Risks to Operating Machinery on Roads

OMAHA (DTN) -- Modern farm machinery features good road safety equipment, including headlights, taillights, turn indicators and side marking tape. This makes the equipment more noticeable on the road, thus limiting collisions between vehicles and farm machinery.

In addition, older farm equipment can have the same protection on rural roads by adding light kits and reflective tape. Improving the ability to be seen by passenger vehicles is important for operators of farm equipment.

National Farm Safety and Health Week is Sept. 21-27, 2025. The National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS) based in Peosta, Iowa, is having a series of webinars this week, including one titled "Farm Equipment Hits the Highway: Growing Risks & Smarter Solutions."

A MATTER OF A FEW SECONDS

John Shutske, agricultural safety and health specialist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, spoke during the hour-long webinar. He said the risk is real as passenger vehicles travel much faster than farm machinery and accidents can happen in a matter of seconds.

Doing some basic math factoring the speed of both the vehicle and the farm machinery on the road, vehicle drivers typically have 11 seconds to react in ideal situations. This would be perfectly flat and dry road conditions.

Shutske said many factors can change this ideal situation. Machinery with no lights, a driver slow to respond, higher speeds, a distracted driver, hills or curves or even wet road surfaces can all come together to shorten response times.

"There are lots of opportunities for issues," Shutske said.

THREE PARTS OF RURAL ROAD SAFETY

Shutske said there are three main parts of rural road safety. This would be the person, the environment and the agent.

The person driving either the passenger vehicle or farm equipment on rural roads has a large impact on safety. Reaction time is vital and the aging farmer population, now about 60 years old on average, is a major concern when operating machinery on roads, he said.

Response time for an older person is longer compared to a younger person. These seconds matter when operating machinery on a public road, he said.

The distraction of vehicle drivers as well as high speed are also major issues. The difference in speeds between cars and tractors limits the amount of time to be able to react. Distracted drivers and vehicles operating at speeds higher than 55 mph are "scary," Shutske said.

The second part of road safety is the environment.

There are many different environmental factors which can affect safety on the road, he said. These include pavement versus gravel roads, wet versus dry pavement, hills, curves, signage on the roads and speed limits are all factors in road safety.

"Even something like shoulders on the road where you can drive really matters," he said.

The last factor in rural safety is the agent. Shutske said this would be the weight and mass of the farm machinery, how fast it is going and visibility of the driver of machinery equipment.

A tractor pulling a loaded grain cart(s) could weigh around 50,000 lbs. In addition, the farm machinery's mobility is limited at these heavier weights.

CONSIDER CONSPICUITY

Shutske said the conspicuity of farm machinery on roads is important. Conspicuity is the quality of being easily seen or noticed. Another way to state it would be to make the machinery stand out from the surrounding environment.

How easy is it for motorists to recognize and take action on the road is important in preventing accidents, he said.

All farm machinery manufactured since 2017 has road safety features. These include headlights and taillights, flashing amber lights, reflectors and side-marking reflective tape.

Shutske said farmers can retrofit older farm machinery to get good protection while operating on public roads.

A lighting kit for around $300 can provide LED lights mounted with magnets and can even be operated by remote control. A roll of reflective tape is also a very inexpensive investment, he said.

"I really encourage the use of these products," Shutske said.

TRAILER SAFETY, FUTURE OF RURAL ROAD SAFETY

As farms continue to grow larger and farmers farm more land further away from their home base, the issue of road safety becomes even more important. Also, as some rural areas become more suburban with more traffic this also factors in road safety for farmers.

Shutske said many farmers are deciding to trailer farm equipment to remote location and not driving them on roads. This is actually good news with fewer tractors on the road.

Safety must also be followed when trailering equipment, he said. This includes safe loading and unloading, securing loads correctly, balance loads properly and assure breaks on trailers are operating as they should.

The future of rural road safety could look different as different technologies emerge in the future.

Shutske specifically talked about autonomous farm machinery. These machines could be large or small and could be on rural roads.

Transportation issues will need to be considered fully if or when these machines operate on public roads.

Some machines might have an operator present when being driven on roads. Other machines could be moved from field to field by a trailer.

"Future research will need to be done and this should be a priority," he said.

Russ Quinn can be reached at Russ.Quinn@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @RussQuinnDTN

(c) Copyright 2025 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.