A final drive in the country

It is a beautiful fall day, a perfect day for a drive on a country road. The weather is so nice, you don’t need your air-conditioning – the car windows are open wide welcoming the fresh air and you don’t care about the wind messing your hair.
You seem to have the road all to yourself and, while you are really in no particular hurry, the lack of other traffic encourages you to drive a little faster than normal as you enjoy maneuvering your car through the winding and hilly narrow country road.
You accelerate through the turn, your radio playing some of your favorite music, and you wish for more days just like this one. At the apex of your turn you see it – the big tractor with the bright slow-moving vehicle sign on the rear, but it is too late; you hit the brakes, but cannot stop in time. It is no longer a beautiful day.
Farming is one of the most dangerous occupations due to the nature of working with heavy machinery for long periods of time and at a rapid pace in an attempt to harvest the crops before the weather changes.
Add to that Missouri’s rolling hills and some farmers holding on to older tractors that do not have roll-over protection, and Missouri becomes one of the most dangerous states for those involved in this already dangerous occupation. Unfortunately the problem does not end there.
With today’s freeways jam- med with traffic and many work zones where crews try keep up with the repairs to our highways, more cars and trucks are choosing alternate routes. County roads, highways, and winding country roads carry more traffic than ever.
In spite of less visibility on narrow two-way traffic roadways, many drivers continue their freeway speeds, not considering the fact they share these roads with slow-moving vehicles.
It is harvest time in Missouri and, not coincidentally, harvest time is also National Farm Safety and Health Week, Sept. 16-22. A lot of farm machinery is on the move statewide, frequently moving down the highway or across the highway to get from one farm field to another.
Please, do not make farming any more dangerous than it already is. Drive very carefully on outer roads, county highways and country lanes; slow down and watch carefully for farmers and machinery.
You may not be a farmer, but you can easily become a statistic in a farm-related accident. Remember, farmers are not the only ones injured and killed when a speeding car hits a slow-moving behemoth.

Editor’s note: Denny Banister of Jefferson City is the assistant director of public affairs for the Missouri Farm Bureau, the