Another farmer killed

Yesterday near Point Pleasant, West Virginia. From what I could see on the WSAZ TV web page, the farmer was pulling a wagon on US35 in Mason county WV. Kinda looks like he was making a left turn and an SUV broadsided him rolling the tractor and killing the driver of the tractor. So sad, but there are so many deaths on this stretch of roadway, it's 2 lane in this area and very heavily traveled. Just thought I'd share with you folks. Keith

You guys that travel on highways are going have to install lights on your wagons. Look at all the new bales and other farm machinery they have light just because of this kind of accident. There may not be a law that requires them you have protect yourself.

Way too many just go down the road then turn left rather that look or make sure there isnt anyone following see it all the time. I will not even try to pass if i see a driveway ahead as he is probably going to turn. Drivers of cars ect do not take any time to look at the problem ahead so its up to the tractor driver to make careful turns.

WE don't need another law, Boyd , who is to say thAt the driver would had paid attention to turn signals ANYWAY ,to avoid this accident //// Farmers maintaining turn signal indicators on every dampiece of equipment would be a royal PIA , I have had a dum young girl pass me in my combine around a blind curve going up a steep hill DEEP ditches on both sides ..my son was in the lead escort vehicle and stopped a school bus JUST in TIME on the other side !... all new drivers should be taught about the hazards of slow movin equipment on roads ,,some 20 yrs ago,, I witnessed this exact SAME type of accident on my rural state hiwy , it was hour after dark fell ,,I came up on a 100 hp Ford tractor,all lit up in road gear ,,was not pullin anything , curvy hilly road was not safe to pass until we got to where the FORD was going, at which time the Ford tractor operator TURNED ON HIS LEFT TURN SIGNAL..i was not even aware that someone was behind me until I heard the 4 barrel kick down as this nut went around us , just when the kid on the tractor was turnin left into the farm drive ,, IMPACT spun the tractor against gatepost,, it would later need the axle replaced ,, pikup went down in a ditch, on its side,. NO One was hurt ,, But both were scared $hitless....kid in truk was drinking a little beer .. and knew the kid on tractor ,, they were in hi school and in the same FFA chapter together ,,. the kid in truck told all the Dads that QUIKLY ASSEMBLED THERE ,, HE SIMPLY WAS NOT THINKIN , had a good song on the radio and wanted to get to his Girls house and had just opened his 1st and only beer , when he topped the hill and saw a good chance to pass , he took it ,,,, we all believed him,,. the Dad of the tractor driver had to convince the sheriff to let the pikup driver stay out of jail ,,. none of the families wanted trouble amongst them ,, and the tractor seemed unharmed at the time ,, the kids old truk was a mess but still driveable and he was most repentive and to this day relates this valuable lesson he learned ,... ,,and Life Goes on ,,, and in time,$hit can happen and death happens ,,this will never be a perfect world ,.. You just cannot write a handbook against stupidity and inattention

This is so sad, and avoidable! When I went thru FedEx's safety training, they warned of people passing on the left while you are waiting to turn left-I thought NO WAY! Sure enough, I had my left signal on, waiting to turn, and some idiot passes me! Turn signals don't always help!

Yep, you can have three dozen signals, even the sequential LEDs, a scrolling marquee, and people will still try passing. We always crowded over center coming up on our left turns, often driving right down the center of the road coming out of the one curve.
4th gear with the 400 going down a hill, car behind me, 9 ft haybine, turning about 1/2 way down. Pointed right as a car was coming toward me, as soon as it was by the tractor I moved left to swing into the drive. The car behind me while the oncoming car was still beside me they must have been hard on the throttle, because when I heard tires they were in the ditch almost beside the tractor.

Sorry to hear that. Another problem here is the Amish do not signal for turns. You can have a passing lane completely legal and all of a sudden they shoot left. No signaling and not even looking behind.

I saw a news article yesterday, I think it was in Ohio, where some drunk driver rear-ended an Amish buggy. Killed one and injured two or three.

Accidents happen. I've never had one but I've had some near misses. We can't be too careful on the roads.

Tom in TN

We have blind hill before a left turn into the farm driveway, we unfortunately have to straddle the centre line from the top of that hill to the driveway due to the idiots passing problem.

All our turn signal lights work, there are 6 flashing lights on the back of the tractor and cab, and there is even brake lights on one of our tractors, they still try to squeeze by and scare the @$%^ out of me inches from the loader bucket.

When straddling they make the decision to brake much earlier so they have time to figure out what is going on.

