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SMV

Tony in SD

Tony in SD

Well-known Member
The SMV post below got me thinking how the SMV sign is one of the stupidest things to ever become law. Especially now days with the size and speed of modern farm equipment. Im not sure how you would not see a modern combine or planter way before you would see that little SMV. I grew upon a farm that was on a federal hiway. So Ive had to deal with them since the law was passed in the 60s. Back in the 70s a friend of mine was rear ended while he was hauling a hay stack on a highway. My friend got the ticket because he didnt display the SMV. I guess my friend could not fine a place to bolt the SMV to the hay stack...... I bet if you showed most non-farm people a SMV they would not know what it is or what it means.
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This guy didnt want to be missed going down the road at 50 MPH.
 
Even that sign wouldnt be big enough for some idiots to see. Here in Ontario where I live , it isnt legal to have a SMV sign on a vehicle going over 30mph. You need flashing amber lights and a white strobe light I believe on a high speed tractor. Pulling a wagon at 50mph with a SMV sign, will get you a ticket, because you are not a SMV. And you cant hang them on the back of a unlicensed truck either, even if you are just hauling grain. You can hang a SMV on a truck if it is converted to a vehicle of animal husbandry. Like a truck mounted manure spreader or TMR mixer or silage box, but not a grain dump box or even a livestock rack
 
The purpose of the SMV sign is to indicate relative speed. It is not to increase visibility or indicate size. I will disagree with you on its usefulness. It does appear in the drivers test in Ontario material, but perhaps not in South Dakota. Even if it is only marginally effective, if it prevents a very small number of rear end collisions, the low cost of the sign makes it a worthwhile law and a good investment.
 
We have Amish and German Baptists in the area. You can see that SMV sign about 1 1/2 miles away - day or night - LONG before you realize it's a buggy.
 
I agree with Tony. Just a Bureaucrats money grab. I can see equipment coming for about a mile away unless there is a hill or curve in the road. With all the flashing lights and do dads on them If you don't see them your blind. Besides it gets costly to try keeping them up on 30 or so pieces of equipment as they get bad. I have pretty much given up on it in the last 10 or more years. Don't use wagons much anymore on the road and the tractors take the whole road pretty much with dual 24.5-32's and 23.1-30's. Equipment folds to about 15 ft anymore also. I tried to keep one sign on the back wagon and not worry about the front one and somebody would get them switched when putting them together for road travel.
 
I've seen full size houses with police escorts going down the road with a tiny WIDE LOAD sigh proudly displayed on the back.
 
Yes, modern farm machines are typically large, well-lit and travel fast enough that SMV signs aren't particularly useful. But back when the SMV was introduced, much equipment was unlit and it was pretty common for tractors to be rear-ended by autos. The results were often fatal to farm equipment operators and car passengers.

My pet peeve is folks who use SMV signs to mark their driveways. That ought to be illegal.
 
It is but never enforced, we used to give the smv sign kits away at trade shows but found out most were going to drive markers.
 
Here in Indiana a sprayer salesman told me while the SMV sign USED to mean 25 MPH max, the new rules are to also have placed just left of the SMV an SIS speed sign. Those are available in 30, 35, and 40 to indicate the max road speed of the equipment sign is on. He also said when hauling equipment the SMV sign is to be removed OR covered.
 
What backwards countries and road rules we have here in North America. Imagine having a rule that might save a life or two now and then and those driving on the road have to slow down a bit and proceed with caution occasionally. If I were a farmer faced with such nonsense, I'd be moving to another county as soon as I could. I see the regular mix of comments including words like 'stupid' and 'idiots' ..... the YT schoolyard surfaces again.
 
I've come upon hay racks in the late evening, no lights, no sign, pulled by an older tractor that wasn't making much progress. That can be a heart stopper on a gravel road.
Should the law be reviewed? Certainly. Modern equipment with good visible lights shouldn't need the triangle. My Lull 400 still does.
 
Ive been to the Bruce County tractor show and up to Tobermory twice without the OPP catching me----so far.
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Of course, it doesnt go much over 30 MPH. Hopefully, the border will be re-opened by summertime and they'll get another chance to nab me!
 
What does the smv hurt? Many older tractors were dark colors without lights, reflectors, or lights. Same with wagons especially. My tractors that go on the road have plenty of lights, reflective and the smv of course, why not? I have had a few times at dusk come upon a wagon or small tractor with no reflective or a very faded smv. Flashing lights and good reflective would let you see that tractor way further ahead. And in this era of distracted driving that can be the difference between someone going around and plowing right into the machine.
 
