MnDOT: Harvest season means sharing the roads
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(ABC 6 News) – The harvest season has begun in southeast Minnesota and northern Iowa.
It means we’ll see more and more combines and slow-moving farm equipment on rural roads and highways.
Farming equipment is much larger and slower than your vehicle and they can’t see around it as well.
The state department of transportation says to slow down and have patience on the roads.
“All those vehicles have a slower time to gear up to a higher speed so remember if you do see them pull out ahead they will be moving slowly until they get up to a traveling speed but like the tractors the combines those folks don’t travel at highway speeds so they will be going slower,”
MnDOT Director of Public Engagement and Communications, Mike Dougherty said.
As farmers begin moving their crops, it's a good time to remember to be safe around tractors on the roads.
The Minnesota State Patrol said there have been 300 crashes involving farming equipment on Minnesota roads since 2020. Four of those were fatal.