Farm equipment exhibit at fair will emphasize road safety

Fall is one of the busiest times for farmers to move harvesting equipment on public roads, a fact Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers Program participants would like to drive home with visitors to the State Fair of Virginia.

Working in partnership with a Hoober Inc. farm equipment dealership in Hanover County, they will host a slow-moving vehicle exhibit at the fair.

“I’m on the Stafford County Farm Bureau board of directors and live and farm in a heavily populated area,” said exhibit organizer Glenn Dye. “I see angry drivers all the time in my work. People fly on rural roads up here, and they use the back roads to get around traffic jams near I-95.”

A slow-moving vehicle like a combine or a dual-wheel tractor is typically wider than one lane of a two-lane road, Dye said. But farmers often have to take that equipment out on public roads to move it from field to field. State law requires tractors and other equipment that travels 25 mph or slower to be marked with the triangular slow-moving vehicle emblem when being operated on public roads. Many farmers also use flashing amber lights, reflective decals and escort vehicles to alert approaching drivers.

Dye said he tries to pull over whenever possible so traffic behind him can pass. “But every now and then I’ll get someone behind me who will try to pass anyway,” he said. “They’ll pass on corners, hills, places I’d never think of passing.”

He said the safety exhibit at the fair will emphasize the need for drivers to watch for farm equipment on the roads, recognize the SMV emblem and slow down if they encounter vehicles that display the emblem.

The exhibit will be prominently placed near the Hoober equipment booth just inside the fair entrance. It’s a popular destination for families, where children of all ages are allowed to look at and sit in the modern farm equipment.

The timing is right for the display. National Farm Safety and Health Week is Sept. 20-26, and the State Fair opens Sept. 25 and will run through Oct. 4.

Hoober Sales Manager Kevin May said the equipment exhibit “is really to let people get a sense of the scale of the equipment being used by today’s farmer. The display itself will show the road size, to give visitors an idea of what the tractor looks like on the road.

“We’re hoping that when people come we can talk to them about sharing the road” and the fact that large farm equipment takes longer than a car to stop. “So pulling out in front of someone (operating equipment on a roadway) is not a good idea. As traffic continues to grow and grow, and farms are being mixed with residential communities, you’re in environment where they have to share the road.”

May said Hoober is pleased to work with the Young Farmers, “and this is a good opportunity to share our space. We’re there to sell equipment, but we also enjoy participating in these community events. It makes our exhibit more relevant to the general public.”