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The Virginia Farm Bureau has launched Safety Awareness for Farm Equipment on Roadways (SAFER) initiative to highlight the dangers of sharing roads with large, slow-moving farm vehicles. The program aims to reduce accidents that occur when regular traffic encounters farm equipment, particularly during the spring planting and harvesting seasons.

SAFER kicked off with a contest encouraging community groups, civic, and youth organizations to create visual displays illustrating the size difference between farm equipment and typical vehicles. These displays are intended for high-traffic public areas to increase driver awareness.

Matt Nuckols, chair of the Farm Bureau Farm Safety Advisory Committee, emphasized the importance of visibility for both drivers and farmers, noting, “If you can’t see a farmer, then they can’t see you.” He also reminded drivers that passing is illegal over a double solid line, even if farm equipment is moving slowly.

The contest also features categories for educational campaigns without physical displays and for the most effective use of media to educate drivers about farm equipment on roadways. It runs until Oct. 31 and offers cash prizes to winners.

Virginia farmers frequently need to transport equipment between fields for planting, tending, and harvesting crops. This equipment, such as applicators, balers, combines, and sprayers, can be up to 16 feet wide. Given that average highway lanes are 10 to 12 feet wide, maneuvering space can be limited. Drivers should not assume farmers can simply pull over due to potentially unsafe shoulder conditions.

Virginia law requires farmers operating vehicles slower than 25 mph on public roads to display a rear-mounted triangular slow-moving vehicle emblem. This reflective orange sign warns approaching drivers to reduce speed.

Farm equipment requires a significant distance to stop. For instance, at 15 mph, it would take a car traveling at 55 mph the length of a football field (300 feet) to brake to avoid a collision. Nuckols cautioned drivers against quickly passing farm equipment, as farmers may be preparing to make left-hand turns. “It could be disastrous,” he stated, adding that the smaller vehicle would likely sustain the most damage in a collision.