Maybe we don't need another law, but the threat of jail time and lawsuits is the only thing that keeps these idiots from killing us and themselves.

The kid in j hikemper's post broke a lot of laws and the sheriff was there to enforce the laws. If the kid on the tractor was your kid and had been killed by the accident would you want no laws..so the killer gets off freely?

The laws do not exist to restrict your freedom, they exists to protect my life and yours and our property from the wanton acts or stupidity of others.

Theft laws are to protect my property from the brazen taking by others.

Pollution laws are to protect my water well and my soil from some jerk dumping toxic waste.

No texting while driving laws are to protectt me and my grandchildren from some stupid 18 year old with no common sense yet developed.

I have very little problem complying with the laws, because I want to be a good neighbor and I have no plan to kill you or harm you through my actions or stupidity. It is a rare occasion when a law impedes what I plan or want to do. I rather like law and order in my community, and wish we had more..especially order. Hope you feel the same.

The law says that when turning LEFT you yield to ALL traffic even those passing you in the same direction. Look it up.

IMO it all comes down to personal responsibility and defensive driving. I don't care which vehicle you are in, the tractor/bicycle/buggy/ATV/whatever or the car/truck/etc that's approaching from front, side or rear. It's incumbent on both parties to be as careful as possible and to operate defensively. Around here when ever we have a car/tractor or buggy accident the general public always blames the tractor or buggy. I've investigated enough of those accidents to know it's almost never just one parties fault. The guy in the car/truck thinks he's got the right of way no matter what and the guy on the tractor might not even know the truck is there or might think the other driver sees the laneway he's headed for. The Amish around here are usually pretty good about staying to the right and seem to know enough to check behind them before turning. Mostly what I saw was one party going way too fast around a tractor/buggy without considering anything but getting by them. Then if the horse spooks a little or the tractor starts to turn it's "good night Irene!".

As some one who did a lot of driving with lights and siren on, one of the biggest lessons I learned is not ASSUMING people see you. You know what they say about assuming, and I had enough close calls that I scared myself (and probably other people too) into being a lot more defensive.

One of the worst calls I ever had was a guy on his new Harley t-boning a little girl on her bicycle. He thought she was going to go straight, she didn't, he was going a bit faster than he should have, she turned for her driveway and died in front of her mother IIRC. Sad for everyone involved. Who do you blame? The guy on the Harley or the 8 year old? Personal responsibility.

(quoted from post at 08:28:49 04/03/14) WE don't need another law, Boyd , who is to say thAt the driver would had paid attention to turn signals ANYWAY ,to avoid this accident //// Farmers maintaining turn signal indicators on every dampiece of equipment would be a royal PIA , I have had a dum young girl pass me in my combine around a blind curve going up a steep hill DEEP ditches on both sides ..my son was in the lead escort vehicle and stopped a school bus JUST in TIME on the other side !... all new drivers should be taught about the hazards of slow movin equipment on roads ,,some 20 yrs ago,, I witnessed this exact SAME type of accident on my rural state hiwy , it was hour after dark fell ,,I came up on a 100 hp Ford tractor,all lit up in road gear ,,was not pullin anything , curvy hilly road was not safe to pass until we got to where the FORD was going, at which time the Ford tractor operator TURNED ON HIS LEFT TURN SIGNAL..i was not even aware that someone was behind me until I heard the 4 barrel kick down as this nut went around us , just when the kid on the tractor was turnin left into the farm drive ,, IMPACT spun the tractor against gatepost,, it would later need the axle replaced ,, pikup went down in a ditch, on its side,. NO One was hurt ,, But both were scared $hitless....kid in truk was drinking a little beer .. and knew the kid on tractor ,, they were in hi school and in the same FFA chapter together ,,. the kid in truck told all the Dads that QUIKLY ASSEMBLED THERE ,, HE SIMPLY WAS NOT THINKIN , had a good song on the radio and wanted to get to his Girls house and had just opened his 1st and only beer , when he topped the hill and saw a good chance to pass , he took it ,,,, we all believed him,,. the Dad of the tractor driver had to convince the sheriff to let the pikup driver stay out of jail ,,. none of the families wanted trouble amongst them ,, and the tractor seemed unharmed at the time ,, the kids old truk was a mess but still driveable and he was most repentive and to this day relates this valuable lesson he learned ,... ,,and Life Goes on ,,, and in time,$hit can happen and death happens ,,this will never be a perfect world ,.. You just cannot write a handbook against stupidity and inattention

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I agree with nearly all that you said except for - [i:d0775ed658]'Farmers maintaining turn signal indicators on every dampiece of equipment would be a royal PIA' [/i:d0775ed658] - all it takes is a plug-in on the tractor and a set of magnetic tow lights but ...... WHATever!

