Watch for Traffic!

[keeney]

Yesterday, I was reminded of the mundane but very real safety hazard of vehicle traffic when operating a tractor.

Due to the direction of the wind, it was most comfortable to blow the snow off of my driveway in a direction such that I was backing out of the end of the driveway onto the road on each pass.

In a vehicle I wouldn't have a problem remembering to look both ways when exiting the driveway. On the tractor, I was so absorbed by the task of clearing the snow and operating the snow blower that on one occasion I forgot to check for traffic as I backed out of the driveway.

Of course as it turned out on that one occasion, there was a guy in a pickup coming down the road. Luckily he saw me and was able to stop and honk while I embarrasingly realized he was there and moved out of his way.

I am not sure if my slow-moving-vehicle sign or blinking flashers (it was bright daylight at the time) were helpful in having the other driver notice me or not, but I will keep using them (along with the seatbelt) in the future!

- Rick

P.S. In this regard, I would be willing to admit that there might be a slight safety advantage to driving a bright orange tractor

 

[Thomas]

I rather do snow removeal after dark.
W/all the lights plus watching for others its much easier.
There are time the sun could be in the driver eyes..or become very interested in watch while passing and come little to close.also the cell phone users in which you ought to see the surprise look when they notice me while they are talking and driving./w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif
I do enjoy plowing in the moon light w/all the lights off,but thats just the driveway also knowing the better half home./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Mery Chirstmas and a peaceful day.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[TresCrows]

I was putting down the road and made a left turn across the road--of course a car had come up behind me and I did not notice--he slammed on his brakes and yelled and waved--I got scared and then I got mad because he should have slowed down before coming around me and tooted the horn--course, I should have looked--very stupid.
J

 

[Bob_Trevithick]

It's SO easy to get caught up in the snow activity and end up out in the road without even thinking about it. When I had my little GT235 with mininal lights and nothing flashing, I wore a vest with flashing LED's on it. Actually, it was probably of minimal value plowing snow, but it was great when people came to dinner. I'd come out wearing it and ask them if they thought it was too flashy. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Be careful, folks.

Bob

 

[Anonymous Poster]

A few summers back, I had to drive my little Satoh to my sister’s house on the main highway. I left @ about 5 o’clock, Sunday morning considering everyone would be sleeping.

As I drove down the highway, with warning lamps flashing, and two slow moving signs displayed… about a mile behind me a car appeared… I was traveling full bore about ~ 12 mph… I estimated the car was going about ~60 mph…

It only took a few seconds and the car was right behind me… he was coming so fast… I just knew he was going to hit me… as I got ready to bail off a pending disaster… he swerved at the last second around me…

Either he was drunk, half asleep, or just plain didn’t expect a slow moving tractor on a highway @ 5 am… God took care of me that morning…

 

[MChalkley]

John - I've had similar things happen to me, though they're usually, but not always, travelling a bit slower than that. That's why I'm putting enough lights on the EF-5 to make them think they're approaching an accident scene.

 

[Bird]

Most of our tractors have the flashing red lights on the rear (looks good), but of course I'm sure you've noticed that a lot of construction equipment, emergency vehicles, etc. have flashing amber lights on the rear. Quite a few years ago, the National Institute of Standards (NIS) did some testing and found that drivers, especially sleepy or drunk ones, tend to home in on red lights, but avoid amber. In Dallas, we used to have a lot of police cars rear ended while sitting on shoulders of roads, went to amber lights instead of red to the rear and had a tremendous reduction in those kinds of accidents. I don't have an amber light on my tractor, but I only occasionally drive it on the roads around here, there's very little traffic, I'm not very likely to be on the road after dark, etc., but if I were going to be out there much, I'd sure get a flashing amber light(s) visible to the rear.

 

[Thomas]

Indeed..those moments can be a heart pumper./w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif By the sounds the driver was busy doing something else instead of paying attendion..for you caught him by surprise..and some people rather point the finger at others instead of themselves,and say its your fault.
Lot of us have seen this happen thru out the years,and the bad part is..it shall continue.

