Grain Truck & Farm Vehicle Accident Attorney

Farm vehicle crashes (FMC) have a multitude of causes resulting from untrained temporary workers operating large, wide, and long farm vehicles traveling on roadways slowly moving under regular traffic speeds and taking up too much space. This is combined with poor marking and lighting to warn motorists of their approaching danger with many accidents happening from dusk to dawn. 

Farm vehicle crashes (FMC) are not studied or tracked by normal government agencies to determine the number of crashes or the severity of crashes for many reasons that are senseless protection of the farming industry. Farm vehicle crashes cause more deadly motor vehicle crashes resulting in severe injuries and death than many other types of large truck accidents. 

Our grain truck and farm vehicle accident lawyers know that one thing is for sure, if you are in a roadway accident with a farm tractor, farm vehicle or farm equipment, it is likely that you and your family will be the people most badly injured from the farm and grain trucks and equipment. 

Several agricultural studies in farming and ranching states across the US with Universities and safety experts have finally revealed enough statistics about the dangers of farm vehicle crashes and accidents that the state and federal government needs to properly regulate farm vehicle traffic on state and federal highways to prevent the steady number of annual fatalities and severe injuries. 

Roadway dangers from unmarked, under-marked, and unlit farm tractors and equipment remain putting operators and other motorists at risk. Agricultural safety expert and John Shutske,  a professor at UW-Madison, has warned that fatality numbers “remain alarmingly high” raising concern with the high number of death on public roadways from farm tractors and equipment. 

It is well known that larger farmers and ranchers are buying up land for their farms and ranches, driving smaller farmers out of business. Regardless of whether it is a small, medium, or large farm or ranch, the employees and hired hands must travel on public roadways to move grains, crops, fertilizer, and to move cattle, sheep and pigs. When they are on public roads, they are a hazard to nonfarm vehicles.

The larger farmers hire laborers that are largely unskilled. It is clear that very few farms and ranches have any safety plan. The majority do not train their workers in defensive driving techniques, hazard perception techniques or how to avoid approaching accidents. Many workers are seasonal and are rushed in and out without proper training. This lack of training for safety causes accidents and fatalities. 

A June 2021 study on “Farm Vehicle Crashes On U.S. Public Roads: A Review Paper” found the rate of farm vehicle crashes resulting in severe injuries and fatalities is significantly higher than the average for all roadway crashes in the U.S. Fatal crashes involving roadway accidents with farm vehicles are five times higher than the average for all road accidents.  

It is important to understand that the 2017 Census of Agriculture reported that there were 4.5 million farm vehicles across the United States. These farm vehicles include a variety of farm equipment and machinery that must be moved on public roads which causes roadway hazards. 

Farm vehicles are called a variety of names including: 

• Farm vehicles. 
• Tractors. 
• Combines.
• Farm equipment. 
• Agricultural vehicles. 
• Agricultural machinery.
• Farm implements. 
• Agricultural equipment. 
• Farm trucks. 
• Grain haulers. 
• Grain trucks. 

Causes of farm vehicle and farm equipment accidents on public roadways are: 

• Visibility of unmarked, under-marked, and unlit farm tractors and equipment.
  Farm vehicles and equipment are considered slow moving vehicles (SMV) and most states require some form of warning triangle and lighting. When farmers are conducting farming activities in planting and harvest, they work long hours and work after dusk and before dawn. Poorly marked vehicles and equipment with improper or no lighting cause accidents with nonfarm vehicles.

• Side Angle Farm Vehicle Accidents.
  Across Kansas, Missouri and farming states, deaths happen when a slowly moving farm vehicle is on a public roadway moving 25 mph or less in a 50 mph plus highway and the approaching motorist attempts to pass the wide farm vehicle. Side angle accidents happen when the farm vehicle turns to the left with no signal and an accident occurs.

• Head-on Farm Vehicle Accidents.
  Head-on farm vehicle accidents are the deadliest type of farm vehicle crashes. Studies place these accidents at three to ten percent of farm vehicle accidents. The reason is simple. The farm vehicles and equipment are extremely heavy. The weight difference between a passenger vehicle or pickup and the farm vehicle is great. The nonfarm vehicle occupants are always the loser.

• Rear-end Farm Vehicle Accidents.
  Almost 25 percent of farm vehicle crashes happen due to slow speed on public roads where speed limits are 50 mph and faster. There are curves, hills and other roadway obstructions that cause obstruction of view to the faster moving nonfarm vehicle coming from behind. Many happen at nighttime when farm vehicle visibility is nonexistent because they are poorly lit.