Twenty years ago was just coming back from Sturgis, SD on my Harley and was within site of my little rural town on a piece of two lane. I could see a tractor up ahead pulling a hay wagon coming towards me. Just as we approached each other this girl in a little blue Ford that was behind the wagon decided to pass. Fortunately no one lost their heads. She was already committed. She slide all the way over to the far shoulder and I split both her and the tractor - right down the middle!

5000 mile trip and I dang near got killed in sight of my house. I can still see the look in her eyes as we went past each other. And fortunately I wasn't far from home so I could change my shorts......

Lights , light ya say , really .Let me tell ya about lights , i have installed lights on all of our equipment that prevents us from seeing behind . The silage wagons are the one piece of equipment that we can not see behind and it is the one piece that is used on the road for the longest time frame . I set up every tractor that will pull those wagons on the road with good lights flashers and turn signals and running lights . Does it help Not one bit . You signal for a left turn way ahead of the turn and each and almost every time some idiot will pass happens almost everytime . One time this idiot came around about five other cars passen on a double yellow line on a hill and a curve and i was already across the other lane just about to enter the farm lane when here he came down thru the ditch behind the mailbox across the lane down into the ditch and back up on the road giving me the finger , Last fall one of the guys was making a left turn on a township road and was half way across the oncoming lane when he was passed by a county mounty that was plum flying with not flasher going passing at and intersection on a double yellow line on a hill went down into the ditch across the town shipo road just clipping the stop sign into the other ditch back up on the roadway fish tailing across both lanes . I saw it all happen as i was up on top of the silage pile and had a perfect view of it all . People don't care about your fancy lights they don't pay attention they just know that you are not running 70 MPH in a 55 and they have to Go and you are holding them up. I have been passed in the blind curve to the right with a hill when i am in the bottom and even setting up high on the tractor i can not see the other side of the hill. Head light flashers and turn signals are just good aiming points for them . Same way with hauling oversized loads , all the flags signs flasher strobes and rotary beacons are just aiming points and mean nothing to the four wheelers at all. I use to haul the big ugly high wide and heavy loads sometimes weighing in at three to four times the legal gross , no not super big loads but big enough . You would have had to spned a week riding with me to see it all first hand and that would be only a small taste . Even with state cops working with you with one in front and TWo behind you can not believe what people will do to be at the ft. of the pac. The best one that happened to me was moving a 12 foot wide load from New Jersey to just west of Pittsbug. It was a Military load and they only way to get it there was the Pa . turn pike Normally 10 foot is MAx width but since it was Mil. and the only way due to construction on the other routes we were granted access but with State police escort . The load barley fit thru the gate getting on the pike . I had to meet up with a state cop a couple miles down the road at a wide point . I was there before he ws . When he arrived we had our meeting and made sure every bit of paper work was correct . As we talked i asked him what he wanted me to run for speed , he said well we don't want to hold traffic up anymore then we have to so just how fast can you go with this load . Being the smart arrse i am i said a lot faster then you would like me to go , well how fast with this load i told him that with the Hp. i had and gearing i could hold 85 with not problem and that is not flat out , oh so we could run say 75 them , yes even on the hills . Well you know you are to use BOTH lanes , yes , and use the center going thru the tunnles , yes ok let go oh what channel do you want to use on the C B and off we went with him behind me running down the center of the pike west bound at 75 MPH . Things were going well till this one west bound freight box caught up to us , now mid ya i was running 75 and he caught up to us . He was dead on the cops bumper and stayed there . When we came apon the one mountain where there are curves and three lanes leading up to the one tunnel i had backed down to about 65 for the turns and was holding it when this IDIOT passed us on the right over on the burm and off he went . The cop told me that just as soon as we cleared the tunnel would i be ok by myself till the next trade off point when i meet up with the next cop as he really wanted to have a talk with that IDIOT in the black freight box . Yep i'll be fine and the min. we cleared the tunnel i moved over so he could get around me and he was GONE and i went back to hoggen both lanes and the fun was on now that he had left me as there were people tryen to get past on both side with no place to go even at 75 MPH. They were stuck behind me for the next twenty miles where i had to meet up with the next cop. OH BTW the cop did get that black freight box . And i do know that it cost him dearly for his shell we say creative driving to the tune of 1250 bucks.

