Missouri Police Share Terrifying Harvest Season Accident Numbers

Having grown up in the rural part of Missouri, seeing farm equipment on the roads is not unusual, but we're approaching the time of year when being aware of that presence is literally a life and death situation. New data shared by the Missouri State Highway Patrol hammers that truth home.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol Department of Public Safety just sent out a reminder about the upcoming harvest season with a stern warning about what happened during the last one.

They stated that during harvest season of 2023, there were "201 Missouri traffic crashes involving farm equipment/implements. In those crashes, four people were killed and 46 were injured". That's truly terrifying.

Their advice is for farmers and those traveling around them. They remind farmers to always make sure their equipment is marked with lights and slow-moving vehicle signs. The Missouri State Highway Patrol also recommends moving as far over to the right as is safely possible and consider moving off the road to a level area and stopping if traffic gets backed up behind you.

For drivers near farm vehicles, you must slow down when approaching farm equipment and be patient as they are truly limited with the speed they can travel. They say many accidents happened last year when drivers tried to pass farm equipment that was turning left. That rarely ends well for the farmer or the driver.

I really don't want to be a nag and am not qualified to be anyone's boss. I would just ask (and I say this to myself also) that everyone keep in mind that we don't have food to eat if farmers are not allowed to safely do their jobs. I've had family members killed in farm accidents and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

Being mindful of the rich agricultural heritage around us is the least we can do - especially during the Fall months when they're working to harvest their crops.