Traffic safety officials urge drivers to ‘Yield Behind the Wheel’
Published 6:00 pm Wednesday, October 16, 2019
- An unidentified contestant in the FFA Tractor Driving competition, held Wednesday at the Sunbelt Ag Expo, demonstrates his skills. The high school students in FFA learn how to be safe on a tractor, even on the road. Elsewhere at the Expo Wednesday, the Governor's Office of Highway Safety was carrying that same message to both farmers and drivers with a program called "Yield Behind the Wheel."
MOULTRIE, Ga. — Safety was one of the showcases during Day 2 of the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition, with tractor safety being one of the biggest concerns.
The “Yield Behind the Wheel” news conference took place on the lawn outside the Georgia Farm Bureau building and asked drivers to slow down and pay attention when approaching farm vehicles on the road, and to remember that drivers can only pass these vehicles in designated passing zones.
This comes in the middle of the fall harvest season as farmers are using tractors and other farming vehicles on the roads in order to get crops and livestock to market and transport equipment to the fields.
“It’s important to capture the attention of farmers and drivers, which is why we’ve brought this up this year,” said Alan Poole, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “Sometimes it can get very nerve-wracking when you’re trying to transport a load of cattle and there are people driving too quickly down the street behind you. It’s just one of those things where we have to get the word out to prevent any accidents.”
According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, the number of crashes involving farm and construction vehicles has increased by 27 percent over the past five years, with 28 fatalities and 875 injured.
“One of the things I encourage people to do is to be patient, don’t be in a rush and observe the traffic laws. Don’t pass unless it’s permittable, but most of all be vigilant. Don’t be a distracted driver,” said Poole.
Another safety concern brought up at the Expo was how to properly and safely respond to the aftermath of a hurricane, especially involving farms and livestock.
Documenting any damage, including livestock that have been killed in the storm, is imperative, according to Jennifer Tucker, assistant professor at the University of Georgia Extension. Farmers should provide photos with time stamps and preferably before and after photos to prove the damage to insurance agencies.
Farmers should prepare for hurricanes and storms, and not just a week before. A list of tools was included in the preparations that farmers should make, such as collecting a chainsaw to cut away possible downed trees and insect spray for those large mosquitoes that tend to pop up at the end of big storms.