Here is a story from a friend in Ontario, Canada, OPP (Provincial Police) stopped him one day when he was pulling his empty manure spreader behind his pickup and gave him a ticket for not having a trailer license on it. The person tried to explain to the OPP Officer that it was a farm machine and did not require a trailer license and his pickup has a farm plate, the OPP Officer said that if it was a farm machine it required a SMV, the person then said he was going 30 MPH and more so it did not require a SMV sign. OPP Officer issued a $140 ticket, friend decided to go to court and Judge reduced it to $80 then my friend went to pay the $80 at the court house and they had no record of the fine, so no payment required. I suspect when OPP Office got back to his detachment his superior probably had a good laugh and only filed the court appearance part of the ticket hoping the Judge would nullify it. Unfortunately it appears today most law officers assigned to rural areas have no or little rural knowledge ie they don't know a manure spreader from a trailer.
 
I sharpened a 5/8 inch rod about 3 feet long and welded a T on the dull end. The SMV bolts to the T. The sharp end of the rod pokes into the hay on the back of the trailer. It's a!most too simple. It's a liability issue in Illinois.
 
I guess I did Tony ...... I thought it was pretty straight forward, so what exactly was your point then?
 
It has nothing to do with the size of equipment. An Smv can be seen from more than a mile away . Even the new equipment has very little in the way of warning lights
 

In the 70s my neighbor was hit in the back of his self propelled combine, knocking the back axle out of it. He had a triangle on the back and was it the broad daylight. Some people can't see good enough to drive when the sun is shining.
 
Maybe it is time to update the 50 plus year old requirements and the laws to fit modern times. Is it a different law in each state or a federal law? Probably a federal guideline and 50 different laws.
 
I had been to a car show and coming home about 10:00PM in a small town in Kentucky I came inches from hitting a disk coming home from a field. Tractor had 1 bright rear light and it looked like a street light or a parking lot light to me. No red or orange light, no flashers. Facing the bright light, I could not see any equipment or triangle. Good thing for strong brakes on a newer Mustang!
 
I thought those things were for marking the edges of your driveway at the road...

Seriously, it doesn't matter what you have, SOMEBODY will plow into the back of you, and if they live to tell the tale, they will wail, "BUT I DIDN'T SEEEEEEEEE IT!"

It's gotten so bad on the highways these days that I'm starting to see police cars with arms that raise straight up in the air, and have a bunch of flashing strobes on them. People will STILL plow into the back of one and cry, "BUT I DIDN'T SEEEEEEEE IT!"

People just don't pay attention, and nothing you do will make them, but with every tragic accident the laws get more and more extreme, and it's always against the farmer, tow truck driver, police officer, etc...

I thought that when you were rear-ended, legally it is automatically the fault of the person doing the rear-ending...
 
.

SMV signs are often on the back of equipment that exceeds 25mph and should have a license plate .
Worse yet are the fools that place a SMV sign on their gate posts or mailbox. Gives a misleading view of what is in front during a blizzard.
 

It's SUPPOSED to be illegal to use them on stationary objects like gate posts and mailboxes. Not sure how well this is enforced. If it isn't, it should be.
 
I try to have an smv on each piece of equipment and a yellow flashing light on the front left and a red flashing light on the back
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It doesn't matter what you do some people will run into you. I was in an alley in Traverse city parked with the flashers on in a semi that was bright green with a 53 foot red and white trailer unloading kayaks. You guessed it someone ran into me. Bent my nice shiny bumper up to the tune of $1220 dollars. His words I didn't see you parked there LOL
 
So I stirred up quite a stink about SMV signs with my post about trying to find mounting brackets. I agree that most modern equipment travels faster and is well lit. But my newest tractor is 40 years old and has poor lights. I got hit from the front when I was a kid on a John Deere B. Took the wrecker three trips to haul it home. Ya SMV signs are a pain, that is why I like to have the brackets on most things so it is easy to throw a sign on it. I think I will make one to poke in the load of hay as well.
 
Bruce: I have to argue a couple of your points. Albeit minor it might be issue for someone if they wanted to use unplated grain truck? The limit is 40 km/hour/25 mph with smvs. And it is fine to use on grain truck to move grain from one farm to another, just cant take it to the elevator, or get paid to move grain kind of thing. Although I dont get the whole changes to cargo carrying but I have neighbor who was pulled over going into elevator who was told he was fine hauling grain farm to farm on the road with slow moving sign, but not to elevator.
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Not only that the law is an Smv one red one red reflector to mark the rear of an implement. I do it because at least Im trying to do what I should if theres an accident I can say I had what I needed to be legal . Not to mention an Smv is extremely bright you can see them for at least a mile away
 


Well Tony and you other flat and straight guys, If you were come to my town you would probably have a half dozen of them on everything that goes down the road within a half hour, LOL.
 
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