Some Things Never Change

Sep 13, 2011 by Lauren

Every year I find myself making the same announcement: Harvest is here, so please watch out for farm vehicles on the road including, but not limited to, combines, grain trucks, auger wagons, semis, trailers, truckers, corn heads and more.  The irony of that statement is that if you can ID any of those vehicles by sight, you don’t need an announcement.

 

Nevertheless, no matter how many times I say it, the farm bureaus say it, ANYONE says it…the same crap happens every year.  People.Don’t.Listen.

 

Yesterday, I helped Adam move equipment between 2 fields he is custom harvesting.  Moving the equipment requires him to go over a narrow bridge with 3 curves that are really hard to see around.  My job is to drive in front of him, zip through the curves and let him know if any vehicles are coming his way, then sit there with my flashers on to alert other drivers that he’s coming.  Simple enough, right?  I mean, if I saw someone sitting in the middle of the road with their flashers on, especially in front of a bridge, I certainly would slow down.

 

Apparently, the majority of people around here do not think like I do.  On two separate occasions yesterday, Adam nearly impaled a driver.  Both times, the driver saw me sitting there w/ my flashers on and actually SPED UP going by me.  By the time I picked up the phone to let Adam know he needed to wait, it was too late.

 

What people don’t realize is that if it comes down to our combine vs. your car/SUV, the combine wins every time.  It’s like the Hulk vs. Urkel.  You don’t stand a chance.  Period.  I mean, really, do the GIANT POINTY SPIKES on the front not make that abundantly clear?  Du-uh!

 

So let me say it one more time…PLEASE WATCH OUT for farming equipment on the road!  It’s much easier for you to get out of their way than it is for them to get out of yours.  In the event that you cannot get off the road, PLEASE SLOW DOWN.  Farm vehicles are slow-moving by nature, they are not creeping along simply to make you late for work.  In fact, maybe leave home a little early in order to retain common sense when you do see combines and auger wagons heading your way.

This does not have to be you: Combine Meets Car