(File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Ronald Quaroni

Road Harvest Safety

Motorists and farmers encouraged to safely share the road as harvest gets underway

Aug 19, 2019 | 12:48 PM

The early signs of harvest are stopping to pop up in the province. SGI is encouraging drivers and farmers to share the road safely.

“Be patient, slow down, wait for your opportunity to pass and do so safely,” Manager of Media Relations for SGI, Tyler McMurchy said. “Keep in mind the person driving it (farm equipment) may not be able to see you, so give them plenty room. They may not be able to signal their intent to slow down, so it’s incumbent on drivers to slow down and anticipate any sudden movements.”

In the last five years the insurance provider has seen a significant decrease in the number of collisions involving unregistered farm equipment.

SGI statistics show farm equipment collisions are rare, but this is the time of year is when they’re most likely to occur.

Unregistered farm equipment average collisions by month. (submitted photo/SGI)

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McMurchy added there are steps farmers can take to ensure are safety on the roads during the harvest.

“If the vehicle (farm equipment) is operating slower than 40 km/h, the equipment must have attached a rear/center slow-moving-vehicle sign,” McMurchy told paNOW. “Self-propelled machinery extending more than 1.2 meters should be equipped with reflective devices at the extremities in order to alert drivers.”

According to McMurchy, Saskatchewan roads recorded 29,000 collisions resulting in approximately 4,200 injuries in 2018.

While there are fewer farm collisions those that do happen have a much higher rate of injury.

“When you look at the number of collision involving farm equipment, 12 collisions in 2018 resulted in 10 injuries,” McMurchy said.

“We all owe a debt of gratitude to the people who are involved in the agriculture industry. I like to eat, so I keep that in mind when I think about what farmers contribute to our provincial economy and our quality of life.”

Unregistered farm equipment collisions over the last five years. (submitted photo/ SGI)

Ken Blocka is a farmer in the MacDowall area.

He said the drivers he sees on the roads are quite patient when they encounter his equipment.

“Everyone knows what’s happening through the harvest season,” Blocka said.

He explained they also take steps to minimize their exposure while travelling between yard and fields.

“We don’t travel the highways if we can avoid it. If we do have to go on the highway, we narrow up to legal width,” Blocka said. He asked motorists continue to slow down and be patient.

“We can’t go any faster than 25-30 km/h. That’s about our top speed,” he said.

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Ron.quaroni@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @RonaldQuaroni