SGI: Use caution when passing farm machinery on the roads

As harvest begins in earnest in Saskatchewan, farm machinery is going to be more active on the province’s roads and highways.

According to SGI, data from the past six years shows there have been more collisions involving farm equipment on average in August than in any other month.

Between 2013 and 2018, there were an average of 3.8 collisions between vehicles and farm machinery on Saskatchewan roads in August. The averages in July (3.3), September (2.8) and October (2.8) were next.

SGI figures there were two fatalities in crashes involving vehicles and farm machinery in each of 2018 and 2017 and one fatality in 2016.

The key to dealing with farm implements on the road is patience, SGI said in a media release.

The machinery is slow-moving and, because it’s usually moving between fields, won’t be on the road for long.

“Farmers are usually only transporting their machinery from one field to another, so you aren’t going to be behind them for too long,” SGI spokesman Tyler McMurchy said earlier this week on Gormley, “so again, be patient.”

Farm equipment is also wider and longer than typical vehicles, meaning drivers attempting to pass need to give themselves time and space to complete the pass.

As well, the operator of the machinery may not have good visibility or the ability to signal their intentions to turn or stop, so drivers are urged to slow down to give themselves a better opportunity to react to the machinery’s movements.