The start of harvest season means more large equipment on roads

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND)- Farmers across Central Illinois are kicking off the fall season and preparing to harvest their crops.

While each season is different, due to weather patterns and rain fall, the Macon County Farm Bureau says harvest season should be starting now, and continuing to the end of October or early November.

To make operations smooth and efficient, farmers use a variety of large equipment including combines, tractors, and semi-trucks. But, drivers can have a hard time knowing what to do when approaching these vehicles on the road.

"They just don't understand how slow we're going we have to maneuver, it's so wide, sometimes these pieces of equipment are off the side of the road," said Tim Stock, Executive Vice President of the Macon County Farm Bureau. "We come to small, rural bridge crossings, and we have to move to the middle of the road. I've had vehicles, actually, when I'm moving to the middle of the road, they've been trying to pass me."

While the vehicles have large mirrors to see the area behind them. if cars get too close, they can't tell there is a car behind them. Stock says it's always best to be patient, and not try to pass the equipment

"Usually when farmers are driving down the rural roads, they're just trying to go a couple miles to another field or to go home," said Stock. "Farm equipment is very well built and heavy, if you look at all the pictures that come out with vehicles and against tractors and combines, the car comes out in the losing in for the most part."

Stock also said accidents tend to occur at intersections when corn crops are too tall to see incoming traffic.