Be mindful on the roads during harvest
With harvest in full swing, road users are being reminded to be mindful of large slow moving machinery on the roads.
It’s a busy time of year in the farming calendar and farmers are making the most of the dry weather working day and night to get in this year’s crops. This means that there is more farm traffic on the roads than usual and drivers should use extra caution and not take risks in order to pass large farm machinery when driving.
CLA South West Director Ann Maidment said “The farm equipment farmers are using at this time of year is extremely large, takes longer to stop, turn or speed up and there are a lot of blind spots. Motorists need to be mindful of where they are within the blind spots of tractors using the roads.
“It’s an incredibly busy time of the year for farmers getting in crops that produces the nation’s food, which also means there is a lot more large farm machinery on our roads than usual.”
With increased farm traffic on the roads, comes an increased danger with motorists attempting to pass in their eagerness to get to their destination. Traffic will build up behind this kit, which can lead to frustration and drivers taking risks in order to pass.
“We’ve all got places to be and farmers are doing all they can to keep disruption as minimal as possible whilst carrying out the season’s harvesting."
Farmers need to make safety priority too
“Whilst we would urge other road users to take care around large farm machinery, farmers and contractors also have a duty to ensure the kit they are using on the roads is up to the required safety standards and not to take risks themselves, particularly as they’ll be working long hours to get those crops cut before the rain sets in”.
Farmers should carry out a daily check to ensure that all equipment is safe and functioning correctly and be aware of the dangers caused by long hours and tiredness.