The summer months are here, and they are some of the busiest months on our roadways in Nova Scotia. We share our roads with tourists, motorcycles, cyclists and pedestrians. We also share our roads with farmers. Encountering a piece of slow-moving farm equipment when you’re cruising on the open road can seem like an inconvenience, but to farmers, the road is an extension of the workplace. Farmers need to move equipment to and from their fields while they grow the nutritious local food that we all enjoy. Farmers are doing their best to keep themselves and everyone else safe on the road.

Warning Lights and Slow-Moving Vehicle Signs

It’s no secret that farm equipment moves slower than the normal speed of traffic. Your vehicle can quickly close the gap to a slow-moving tractor. If you are travelling at 80 km/h, behind another passenger vehicle travelling at 70 km/h, it will take 37 seconds to close 100 meters. If you swap that vehicle with a tractor travelling 25 km/h, the closure time reduces to only 6.5 seconds!

Farmers make sure that they are as visible as possible to you while they are on the road. Farmers use Slow-Moving Vehicle (SMV) signs on their tractors, wagons, and other farm implements to alert you that they are travelling under 40 km/h. They use signs and flashing warning lights to give you a better chance of seeing farm equipment on the road. It’s up to the farmer to install a Slow-Moving Vehicle sign on their equipment, but it’s up to you to respect it by reacting safely for yourself, farmers and other motorists on the road. When you see this sign, it’s your message to slow down.

Pay special attention to four-way flashers, though: sometimes you can miss a turning signal in the repetition of following behind them for a while. If it looks like you’re coming up to a field or barnyard, watch for the turn signal light.

Passing

If you’re late to work, an appointment, or anything else, you may feel the temptation to pass a tractor as soon as you come up behind one. However, passing slow-moving farm equipment with your fast-moving vehicle can be more complex than you think. Many accidents involving farm equipment are caused by the driver misjudging the length or width of the farm machinery.

If you do have to pass, follow the usual rules of the road: pass only when it’s safe to do so, with no oncoming vehicles in sight, and don’t pass on solid lines. Even when the machinery is moving very slowly, you should never pass it on a solid line. Wait until you have a safer stretch of road with passing lines before you make your pass. Always watch for signal lights on the tractor before you pass: most distances between the farm and the field aren’t far, and attempting to pass while a farmer is making a turn can create an unsafe situation.

Turns

Sometimes farmers must use extra width when they are turning to compensate for the size of their equipment. Left turns are especially dangerous if vehicles behind the tractor haven’t noticed that the farmer is making a turn and try to pass. Depending on the length of the equipment, right turns can also be dangerous as the farmer must bring his equipment over to the left to gain enough space to make a safe turn. Always give plenty of space to farm equipment when they are turning. Not only do they need extra space on the road, but they are also unable to turn off the road as quickly as you would expect.  

Although encountering farm equipment on the road can feel like it’s taking a great deal of time, remember that this can also be a source of stress for a farmer. They’re monitoring their equipment, oncoming traffic and the vehicles behind them. They don’t want to hold up traffic but can only move out of the way when it’s safe to do so. Most road shoulders are not safe for farm equipment to pull onto.

Following a tractor going 40 km/hour for 4 kilometers takes only six minutes out of your day. When was the last time you had a valid excuse to slow down for a few minutes? Try to seize the opportunity to enjoy the scenery and help keep everyone on the road safe.  

Remember that there is only One Road and multiple ways to use it. Safety is a two-way street.