Officials say to use caution on roadways during harvest season

Officials say to use caution on roadways during harvest season

Harvest season has arrived.

This means you'll be sharing the road more often with farm equipment.

The most recent data shows 98 farm equipment crashes in the united states during a one year time-span.

Two of those involved fatalities in indiana.

News 10's dominic miranda explains what you need to keep in mind.

I'm as guilty as anyone in getting frustrated when stuck behind a large combine or piece of farming equipment on the road.

Sergeant matt ames of the indiana state police says..

They see a lot of accidents this time of year...some resulting in fatalities...due to drivers not having the patience required on the roads.

The indiana state department of agriculture is encouraging drivers to slow down during this season.

Be patient....don't tailgate farming equipment...onl y pass in designated passing zones...and be extra sure that there is no oncoming traffic when trying to pass.

Sergeant ames says u-s and state roads are typically wider..... but county roads are where they see a lot of difficulty and most of their accidents.

He shared some advice for drivers to ensure you stay safe on the roads this fall.

"it's very narrow, the farmers are concentrating on not striking any mail boxes or any utility poles.

At that time, a driver needs to be a lot more patient and make sure it's available for him or her to get around with their vehicle so that way they aren't running off the roadway and they're not striking the farm equipment."

Ames says patience is the key for driviers this harvest season.

So you can stay safe and avoid any accidents this fall.

In terre haute i'm dominic miranda news 10