Farm Equipment and Collisions: What You Should Know

The areas surrounding Indianapolis are filled with vast amounts of beautiful farmland. Among this farmland are smaller rural roads that all drivers have to share with farm machinery. If you are not careful, you can get into an accident with a driver of farm machinery, including hay balers, plows, or tractors.

Farm equipment takes up a large part of the roadway and typically goes at a slower speed than a car. Automobile drivers have to remain careful so as to not collide with the farm equipment on the road. How can you avoid an accident, and what should you do if an accident does happen? Read on to learn more.

Do Not Get Frustrated

As soon as you approach a piece of farm equipment on the road, you may immediately feel a sense of frustration. Frustration is understandable, especially if you are in a hurry to get where you are going. However, frustration will not help in these instances. In fact, your frustration will only make the situation worse.

Realize you have to share the road with farm equipment, even if only for a short time. The equipment is typically very large in size and can sometimes take up more than one lane of the rural road.

Do not tailgate the equipment, and keep enough space between your vehicle and the farm equipment to remain safe if one of you need to stop suddenly. Instead, try to remain calm and make a legal pass when you can.

What Is a Safe Legal Pass?

You can easily pass large farm equipment on the road, but you have to make sure to do so safely. Before you try to pass, make sure you can actually see around the farm equipment, as your view may be inhibited due to the size of the vehicle.

Look on the passenger side of the farm equipment as well. There may be signs, mailboxes, or bridge barriers which can cause the driver to shift more to the center of the lane. You have to be careful that both your vehicle and the farm equipment have enough roadway available for you to safely get around. As long as you have plenty of room, and no other cars are coming on the road, you can pass them.

What Happens if You Have an Accident?

If you do end up in an accident with farm machinery on a rural road, you need to know how to react. The first step is to stay put and remain calm. If you leave the scene, you may have to deal with criminal charges, even if you were not the liable party in the accident.

Also, make sure no one is hurt. Check with your passengers as well as the driver of the farm equipment. Depending on the speed involved and the type of equipment he or she was driving, the injuries can range from non-existent to severe. Next, you should call for emergency assistance. Since you are in a rural area, you may have to wait for longer than usual for them to arrive.

When you speak to the emergency responders, be sure to stick to the facts of the case. Do not make any admissions as to fault, particularly for yourself. Even if you think you are partially to blame, do not say so when the officer is taking a report. This is also the time in which everyone should have a medical evaluation to rule out injuries.

A collision with a piece of farm equipment on a rural road is frustrating and scary. You need to know how to best handle the situation. If you are in an accident with a piece of farm equipment on the road, please contact us at Wegner and Associates. We will help you work through your case with as best an outcome as possible.