Sheriff offers advisory for slow-moving vehicles

YATES COUNTY--Sheriff Ron Spike has issued a travel advisory for motorists to be aware of slow-moving vehicles and to be in position for safe driving.
Spike said, "It is not unusual to find yourself sharing the road with tractors, self-propelled farm equipment, horse-drawn buggies and road maintenance machinery. While familiar on many roadways in Yates County, these vehicles may also bring with them unfamiliar hazards."
Spike said many rural roads offer less width to maneuver, loose gravel or blind hills, and unexpected turns. When combined with the presence of slow-moving vehicles, these hazards often challenge motorists. Each year accidents involving farm tractors, farm machinery and horse and buggies occur on public roadways, causing equipment damage and more seriously, injury or even death.
Spike added, "Collisions with other motor vehicles make up a majority of these accidents. Motorists will encounter more slow-moving vehicles from May to October during planting and harvesting seasons. Often Mennonite horse and buggies, as well as bicycles, are traveling Saturdayand Sundays as well as weekend evenings."
New York state law requires vehicles that travel 25 miles per hour or less to have a Slow-Moving Vehicle (SMV) emblem affixed to the middle of the rear area. Each piece of agricultural equipment, whether self-propelled or used in combination, must separately display a SMV. Motorists need to recognize this symbol.
Spike offers these safety tips to motorists encountering a slow moving vehicle on the roadway:
• Slow down by reducing speeds immediately.
• Increase your following distance to create a safety zone.
• Be alert and watch for turns.
• Be patient. The machinery operator will let you pass when there is room to get the equipment off the road.
• Pass with care and only when it is safe and legal to do so.
• Be aware animal power vehicles may make unanticipated movements or turns into farm fields or driveways.
• Use caution when encountering a horse drawn vehicle from opposite direction.
• Avoid blowing the horn (this could frighten an animal being transported).
• Be aware that SMV operators may have poor visibility due to loads or equipment being towed.
• Be aware that equipment in tow may sway.