Be Seen Be Safe Needs

The need for North Carolina farmers to, "be seen and be safe"

Drivers of non-farm vehicles need to see and recognize farm equipment on the highway; thus, farm implements need to be seen for the operator to be safe.

*Statistics on this page were taken from "A Study of Farm Vehicle Crashes in North Carolina," by J. Kevin Lacy, William Hunter, and Herman Huang, University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, 2001

1995 – 1999 Almost 1500 farm tractor crashes in North Carolina
In seven-county area
     Six in top 12 in farm vehicle crashes
     20.4 % population increase in last decade
     Farm operations increased in size by 18 %
     Larger operations mean greater travel distances with equipment
The seven-county area had 14 of the top 38 worst roads for crashes in
     the state. COUNTY CRASHES

Johnston 49

Pitt 40

Wayne 40

Edgecombe 35

Nash 33

Wilson 29

Greene 23

The most dangerous month for agricultural machinery on the the highway is May.

The most dangerous time of the day is 2 PM to 6 PM. (40% of crashes)

Reports indicate that 50% of highway accidents with farm equipment result in an injury.

Be Seen and Be Safe is sponsored by the Edgecombe, Greene, Johnston, Nash, Pitt, Wayne, and Wilson Centers of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol with funding from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission.

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