Not my day to die

Please be careful on the roads at dusk and after dark. If you are not driving a piece of farm equipment, please watch for one. If you are driving a piece of farm equipment, watch for cars.

I was driving on an unlit, paved, country road less than an hour ago on my vintage tractor which clearly displayed a SMV sign, a red tail light, bright headlights which illuminated the road, sides of the tractor, muffler, and air stack. My setup complied with all state and local laws for operation on roads after dark. I was passed by two vehicles as I drove my tractor to its storage spot less than one mile down the road from a plowing job I had just finished. As the first car came within a 1/4 mile of me, I pulled well off of the side of the road. The driver slowed down as he went by and flashed his brights at me. I noticed the second car as the driver came within about 1000 feet of me. I was about 50 feet from my driveway, so I figured I would just turn off the road with plenty of room to spare. I was about 1/2 way off of the road when the driver of the truck laid on their brakes (squealing tires) and swerved. The truck came to a stop over 200 feet down the road. By the time the truck came to where I was, my tractor was clear, but the mounted plow was still sticking out 2 or 3 feet into the road. If I had been 1 or two seconds slower, I would not have a tractor or plow, and I could very well not be alive right now. After this close call, I waited at the gate for the truck to pull up, but they just pulled away down the road. After driving 600 feet down the 1200 foot driveway, the truck pulled into the end of the driveway and shined its headlights at me for about 15 seconds before pulling away. I guess that they didn't want to pull all the way down the driveway to yell at me.

Texting

Christopher Mikesell- Were you making a left or right turn while the vehicle was behind you?

Chris I hate to tell you that while you where legal that doe not make you any safer. A small red tail light is not enough warning with the faster road speeds of today. Then you add in driver attention issues and your asking to be hurt!!! On older equipment that does not have a flashing rear light I use a magnetic flashing light anytime I move on a public highway. The ones I use are about $50 but they only use 4 AA batteries and they last for hours. So if your tractor is fully restored just take a cloth rag and put it under the magnets and they will not scratch the paint.

Right does not over come might!!! If that truck had hit you it would have caused you a serious injury. So there would not have been much comfort in being "right/legal".

Be safe man there are idiots and just normal people that could easily hit you at dark on an older tractor. People are used to seeing the newer well lit up tractors/equipment.
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I was making a right turn off of the road.

Christopher Mikesell- Like you said "my tractor was clear, but the mounted plow was still sticking out 2 or 3 feet into the road".

Seems like both parties may be at fault

Heck, travelling at night with farm equipment is very dangerous especially with the idiots on the roads today. Two days ago, I even waited for the fog to burn off before I got on the road.

Maybe, next time, have a 'escort' car follow you if driving after dark. That's what I do and it's only for your own safety.

Gotta be careful.

That was my first guess too. Just way too many distracted drivers out there on their phones these days. I'm lucky that the
roads I move machinery on are not real busy. If I have to move something after dark that is a bit wide or not well lighted I
try to have an escort vehicle behind and/or in front with the flashers going just in case somebody does not notice me.

On the other hand, if you don't absolutely HAVE to be on the road with farm machinery after dark, DON'T be on the road after dark with farm machinery!

At 57 years old, I am as much of an old-time farmer at heart as anyone here, but even I realize that not everyone else on the road today has the same history as me, and I don't "road" anything after dark if I can possibly avoid it.

On the other hand, there's a guy nearby (in his 80's) that never finds time to have a variety of equipment on the highway during the day, but ALWAYS moves it after dark. There's NO plausible explanation as to why he has not been "taken out" yet, as maintaining taillights and flashing warning lights is not his forte.

And this is on US-281, that runs from the Canuckadian border south right past may house to Brownsville, Texas.

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281

I don't understand the negative comments about what you were doing you had more to show your equipment up than any motorcycle on the road,your SMV sign can be clearly seen from
at least 100 yards away at night with car headlights shining on them.Some drivers are just Idiots that don't pay attention I see it all the time that's why there are rear end collisions at stop lights.Had a friend a few years ago that was rear ended on a flat 2 miles stretch of road on a tractor,he had a SMV sign,flashing lights and it was 2PM in the afternoon on a clear day.

even if the plow still was in the roadway he was legally exiting the roadway. How was it his fault too? Bill

I have been hauling liquid feed and fertilizer for six years now.The idiots get worse every year. Had one kid hit my truck in front the DPS office. Tried to say I stopped without warning. Hard to do when four DPS officers saw you texting.There is a section of service road that is flat and a clear view. For over a mile. But most will not pass until I am going up hill on the blind spot.

Without reading all the replies, I will say, I believe that we each have the primary responsibility for our safety. NOT the gov. and not some other person.
SDE

I would never be on the road with my tractor at night. Even with the flashers on its bad enough in the daytime. Had a friend killed a few years when his tractor with bushhog was hit. He was moving it less than a mile after mowing a field.

You can not be careful enough. Just last evening at about 6pm my niece was driving hone in Lubbock TX and met a truck carrying a commercial 0turn mower like those used on a golf course. The truck hit a dip and the mower came off. Head on and the mower weighed probably as much as her little car. She just told me that she thanks she will be released from the hospital today and she will recover. The car is totaled, it can be replaced. This just shows that any time you go out in public you can not be careful enough.
Frank

Two close calls this week alone: one, an oncoming car moved over into my lane (driver was fiddling with her cell phone or digging in her purse). I had to slam on my brakes and hope. Second, a woman pulled out directly in front of me with my pickup and trailer. I somehow managed to swerve into the left lane and go around her. Still don't know how the trailer didn't hit her.

Point being: No one is paying attention anymore.

People drive like idiots and they complain we have no business on the roads even when they can see the equipment they don't slow down

My Grandson with an articulated dueled tractor with all the flashing signal lights had three semi's following him when he started to turn left into a field. He was pulling a thirty foot fold up tilling tool behind when a car came with another semi following it passing the three semi's with the car sliding almost to his tractor. The fellow in the car jumped out yelling and my Grandson lowered the folded up gangs and yelled back for someone call the law I'm setting here until the law sorts it out. He said he got on his phone and called the owner of the tractor he was working for at the time to tell him what was going on and was convinced to let traffic move, He waited a full five minutes before folding the gangs up and going into the field. The law never came to talk to him. When going around road signs and mail boxes the rig covers both lanes. He said there was a total of nine bright flashing lights clearly marking the width of the machinery.

Glad you made it home ok. I woulden't have the nerve to drive my tractor on the highway at night. Even if it's lit up and with a SMV sign there's nothing on the equipment that sticks out the rear. That's bad enough to overcome in daylight.

I read once that a drunk driver will drive right toward flashing lights at night. Whenever you hear about a police car being rear ended at night when he is stopped with his lights going, it's a drunk driver that hits him. I'm very fortunate all of the land I farm is on lonely gravel roads so I don't have to put up with crazy impatient drivers.

Im thinking that the truck didnt expect you to be pulling an implement. He was focused on the light higher up and didnt see the plow. Thought you would be out of his way by the time he got there. Saw the plow when his lights hit it. Almost too late. Id use a flashing light mounted on the plow.

Even truck drivers seem to think you can pull over and let them by when the wings of your implement are hanging out over the guard rails.