“Be looking up ahead of you, be paying attention to what is going on so you can see far enough in advance to where you can make a proper lane change to the left side or whatever direction it is to go around it safely,” Shively said.
Idaho law requires farm equipment operators to follow several regulations as well. As it is written, Idaho code does not allow farm equipment to be operated 30 minutes before or after dusk on highways, requires the equipment to have an amber or red light and must it must have a slow moving triangle. Safety options don’t stop there.
“If you are going to move equipment, don’t do it alone,” Shively said. “Even if day or night, have a pilot vehicle.”
Idaho law also requires a farm equipment operator pull over and let traffic pass if three or more vehicles are being slowed down.
In 2016, three people were killed in crashes involving farm equipment throughout Eastern Idaho