Stay safe out there,and a Happy New Years

 

[MChalkley]

Bird - That's a really interesting theory. Years ago, I read an article in Reader's Digest, I think, about a theory that night-time "tired eyes" when driving had a lot to do with "red light deprivation", or something like that. They suggested that you focus on red taillights, etc. when you had the opportunity to expose your eyes to red light. I've never heard any more about it since, but if it's at all true, you would naturally be drawn to red light when you were really tired or afflicted with "white line fever". I'd completely forgotten that story until I read your post. May or may not be relevant, but it's interesting.

Either way, I've always felt that amber lights were a lot more attention-grabbing for me personally. I do quite a bit of short distance driving on the road and road crossings, so it's an important issue to me. I don't know if you saw the light brackets I had D&E make for my EF-5, or the message where I posted the link to the LED lights I bought, but I'm going to have 2 4" round red lights on the back connected as marker lights and brake lights, and 2 4" round Amber lights on the back, front, and each side connected as marker lights and turn/hazard flashers. If they hit me, I want it to because I blinded them, not because they didn't see me. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Bird]

Mark, there's been lots of interesting theories about lights, which is best, why, etc. Remember when nearly all "emergency" vehicles used flashing red lights? Then some police departments changed from red to blue. One new police chief, who changed to blue lights, when asked if the blue lights were better, was reported to have said, "Nope, just wanted them to know a new man was in charge."/w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif Then some places changed to both red and blue; some mixed in white, some decided strobe lights were better, etc. When I was in charge of fleet management and the safety section, we did a lot of experimenting as well as studying what others had done. The NIS, after their tests, concluded that it made little difference as to whether you used red or blue, but that alternating either one with white attracted the most attention, if you're wanting people in front of you to stop or get out of the way, and of course that amber lights to the rear was best to get other traffic to avoid you. They also concluded that strobe lights provided some attention getting benefit in fog; but no other time.

And now I've been out of the business quite a number of years, so I don't know what the latest theories are./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[TresCrows]

I can't imagine anyone not seeing that thing of yours. More likely they will run of the road from fear or awe!
It looks like something from those 1960's SciFi films (Journey to the Center etc) are even Ghostbusters. Yep, some kinda flashing strobe system might be the perfect final touch. Is that thing nucleor powered?
J

 

[MChalkley]

TresCrows - Check out the amber lights <A target="_blank" HREF=http://members.aol.com/ledlamps/amber.htm>here</A>!

Actually, one of the things I like best about the EF-5 is that it's about 4 times the power of the L4310 with about double the weight, in only a 15% or so bigger form factor. So, it's not that much bigger than the L4310. And, it's also very efficient in power usage, with only a 56hp Kubota turbo-diesel engine needed to accomplish all that. It's about 3 mph slower than the L4310, though, so all the more reason to be highly visible.

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>all the more reason to be highly visible</font color=blue>

I should think a pink tractor would show up well in most any lighting conditions. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Oh, man -- I have absolutely no shame, have I?

 

[MChalkley]

Harv,

<font color=blue>I have absolutely no shame, have I?</font color=blue> But then, we all knew that, didn't we? /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

I've been thinking about the pink, Harv. I realize you offered to come paint my EF-5 pink for me, and I agreed to let you, but I'd like some clarification: First, can we make it day-glo pink for visibility? And second, are you as good with a real paint brush as you are with an electronic one? I don't want no shoddy paint job on my baby. 'Specially not a shoddy pink paint job... /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>can we make it day-glo pink</font color=blue>

Absolutely.

<font color=blue>are you as good with a real paint brush</font color=blue>

I don't use a paintbrush for pink tractors. It's an electrostatic spray rig.

Flocking will cost extra.

 

[MChalkley]

Well, I guess the only thing left is scheduling... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[bgott]

Insist on quality...make sure he uses a new broom!

 

[BobinCols]

Making our tractors and ourselves visible helps a great deal but the public has to be better educated about tractors and slow moving equipment on the road way. I had an uncle who worked and retired from Matlack as one of their on the road safety inspectors in the 60's and 70's and he told me as I was learning to drive that when I saw a safety triangle on the back of a piece of equipment going down the road that it was the same as a stop sign in the road and he was right. People see a tractor on the road (large or small) and don't slow down until it is too late and then want to get around right away.

 

[VinNB]

I had an M8200 tractor on the road and was about to turn left. Put on signal light and just as I started to turn looked in my mirror. A tractortrailer was starting to pass me. It was pretty close but I got straightened out and pulled onto shoulder of road. It would have been pretty bad.