What do I do when I see a tractor on the road?

If you live in the country long enough, sooner or later you are going to find yourself behind a tractor.

Or meeting one.

Or coming over a hill and realizing the very large piece of equipment ahead of you is moving considerably slower than you are.

So, what do you do when you see a tractor on the road?

The short answer is pretty simple:

Slow down, give us some room, please, and be patient.

I have spent a lot of years moving tractors and farm equipment from field to field on country roads, state roads, and US highways. I’ve driven through intersections, roundabouts, sat at stoplights, and watched traffic stack up behind me.
And after all these years, my palms still get sweaty, and I pay very close attention every single time I pull onto the road.

Because when I’m driving farm equipment, I’m not only thinking about where I’m going.
I’m watching the tractor, whatever I’m pulling, mailboxes, utility poles, bridges, ditches, culverts, oncoming traffic, the cars behind me and whatever the driver coming toward me might decide to do next.

It is a lot to watch and react to at once.

What You See Versus What I See

From your car, you may see a tractor taking up more than its fair share of the road and slowing down your trip.

I understand that.

From that perspective, it can look like I’m taking up the whole road and inconveniencing everybody around me.

But from my seat, the road looks very different.

I’m looking at a road that suddenly seems about half as wide as it did when I drove my pickup down it.

I’m trying not to take out a mailbox, clip a utility pole, drop a wheel in a culvert, rip out a fence, or put the equipment I’m pulling somewhere it absolutely isn’t supposed to be.

And I’m watching you too!

I’m trying to figure out what you’re going to do while also keeping track of the vehicles behind me that would very much like to get around me.

Farm equipment often travels at 25 mph or less, which means a car moving at normal road speed can close the distance much faster than a driver may realize. That orange-and-red triangle on the back of farm equipment is a slow-moving vehicle emblem, used on vehicles that normally travel at 25 mph or less.

Farm Equipment Can’t Maneuver Like Your Car

One of the biggest things I wish drivers understood is that farm equipment simply does not have the maneuverability your car has.

I can’t always just scoot over.

For me to get completely out of your way, I need enough room for the tractor and whatever I’m pulling behind it.

I also need a shoulder, driveway, or field entrance that’s wide enough and solid enough to support the equipment.

Then I need enough room to safely get it all back onto the road.

Sometimes there is a perfectly good-looking shoulder from your seat that absolutely is not a good place for me to put a tractor, planter, grain cart, or other piece of equipment.

So if I haven’t pulled over yet, it usually isn’t because I haven’t noticed you.
Trust Me!
I Noticed You!

Farm equipment may also need extra road space to avoid mailboxes, signs, bridges, or other roadside obstacles, which can force it closer to the center of the roadway.

Even when I am completely on my side, it is still a lot of equipment on not very much road!

Slow Down as Soon as You See Farm Equipment

This is the biggest one.

If you’re approaching farm equipment from behind, start slowing down as soon as you recognize what you’re coming up on.

The speed difference can fool you.

A tractor traveling 20-25 mph may look like it is moving along just fine until you’re suddenly much closer to it than you expected.

The same goes when you meet us coming from the opposite direction.

Slow down and give everybody a little time to figure out how we’re going to safely get past one another.

Look Ahead Before You Meet Farm Equipment

When you meet a tractor or another wide piece of equipment, look beyond it.

Is there a driveway ahead?

A wider shoulder?

A side road?

A bridge?

A mailbox or sign?

If you see a safe, level place where you can give us a little extra room, using it can make things much easier.

One thing drivers don’t always realize is that where you stop matters too!

If you stop directly across from a mailbox, utility pole, sign, or guardrail on my side of the road, we may still not have enough room to get past one another.

You tried to help.

I appreciate it.

We’ve just accidentally created a rural-road standoff.

I’m looking ahead for those same obstacles and trying to find the safest place for both of us.

Please Don’t Tailgate Farm Equipment

Leave some space between your vehicle and the equipment in front of you.

Besides giving you more reaction time, staying back allows you to see farther down the road before deciding whether it is safe to pass.

It also makes it easier for me to see you!

Farm equipment has a lot of blind spots, and if you are tucked in too close behind a tractor, combine, grain cart, or other large piece of equipment, you may disappear from the operator’s view completely.

A lot of equipment now has rear-facing cameras, which are a huge help. Those cameras let us see much more of what is happening behind us than we could years ago.

But they still work best when there is actually some space between you and the equipment.

If you are right on the back of the machine, you can still be much harder to see.

So staying back is not just about giving you more time to react.
It gives me a better chance of knowing exactly where you are too!

And if you’re three feet from the back of a giant piece of farm equpment, neither one of us is in a very good position to know what the other is going to do!

Be Very Careful Before Passing a Tractor

Please don’t assume that because I have moved toward the right side of the road, I’m telling you to pass.

I might be.

But I might also be setting up for a wide left turn.

Large farm equipment sometimes has to move right before turning left because we need additional room to make the turn. So it’s always a good idea to wait a moment to see what the operator is doing instead of just assuming – for everyones safefy.

There are also times when I can see things from my seat that you can’t.

Sitting higher up, I may be able to see farther down the road and know that there is a clear stretch ahead befroe you can see it from behind me. If I mover over or give you some room, I may very well be trying to help traffic get around me.

Before you pull out, take a moment to survey your surroundings, make sure you see enough of the road yourself and that I’m not about to turn.

If you’re going to pass, make sure you feel and know it is safe.

If I’m Not Pulling Over Yet, There May Be a Reason

I promise I don’t enjoy leading a parade down the county road, I know you’re behind me. Usually I know exactly how many vehicles are back there. I’m looking for somewhere safe to let you around.

But there are many places where pulling farm equipment onto the shoulder simply isn’t safe: soft ground, culvert, ditches, enough room for tractor and implement – there’s alot going on!

Sharing the road really does require all of us!

This Is My Commute

I don’t want to be on the road any more than you want me there. I’m not taking the tractor out for a Sunday drive. I’m moving from one field to another because this is my job.

This is my commute.

We all have somewhere we’re trying to get. You may be headed home from work, taking kids to practice, or running to the gorcery store. I’m trying to get to another field, and still make it home for supper!

Neither of us needs getting there to end badly.

Our goal while on the roads is for EVERYONE to make it home safe!