• Wide dimension Farm Vehicle Accidents.
  Farm equipment has wide dimensions. Many tractors pull attachments making the entire vehicle extremely wide. While many road lanes are 12 feet wide, some rural roads in farming and agricultural areas may be only 10 feet wide or less. Tractors pulling combines can be wider. John Deere manufactures combines that are as wide at 17’ 8” and 36 feet long. The excessive width and length of the entire vehicle and attached or towed equipment is much like the size of a commercial motor vehicle or tractor-trailer and creates a significant hazard for nonfarm vehicles because of the large area and surface of the farm vehicle which become hard to avoid when crossing roads and making turns.

• Left turn Farm Vehicle Accidents.
  A North Carolina study on “Farmers’ Perceptions and Concerns: The Risks of driving Farm Vehicles on Rural Roads in North Caolina,” reported that  25 percent of farm vehicle accidents are from farmers turning left while moving slow with a passing vehicle. The lack of use of turn signals by farm workers is a leading cause of these accidents. 
• Slow speed Farm Vehicle Accidents.
  Most farm tractors, vehicles and equipment moving on roadways are slow moving vehicles (SMV). Many reported accident cases have the farm vehicle moving less then 25 mph and the roadway speed in 55 mph. The farmers’ disregard for moving tractors and farm equipment on faster traveled highways leads to a significant number of accidents to people in nonfarm vehicles like cars and pickups.
• Improper towing of farm equipment.
  Farmers tow farm equipment present a number of dangers, most of the danger being too wide for the traveled roadway taking up more than a lane of travel. This can include combines, grain carts and trailers, fuel and liquid trailers, and other implements. Untrained farm workers traveling too fast can end up causing rollovers where innocent nonfarm vehicles become injury victims.

• Wind and improperly loaded trailers leads to jackknife accidents.
  The Midwest great plains have high wind conditions which causes farm trailers to tip over and jackknife when transporting improperly loaded trailers of grain and other commodities. Windy cross winds can cause the farm vehicle and trailer to jackknife or cross the center line. Nonfarm motorists are in  danger from these heavily loaded farm trailers loaded by untrained farm drivers.

• 2 lane and rural road Farm Vehicle Accidents.
  Rural two lane roads may be 10 feet wide per lane or less. Farmers traveling with tractors and equipment take up most of the road. Many rural roads allow other motorists to travel at 55 mph. When hills and curves exist, unsuspecting drivers are faced with a farm vehicle taking up the entire road and a predictable accident happens.
• Unskilled and untrained drivers.
  The problem with farm workers is the seasonal for planting and harvesting, making full time workers rare. When the farmer needs help, they hire unskilled workers without providing safe training on tractor and farm equipment operation. Just like commercial motor vehicles which require highly trained truck drivers, farmers should be required to train workers properly to prevent accidents.

• Nighttime and low light crashes.
  A significant number of farm vehicle accidents happen in low light conditions like nighttime, dusk, and dawn. K.S.A. 8-1717 requires farm tractors and attached equipment to be equipped with hazard warning lights, head lamps and rear red lamps visible to a distance of 1,000 feet. Many farm vehicle accidents happen because of the lack of lighting and reflective equipment.KSA 8-1717(h) requires farm vehicles traveling slowly to have a clean, fluorescent, and reflective slow moving vehicle (SMV) emblem. Regardless of the law, farmers continue operating slow moving farm vehicles, tractors and equipment on faster highways where all traffic is traveling at least twice as fast without proper reflective emblems and lights especially at nighttime and dim light conditions.This same statute requires head lamps and rear red lamps and reflectors that must be visible to a distance of 1,000 feet. When farmers and farm workers operate tractors, vehicles and equipment after dusk, at night and before dawn, they create significant hazards to nonfarm vehicles using public roads.

• Planting and harvesting season time increases accidents.
  Farmers are usually active planting seeds from late April through May and then harvesting in September through December which tends to increase the number of farm vehicles on roadways in farming states across the Midwest. This seasonal farming activity is known to increase the farm vehicle accidents with nonfarm vehicles. They tend to be lower in winter.

• Excessive working hours and fatigue.
  Excessive working hours from early morning to evening 6-7 days a week cause farm workers and drivers to be tired and fatigued where they are easily distracted and do not follow driving laws causing negligent fatal accidents. While the DOT mandates limited driving hours to minimize fatigue, farm workers are largely unregulated allowing them to cause needless accidents.