I don't know of many farmers in my area that can meet the requirements for lighting on ag equipment. Part of that is because I've yet to find a good reference on just what the requirements are. The other part is simple ignorance since few people are aware of the new law that came in effect 2-3 years back.
Unfortunately, the farmer IS in the wrong for his lighting not being on whether there was an accident or not. His being ticketed is not a judgement of cause of the accident, but is a violation that may have contributed. The drunk on the sled, yeah, in my book he's the cause. But as was noted, you can't ticket a corpse...although it would probably be appropriate.
I sort of agree with the idea of the farmer suing the deceased's estate. It seems like a defensive act. He WILL get sued, so he may as well lawyer up and go for it. I would also note that the official sunset time for Syracuse, NY, as close as I could find, on 1/4/14 was 4:43PM. They have the time of the accident at 5:19 PM, 6 minutes after the 1/2 hour after sunset stipulation in the V+T law. I would expect the farmers lawyer to argue accuracy of the time report in court. I know from experience that in cases like this pinpointing the exact time of the accident is almost impossible. Usually they go by the time 911 receives the report and estimate from there. It's extremely rare to get anyone with an exact time in a case like this, but usually it's not an important factor.
The road is not "closed", it's a "Seasonal Use Highway", very common in NY. IOW, it doesn't get plowed or maintained in the winter, usually from around October or Nov to April ...mud season! I would expect the farmers lawyer to argue the status of the road and whether it met the definition of a roadway if it's not maintained.
In the end the insurance companies and lawyers will argue it out. The losers will be the farmer and the deceased's family.
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