One of the problems is that often the farmer has rear vision obscured due to load behind - haywagon, large piece of equipment, etc. Unless they start requiring rear camera...
I've already started using a portable light bar, whenever I tow a gravity box or haywagon on the road behind a motor vehicle, but tractors aren't equipped with appropriate lighting to interface with vehicle light bar.

Thats a mean stretch of road and people drive like maniacs on it for the most part.I have cars pass me all the time on the tractor when there is a double solid line,on hills,on curves etc.

(quoted from post at 08:28:53 04/03/14) Maybe we don't need another law, but the threat of jail time and lawsuits is the only thing that keeps these idiots from killing us and themselves.

The kid in j hikemper's post broke a lot of laws and the sheriff was there to enforce the laws. If the kid on the tractor was your kid and had been killed by the accident would you want no laws..so the killer gets off freely?

The laws do not exist to restrict your freedom, they exists to protect my life and yours and our property from the wanton acts or stupidity of others.

Theft laws are to protect my property from the brazen taking by others.

Pollution laws are to protect my water well and my soil from some jerk dumping toxic waste.

No texting while driving laws are to protectt me and my grandchildren from some stupid 18 year old with no common sense yet developed.

I have very little problem complying with the laws, because I want to be a good neighbor and I have no plan to kill you or harm you through my actions or stupidity. It is a rare occasion when a law impedes what I plan or want to do. I rather like law and order in my community, and wish we had more..especially order. Hope you feel the same.

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ince when did a law prevent an accident or anything else for that matter ??

Traffic laws are state laws and they can vary from state to state. Here in Wisconsin, if you pass someone with their left turn signal on, you get a ticket.

We don't need more laws but we sure could use some more common sense.
If you're driving a tractor pulling a piece of equipment don't assume that others on the road will know you're turning. It's one thing when you have a rig with turn signals, and quite another when you don't. How the heck is the person in the car supposed to know you're turning? Don't blame them for not being able to read your mind.
I don't like the idea of saddling any business with more laws (like turn signals on farm equipment) but the world is different today. There are far more cars on the roads than in the past. What's the solution? Complaining about car and truck drivers doesn't solve anything.

And yes, there are a lot of people that are in too big of a hurry and they'll try to pass when it's not safe. There are also farmers that sometimes seem to forget they are on public roads.

Bad news.

A few years ago a college kid in my wife's extended family, on a motorcycle, pulled out to pass a tractor pulling a big wing disk. Just when he got right on it, the farmer turned left in front of him, and the kid broadsided the disk. The kid didn't suffer any - he was killed outright. A horrible experience for everyone involved, and especially for the farmer, who knew the kid and his family. I was thankful that no one tried to paste any blame on the farmer. It was an accident, pure and simple.

Wish everybody would realize we got to share the road,
and lookout for someone else who may have had a brief moment of bad decision.
IF NOT so wrapped up in our own lives, selfishly ownin the road, a lot more people would have had a lot less sufferin.

We all got to look out for each other,
especially when operating equipment/driving.

And getting a license is too d*mn easy these days.
Better training for a drivers license, better understanding of the rules and regulations, and just plain better courtesy and thinkin of the other guy, it would sure make our roads safer

Its getting worse on the road.
Shoot, slow down with ur flashers and signal for him,
don't try to blow by him--I can see it if your kid is bleeding to death and ya got to get to an ER fast, short of that, why don't folks just mind their manners when on the road. Go Figure.
I HATE drivin anymore.

"Don't NEED more Laws"??

Here is one we NEED:

Couple Driver's Licenses and License Tags WITH Vehicle PROOF of Insurance Electronically..

Then, when your Ins. lapses, your Vehicle is Confiscated..NO More "Un-insured drivers"..

Makes sense to ME..

Ron.

Coming into my farm lane from most of the farm on down the road, I have to make a left turn. The road is a 30 mph road, with a double yellow line, and about 20 feet wide. I asked the county to post a sign about 300' down the road cautioning that tractors turned left just ahead. And, I placed a big yellow 'No Passing Zone' sign in my lawn, visible especially to a vehicle trying to pass on the left, and about 100 feet or so from my lane. So far, I have demolished 5 cars and a motorcycle making a left into my lane as they attempt to pass me. I pull into the middle of the road if no traffic is coming, put the left turn signals on about 200' before I turn, and slow to a relative crawl. The kids bought a book of "Cars" stickers, and place them on the cab door of my tractors, much swastikas and meatballs on fighter planes during the war. I'M AN ACE!!!!!!!

