BTO on 4 lane highway

dlbuck

Member
Coming home from work tonight a BIG COMBINE was in front of me on a 4 lane state highway , with a BIG TRACTOR towing a BIG GRAIN TRAILER in front of it. It was pitch black dark. They had their flashers on but they were changing lanes it was confusing as to what was going on. Adding to it the bean head was at least 4 feet over the center line. I work road construction and know that things have to get done, but I also know that the bigger you are the bigger the lawsuit. I guess what I'm asking is, how safe, smart or legal are they doing things like this?
 
You won't find me anywhere near an interstate with anything other than the semis. Dumb move. I know there are situations where it might not be possible, but here there are always back roads to take instead. I'm betting they did it because they would have to take the header off as it wouldn't fit the bridges on the county roads. If that's the case, take off the header. The reason I use a 22 foot header with 1000 acres is just that. I don't have to take it off to get anywhere. It takes a few more hours in the cab, but the 922 and 9500 are paid for.
 
Even with 21 and 22 foot headers I don't like moving down the road after dark. And I'm talking country , gravel roads where there is not a lot of traffic. If I do it I'll have a pilot vehicle front and back with flashers going.
You won't catch me with farm equipment on a four lane highway even in broad daylight. Scary enough there with a car or truck let alone slow moving equipment.
 
(quoted from post at 20:25:39 10/18/16) Coming home from work tonight a BIG COMBINE was in front of me on a 4 lane state highway , with a BIG TRACTOR towing a BIG GRAIN TRAILER in front of it. It was pitch black dark. They had their flashers on but they were changing lanes it was confusing as to what was going on. Adding to it the bean head was at least 4 feet over the center line. I work road construction and know that things have to get done, but I also know that the bigger you are the bigger the lawsuit. I guess what I'm asking is, how safe, smart or legal are they doing things like this?

Think it depends on the state. I was told (haven't checked) by a LEO I know and trust that in MN if it fits between the edge of the shoulder and the centerline it's legal. If it's wider than that they can get tickets.

Now as far as smart or safe? Not very unless there are some type of ight markers, flashing on the outer edges of the item in question. And with some of the sue happy people out there should they hit one you know that they are going to at least talk to a lawyer. If the item, like a combine was being operated illegally the farmer doesn't really have a leg to stand on. Even if someone who hits one doesn't sue and their insurance pays their cost that insurance company is going to go after the farmer's insurance company to recoup any losses. What the farmer's insurance company does after that would have to been seen on a case by case basis. His rates could go up or the company could cancel.

Rick
 
How far did they travel down the road? I assume if they were at least 4 ft over the center, there was no oncoming traffic. In Ohio, you have to have the outer most edges of equipment marked with flashing lights after dark. Was that done?

We've been known to run down the road, a mile on a state route, with the head on. We wait until we are clear, so we don't back up too much traffic, and we can always get over to stay on our side of the road. If nobody is coming, and we are going to turn across traffic , we'll run down the center..... it keeps people coming up behind from passing as we turn.

We aren't BTO's, but we have the same job to complete. If we are on our side of the road and properly marked with flashing lights, we are good to go. If you are confused as to what was going on, I think your responsibility is to follow until things become clear.

We try not to do things like this, but weather and number of people to move to the next field sometimes play a factor. If the traffic is light, we will go for it. We don't inconvenience people on purpose, but if it happens, it happens

I'm just wondering why this is more or less dangerous because the guy is being described as a BTO? If he farms less or has older equipment, would it be OK?
 
There is a place in NE Arkansas where Crossing an interstate bridge is the only place to cross the river. It's legal to cross with farm machinery. What time at night was it? Personally I would rather see them moving at night as during heavier traffic during the day.
 
There oughta be a law against BTO's. No one should need anything more than a Farmall M and a 3 bottom plow.
 
This is a little off but we always try to move at night. We always run a blocker truck with plenty of strobe lights but moving after dark is so much safer and easier. What little traffic there is can see our strobes and flashers from forever away and on county roads no one comes around a corner or over a hill without being able to see their lights coming and being prepared. People say I'm an idiot until I explain it but moving in daylight is so unsafe around here it's is ridiculous. People are always driving way too fast and not paying attention. We have had tons of close calls as far back as I can remember and none of them were ever after dark
 
(quoted from post at 23:07:49 10/18/16)

I'm just wondering why this is more or less dangerous because the guy is being described as a BTO? If he farms less or has older equipment, would it be OK?

What constitutes a BTO? And how does one describe one? Here a guy with over 1000 acres will be called a BTO by a guy with say 500 acres. Yet the guy with 200 acres will call Mr 500 acres a BTO. Others think it's attitude.

