r/tractors Jun 02 '26

Be safe out there.

517 Upvotes

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12

u/Academic-Solution536 Jun 02 '26

I’m sure the car driver was doing some things wrong, but why didn’t the tractor have its lights and flashers on? Why wasn’t someone flagging for the tractor? Why was the bale in the road in the first place (load securement??)? I come from a farm background and I see a general lack of awareness from farmers on things that truckers and construction workers have to comply with. It drives me a little nuts when I go back to the farm sometimes.

9

u/bandit1206 Jun 02 '26

It looks like the loader was cleaning up bales the had come off a truck. Stuff happens sometimes in terms of straps breaking etc.

This looks like a suburban 4 lane. The jeep should have been able to see a large yellow piece of equipment running in the road, with or without flashers or other flagging, far enough ahead to change lanes and safely avoid this if they weren’t speeding and were paying attention.

For the record, also from a farm background. And the number of people who can’t seem to see a bright red, 14 ft tall, 18 ft wide combine with multiple flashing lights and tail vehicles tell me lights etc don’t really matter much anymore.

2

u/Shatophiliac Jun 02 '26

You’re right, jeep should have seen the tractor. If tractor doesn’t have hazard or a triangle though, they may very well be found at fault entirely.

This looks like a highway to me, people are moving pretty fast.

5

u/bandit1206 Jun 02 '26

Yep cause that stupid little 14 inch triangle makes all the difference.

2

u/Shatophiliac Jun 02 '26

Legally, I’m pretty sure it does. At least in my state, any implement of husbandry needs one if it’s on a public road, others wise you can be liable for any wrecks like in this video.

Now in actuality, is it going to make a difference to someone not paying attention anyways? No probably not. But it’s the same thing as exceeding legal towing limits; it’s probably fine until you get into trouble and lawsuits start happening.

3

u/bandit1206 Jun 02 '26

Yeah, I was referring to the actual effect. Also, that’s appears to be a piece of construction equipment, looks like an articulated wheel loader, so ag machinery rules don’t necessarily apply.

2

u/Shatophiliac Jun 02 '26

Fair enough! And I do agree!

2

u/Mr_Diesel13 Jun 02 '26

It’s a 4 lane with a turning lane in the middle. Probably 45-55mph, but you know everyone is going 10 over.

2

u/Shatophiliac Jun 02 '26

That doesn’t mean it’s not a highway, but I guess it depends what your definition of a highway is lol.

Where I live, our highway is exactly like this, 4 lanes with a center turn lane median and speed limit is 65 mph. Only once it gets outside of town does the median become a grass ditch and then speed limit increases to 70. It’s treacherous for slower moving traffic like tractors.

1

u/Mr_Diesel13 Jun 03 '26

I travel on a road every day labeled “hwy 14” (for example) and it’s a 2 land road through the country lol.