Inconsiderate drivers and tractor operators, bad mix...

[5030]

Seems to be getting worse, inconsiderate and distracted drivers taking unnecessary chances with farm equipment on the road today.

Almost had an oops yesterday with a speeding driver while I was pulling out of my farm lane onto the dirt road in front of the farm, idiot coming at warp speed (way too fast for a dirt road) and almost collided with the tractor, scared the heck out of me. I think he (yes it was a he) would have come out on the 'bleed' end of the incident, hitting a 10,000 pound tractor.

What people fail to realize (or are too stupid to realize) is that in most states, on secondary roads, powered farm equipment have the right of way. No exceptions.

I attribute it to 'too busy doing things other than driving safely'. Operating a motor vehicle is a privilege, not a right.

Then the guy flips me off as well.

Should have put him in the ditch.......

 

[Diggin It]

Expect more and more of this and similar issues if the perceived urban exodus materializes.

 

[rademamj1]

Kids near my ranch were practicing racing starts on our farm road, and were simply competing for the largest dirt cloud, crashed into a neighbors trailer he was towing, while he was driving to the dealer to get his tractor. Nobody hurt, so they took off after yelling at him for being on the road. Kids have far too much time today.

 

[ruffdog]

I see it every day on the nearby roads. Sometimes they are close calls, sometimes injuries, sometimes death. Where did common sense and patience go?

 

[Tx Jim]

It would not surprise me to hear/read about a farm equipment operator being fired up by a an idiot auto driver with a gun.

 

[wheelbuilder]

I think patience and tolerance have gone out the window. Anyone slowed by anything for a couple seconds immediately jumps to a code red angry. Around here, you rarely see any turn signals and folks drive the same speed in town and out on the open roads. Bedlam ensues.
Sad stuff.

 

[3930dave]

Same up here.

I see a lot of big field-tractors up here running a LOT of ( added) flashing lights on the road, esp. at harvest time. Something that weighs 20 tons should be pretty obvious..... but, apparently not.

Buddy was visiting me recently, and sent me a video that night, taken from his helmet-cam. 2-lane road, oncoming lunatic forced him to the shoulder, so said lunatic could pass a line of cars. He's an experienced rider, so did fine pulling over quickly.

That ^ finally got me motivated to buy the 2 dash-cams that had been on my RoundTuIt list for a long time. Competent and alert drivers are the real answer, but are only slightly more common than white-rhinos.

Sadly, we are probably at the point when dash-cams are a neccessory for ag tractors too......

I know somebody that ended up in court recently...... lady tore open the side of her vehicle passing the plow he was hauling. She might have been easy on the eyes..... Cop decided to charge the tractor driver. Can't see how it was his fault, but haven't asked how court went in case it didn't go the way it should have.

Rgds, D.

 

[/pine]

Expect more and more of this and similar issues if the perceived urban exodus materializes.

It's already well underway and picking up speed...it's well documented in many news feeds...but most city peeps are not going to be inconvenienced that much...only a small percentage are going to take the deep plunge and actually move too far away from the world they know...
...most are escaping to suburbs and less congested areas, states and towns...That is what a lot of moving companies are reporting anyway...

 

[kthompson]

Same here. About four years back in no passing zone had a guy who moved here about three years before pass me. He could not see for we were topping a hill. I was making left turn with signal on. Officer charged me for improper turn. Total disregarded what I had to say. Attorney friend of mine said if you ask for jury trial you will win. I decided to pay the fine and forget it for the guy who hit me was a loud mouth person from big city up North. About two years later as I was pulling up to stop sign on major US road a pickup turned off the road too fast. Hit me in my lane. Turned out the same officer responded and told me the other driver confessed he made wide turn and was in the wrong. I took the opportunity to tell the office I was in the right in the tractor ticket he gave me two years earlier. Had to like the excuse he gave me for not remembering it, he went to a lot of tractor accidents...really?

 

[Redlands Okie]

Lots of inconsiderate and careless drivers in town. I suspect many do not actually know the rules we are supposed to be driving under. And probably do not care one way or the other even if they do. No reason to expect them to change their habits when out of town.