If based on attitude, a guy who willing breaks the law and endangers others because "it's only a mile/too lazy to remove the head/weather is moving in" is a BTO. If it's not based on attitude but more one size what would you call that guy?

RIck
 
He was hangning 4' over the center line so he didn't have to drive on the shoulder and risk hitting mailboxes, guard rails, marker posts, etc.. I see it quite frequently. They slow down and pull over on to the shoulder when there's oncoming traffic.

Moving at night is definitely safer than during the day on a 4-lane road. The road is 4 lanes because traffic is heavy. Imagine that rig going down that road in rush hour traffic... Plus they had flashing lights, which are more visible in the dark. With the lighter night time traffic, the odds of coming across someone that gets mesmerized/confused by the flashing lights and plows straight into the combine are much smaller.
 
I'd rather see them moving during the day so I can see what's all there. With all the flashing lights it's hard to determine if there is a turn signal going too.
 
The best time to move around here is around sun rise or after 9AM when everybody that works normal hours is at work. There were a couple of fatalities over the past five years involving equipment being moved at night or parked along the road shoulder with no lights. I am guessing that those farmers got cleaned out in court and also have their names on the local news for a few days as the local television stations lack for material. The wannabee BTO in the neighborhood moved his combine with 30 foot head on down a two lane state highway which has heavy traffic during daytime hours. Not much of a shoulder where he was going so he was into the oncoming traffic lane pretty far. When we are on the road we move with the notion of not hurting anybody else and not putting ourselves in the cross hairs of a trial attorney or bored local news reporter.
 
I have a neighbor who has a 45 foot bean head. Met him the other day going down the dirt road. Wish it would have been at night, maybe then I could have seen his strobe light a few hill before I did. He was just going a half mile, but 45 feet takes up a lot of road.
Not sure how to label him. He farms about 10,000 acres by HIMSELF. He does hire some beans and wheat cut, but the rest he does all on his own. Other guys around ACT like the are big time, farm maybe 4,000 acres with 3 hired guys.
 
A friend of mine used to work for state DOT. If somebody got hurt or killed in an accident involving DOT trucks or equipment there would be a suit filed. As far as the trial lawyers were concerned there was never a proper light count or arrangement on equipment. My friend would often be tasked with adding or deleting lights and their positioning on equipment after the state handed out a settlement. My point is don't let it rest with how the machine is outfitted with warning lights and reflectors. Exercise some good judgement with when you move equipment and if you have a choice of routes which one you follow to get where you need to be. Don't have the attitude that you are so high and mighty that you do not need to take the 40 foot head off when going down a busy interstate.
 
Growth at all costs, forget the neighbors,
no one really likes them- or those who work
for them, and pays well below the going
rate for workers, which the employees don't
find out about because no one will talk to
them. Fixes what he runs, but won't fix it
if someone else runs it. Reads the manual
and sets the tractor up his way because he
knows better than the engineers. (Do you
know that a 300 hp Steiger can be too light
in the nose? Hook one to an 1100 bushel
grain cart if you want to verify) Makes
themselves out to be the big crapola in the
area, though they are no where near being
the big operation.

I used to work for one.
 
(quoted from post at 04:57:10 10/19/16) He was hangning 4' over the center line so he didn't have to drive on the shoulder and risk hitting mailboxes, guard rails, marker posts, etc.. I see it quite frequently. They slow down and pull over on to the shoulder when there's oncoming traffic.

Moving at night is definitely safer than during the day on a 4-lane road. The road is 4 lanes because traffic is heavy. Imagine that rig going down that road in rush hour traffic... Plus they had flashing lights, which are more visible in the dark. With the lighter night time traffic, the odds of coming across someone that gets mesmerized/confused by the flashing lights and plows straight into the combine are much smaller.

Couple of weeks ago they were moving a JD at night on MN 210. Could see the combine just fine. Couldn't see the end of the header sticking out past the centerline until I started to go around it. SO because of recent experience I think it's safer to move them during the day! I had slowed down because I didn't see a header trailer so no big deal but what about the guy who doesn't know about that passing through? Some city kid traveling to or from college? Just an accident waiting for a place to happen!

Rick
 
When I worked for 3 sugar beet harvests they would move whenever they had too, it was round the clock for 10 days, weather permitting. Sometimes on hwy 2, 4 lane by EGF, but sugar beet equipment isn't that wide. Once when it was too hot to harvest beets I hauled some soy beans, the combine had about a 36 foot header, he put that on a trailer to move fields.
 
I have taken my 20 foot bean head down county roads in the daytime. Watching for cars and mailboxes is interesting. I try to be very careful on letting other folk travel safely.