It isn't necessarily right, but I drive on the wrong side if there isn't any oncoming traffic. I am fortunate in that the majority if my blacktop miles are on a rural road that isn't highly traveled. There is a very large hill and I go around the section and not over the hill. I know how dumb some folks are. Just yesterday I was on the blacktop getting ready to turn onto the dirt road. A woman in a yellow camero passed me at the intersection with an oncoming car approaching and my signal on. I cussed at her the rest of the way home. Things like that make me want to put air horns on the tractors.

The way I read Ohio revised code 4511.42 you only yield to "all vehicles approaching from the opposite direction..."

I live on a paved county road, double yellow lines and get passed all the time when turning left.

I swear people think your left arm stuck out means pass me.

The guy on the Harley for being an idiot.

Okay I don't do farm equipment anymore, that part of my life is over and I don't see it coming back, it was my dream to farm and it didn't work out. Just because there is no law requiring you to have lights and signals doesn't mean you can't have them. If lights and signals would of prevented this accident I bet the guy really wishes he had them. Yes there are idiots on the road and sometimes their stupidity gets other people hurt. From what I understand in most states if you're on a two lane road the requirement is to yield to oncoming traffic, the folks behind you have to yield or wait behind you. Light up the back of your tractor and equipment and signal, if something bad happens at least you tried and it might help you heirs collect from the idiot.

I was involved in an accident clean up with one of my employer's trucks. It was a two lane road, a vehicle was trying to make a left hand turn into a motorcycle dealer ship. Traffic was busy and about 5 cars were waiting for them to complete their turn. Along comes a 75 year old lady in a 30 year old Ford Fairlane, she swings around the stopped cars and proceeds to pass them. I speculate the last thing she saw in her life was that big Volvo emblem on the grill of the truck. Our driver took the ditch and she T-boned the truck just under the driver's door, had she been wearing a seatbelt she might of lived, she wasn't and didn't.

As any motorcyclist knows you need to practice defensive driving, farmers should also consider that. When working for a neighbor to do a hay field 6-8 miles from his home place that also happened to be on a county trunk highway we did things a bit differently. Hay wagons went out behind a pick up and they went ahead of the tractors, kept spacing on the tractors so if someone wanted to pass the had an opportunity to take each tractor one at a time (was running two balers that day, 1 small squares, one big round). When I had to move equipment between our place and my Aunt's I would avoid the county trunk, there was another gravel road that ran parallel to the county highway a mile north. If it's going to be bad making a left turn into the home place or field (blind corner or hills) can you use a surface road, overshoot, double back and make a right turn into your destination? Yes I know it's a pain and you shouldn't have to do it. But do you want to be right or dead right?

You are right, it was thinking about the limits and consequences of the law that prevented accidents. Were it not for the law many 16 year olds would drive 90 MPH everywhere.

How about don't pass on a double yellow line?

How about don't pass a vehicle when it's left turn signal is flashing?

And some people would accidently get killed, helping themselves to the items in your machine shed.

The right to swing your arm, ends at my jaw. A simple concept, but too deep for many people.

Here's the problem...there are vehicles legally traveling at twice or three times the speed of the tractor. They may have already committed to legally passing the tractor at the same time the person on the tractor starts their left turn. In cases like that it sure looks like the tractor driver would be at fault because the other vehicle was already legally occupying that lane. Just because there's no oncoming traffic there is no reason to assume someone isn't occupying that lane getting ready to pass. The ones that pass in no passing zones, or going uphill, or on a blind curve, well they're an accident waiting to happen.

Ah nope that is wrong you yeld to oncoming traffic . If someone passes you on the left OR right by leaving the lane of travel Oh my shame on them . I was a vary unlucky youth as i grew up under the iron fist of my dad a Buckey BEAR . I could not get away with anything as every cop in three countys knew him and they knew me as i would get this from any cop that i might run into OH your Jim's boy . So much fun growing up in the sixtys with a vary fast car with a state cop for a dad.

I was bringing a big drill up the road last fall I have 2 smv on outer edges of both drills and one in the center of the tractor all 3 visible and people would slow way down and then pass it was getting dark I also have all kinds of reflector tape on everything . In the day time they will pass doing 70 mph and never touch the brakes they drive like idiots no matter how many lights you have and reflectors even use a pilot car when ever I can . You tell me they can't see a piece of equipment going down the road with lights and reflectors bs. I think the only reason they slow down at night is because they are to stupid to figure out what it is a new smv will glow for at least a mile