The Westmoreland County Farm Bureau is recognizing Rural Roads Safety Week this week by encouraging county motorists to be aware of farm vehicles and equipment and travel safely on rural roads.
You may have noticed farmers returning to the fields to begin planting crops. Tractors, farm trucks, wagons and other large equipment are once again traveling on roads. To the distracted or impatient motorist, these vehicles can pose a threat when safe driving practices are not observed.
Please reduce your speed when driving on roads where you might encounter large farm machinery, and make sure to slow down immediately when you see the slow moving vehicle emblem, an orange triangle with a red border, attached to farm vehicles.
Drivers of slow-moving farm vehicles often pull onto the shoulder to give motorists a better view of road conditions and enough room to pass. Keep in mind that if the shoulder is soft, wet or steep, the farmer cannot move aside because it could cause the equipment to roll over. If the farmer is unable to safely pull off the road, and you feel you must pass, do so with caution.
By working together, we can fulfill our pledge of neighbors feeding neighbors.
Robert Graham
Cook Township
The writer is president of the Westmoreland County Farm Bureau.