On a 4 lane road there is more room; but folks are expecting to travel fast and unobstructed on the main 4 lanes. I would not take a wide implement on one if I could help it.

If it was a really big combine, the header should have been on a trailer, pulled sideways.

Traveling at night or at dusk with such stuff is really a tough deal. Would be best to time things out differently.


We came across a bto going down the county blacktop last week. They were actually doing a good job. Grain cart and tractor, bean head and pickup, combine. Each had rear red and flasher lights, no white lights to the rear. They were spaced far enough apart you could pass one item at a time. Very busy state 2 lane road parallels this county road, they were on the less traveled one. I was impressed.


Couple days ago the neighbor got stuck on a field approach with a semi. Got the tractor, grain cart, and semi all muddied up and pulling up onto the county road. The whole mess was parked for a time on the county road as they sorted stuff out. It is a dangerous S curve with hills right there, I think they could have worked something better out, at least even going the other direction pulling out onto the county road would have parked the whole train on a safer spot, and the semi would have had to travel 2 extra miles is all to get back where headed. I think they should have done better than they did, glad nothing happened but it looked bad. Looked like they focused on their issue, and not on what was safest or on others.....

That's the big deal I guess, as we are focused on our own deal and our harvest, we need to take a breath and think of others.

Paul
 
Moving at night is not that dangerous as long as the slow equipment has proper lighting. And the equipment operator doesn't get a big head because he is in a big machine. The car behind the equipment can see a car coming from the other direction because he can see the headlights. I have been there many, many times and I am still very uneasy with every move on the road day or night. I have seen the bashed in rear of a combine, the header ripped off the feeder house and the flattened, bent left dual wheel on the front of the combine from being hit by a vehicle. This was on someone else's machinery but nonetheless I saw the carnage.

The header should have been put on a trailer. It's not that hard today with the single point attachment arrangement. The grain cart guy could have driven a pickup pulling the header trailer. On a four lane the header trailer needs adequate warning lights and should be behind the combine. Once the header is back on the combine in the next field the combine can open a parking space in the field, then the grain cart driver and combine driver runs the pickup back to the last field to where the grain cart is waiting for him. Then he can bring the cart to the field with the combine driver following him with the pickup. The cart driver cannot see anything behind, that is why the pick follows him. It takes more time but if the combine is in an accident the combiner has it to his defense the fact that he tried to get as narrow as possible before he made the move and the cart was escorted so the cart driver will know if it is safe to make a move. When we are driving a combine or other large machinery down the road cars look small when viewed from the driver's seat but those cars have human lives in them. They might or might not have any common sense but they are still human. Nuff said!
 
A few pictures I found on the internet.
a240538.jpg

a240539.jpg

a240540.jpg

a240541.jpg
 

The problem is that people have NO Background, NO Interest in learning anything about it, are TOO distracted ( Texting, etc) and
are SO caught up in their wonderful lives that they cannot have anything slow them down..!!

I saw that they have added ANOTHER gadget to the newest automobiles..."Lane-Limit Warnings"..the car TELLS you if ya wander over the lines of the lane..

I suppose that should make TEXTING a little safer..???

We had a saying when I ran the Road Coast-to-Coast.."Remember, ya DON'T need to be a Professional to be out here"..what an UNDER-Statement..!!!

Seen things ya never would believe any MORON would do...PROTECT Yourself, above all at ALL times..!!
 
One answer. Take your fricken header off. Absolutely no excuse not to! If you don't want to get an overwidth permit and escorts. Your a farmer not God!!! The non farming public has no stake in your operation and you own no larger stake in public infrastructure than they do!
 
The warning lights and reflectors may all look bright during the pre-season check in the shed, but get some dust, moisture and mud on them and they get pretty dim fast. Most guys don't bother to clean off their warning lights and reflectors before pulling out on a road.
 
Comment was made about folks in cars texting/phoning and being distracted. I"ve driven past or met combines and other oversize tractors with young operators on the phone or otherwise appearing distracted. It"s not just in the car.
 
Actually the property taxes paid by farmers goes a long ways towards maintaining the public infrastructure.
 
(quoted from post at 12:10:25 10/19/16) Actually the property taxes paid by farmers goes a long ways towards maintaining the public infrastructure.

And? Doesn't give them anymore rights on the roadways. That tractor or combine doesn't have plates and burns tax free fuel. That car owner pays taxes too plus has plates and fuel taxes that help pay for public infrastructure.

Rick
 
I would never dream of moving at night with a header on...Its just too dangerous to even try it..
.In my area the roads are so narrow that all headers have to be pulled off for every move....
Some of the big operators here do move at night....The headers are off and they have escort vehicles..
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top