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Lighting and Marking Recommendations | Tractor
Lighting and Marking Recommendations
Roadway hazards
A 48-year-old father of three was driving a tractor pulling a hay baler
north on Ohio 716 when a car hit the tractor as it was trying to make
a left turn. The driver of the northbound automobile was attempting
to pass the tractor when the incident occurred. The automobile driver
was treated and released from the community hospital. The driver of
the tractor was pronounced dead at the scene by the county coroner.
Reducing the risks
What are the chances that you will be involved in a farm machinery collision
on a public road? These factors increase the odds:
- Motor vehicle traffic increases yearly.
- Fewer people have farm backgrounds and know to use caution when approaching farm equipment on the roadway.
- Farms are larger than in the past, so operators are forced to travel greater distances on the roadways between fields.
- Farm equipment has become larger and can extend into the opposite lane of traffic beyond the tractor.
There may be little you can do to change these factors, but others are directly under your control. For example, lack of visibility is a major cause of many crashes. You can make a big difference by making sure your equipment has a clearly visible slow-moving vehicle emblem, proper lighting, and newly enhanced reflective material. (AEX 598-99)
Nothing yet.
House Bill 484 - Multi-wheeled tractor lighting and marking:
Effective immediately, the Ohio Revised Code requires all agricultural
equipment to operate with required lighting from sunset to sunrise or
when there is insufficient light to render discernible persons, vehicles,
and substantial objects at a distance of 1000 feet ahead. This is a
change from the old law that required lighting from 1/2 hour after sunset
to 1/2 hour before sunrise.
Effective October 5, 2001, the Ohio Revised Code requires multi-wheeled agricultural tractors to additionally display the following lighting and marking from sunset to sunrise.
- Two flashing amber lamps visible to the front and to the rear mounted within 16 inches of the left and right extremities of the machine and between 3.3 and 12 feet above the ground.
- Two red reflective strips visible to the rear and two amber reflective strips visible to the front mounted within 16 inches of the left and right extremities of the machine and between 3.3 and 12 feet above the ground (in conjunction with amber flashing lights). Reflective strips must be 2 by 4.5 inches in size for vehicles 6.7 feet wide or less and 2 by 9 inches in size for vehicles wider than 6.7 feet.
Effective farm machinery model year 2002 and later, the Ohio Revised Code requires that machinery must be equipped with and display lighting and marking that meets or exceeds that required by ASAE standard 279.10. Older equipment is not affected; however, new equipment lighting and marking must be maintained.
Multi-wheeled
tractor
Implement
Tractor
Grain Wagon
None yet.
The following fact sheets are available from Ohio State University
Extension:
Hand Signals for Agricultural Safety, AEX-591
Rotary Agricultural Mower Safety, AEX-592-90
Preventing Farm Machine Hazards, AEX-593-91
ATV's (All-Terrain Vehicles) in Ohio, AEX-597-92
Boosting Visibility of Ag Equipment, AEX-598
For Youth
Tractor Tips, AEX-993-96
Tractor Talk, AEX-993.1-98
Machinery Hazards, AEX-994-97
An early warning
It sounds like a word problem straight out of a school math book: If
a car is traveling 55 mph and a tractor is traveling 15 mph, how long
does it take for the car to make up the 400-foot distance between them?
The answer is 7 seconds-not a lot of time for the driver of the car to slow down, unless there is sufficient warning. The slow-moving vehicle (SMV) emblem, a fluorescent orange triangle with "retroreflective" borders, does just that. It warns approaching vehicles to slow down.
The SMV emblem is required by the Ohio Revised Code when moving "implements of husbandry" and farm machinery on public roadways. Implements of husbandry are vehicles designed and adapted exclusively for agricultural, horticultural, or livestock-raising operations. Additionally, SMV emblems are required on other specific vehicles, including horse-drawn vehicles. (AEX 598-99)
SMV Characteristics
Must meet ASAE standards
Visible 500' to the rear
Readily identifiable both day and night
Condition of the emblem: clean, undamaged, not faded
SMV Emblem Mounting
Visible to the rear
Point up
± 10 degrees from vertical
2 to 6 feet above the ground
In center of vehicle or as near left-center as practicable
Securely or rigidly attached (need not be permanently mounted)
Restrictions on SMV Use
Vehicle speed = 25 mph
Emblem not to be used when transporting equipment with motor vehicles,
(i.e. on a truck or trailer or at speeds > 25 mph)
Emblem not to be used on stationary objects such as fence posts, gates,
etc.
History
In the late 1950s a 10-year retrospective study of fatal tractor accidents
was conducted by Walter McClure and Ben Lamp, both of the Department
of Agricultural Engineering at The Ohio State University (AEOSU), to
understand their nature and causes. The research indicated a significant
number of fatalities related to highway travel of slow-moving vehicles
(SMVs). A research proposal written by Ken Harkness (AEOSU) and funded
through the Automotive Safety Foundation (1961-62) further focused understanding
of SMV accidents and resulted in the development of a unique SMV emblem.
Early data estimated that 65 percent of the motor vehicle accidents
involving SMVs were rear-end collisions. The Ohio State Highway Patrol,
county sheriffs, and municipal police cooperated in the research by
gathering detailed data on 708 SMV accidents.
In 1962, under the supervision of Ken Harkness, the design and testing of the SMV emblem was completed. A 1/16 scale highway simulator had been constructed to test human recognition rates of different shapes and colors mounted on simulated SMVs. After testing various designs, a triangular-shaped emblem with a 12-inch-high fluorescent orange center and three 1 3/4 inch wide reflective borders was determined to be the most effective design for day and night visual identification.
The Goodyear Rubber and Tire Company sponsored initial public exposure to the SMV emblem in 1962. An emblem mounted on the back of a farm wagon and towed by a Ford Tractor made a 3,689 mile trip from Portland, Maine to San Diego, California.
The first formal introduction of the SMV emblem was at a University of Iowa Invitational Safety Seminar in 1962. Carlton Zink of Deere and Company then became an avid promoter of the SMV emblem and played a major role in the adoption of the emblem by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE).
In 1963 Novice G. Fawcett, President of The Ohio State University, dedicated the SMV emblem to the public. Also in 1963 the Agricultural Engineering Journal printed its first article with color illustrations about the SMV emblem. The National Safety Council promoted the adoption of the emblem and awarded a Certificate of Commendation to Ken Harkness.
In less than two years from the emblem¸s first date of availability, Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio, and Vermont adopted legislation requiring the emblem to be used on SMVs. Safety Leader Bill Stuckey, an Ohio Farm and Home Safety Committee member, spearheaded the adoption of the SMV emblem in Ohio. In 1967 the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) adopted the SMV emblem as a CSA Standard. In 1971 the SMV emblem became the first ASAE Standard to be adopted as a national standard by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
In recognition for the research and development of the SMV emblem, Ken Harkness was selected as a Charter Member of the Ohio Safety Hall of Fame in 1992.
In 1992 the American Society of Agricultural Engineers designated the development of the SMV emblem as an ASAE Historic Landmark.
Towed Implement Lighting and Marking Recommendations
If wagons or towed implements obscure the SMV emblem on the tractor, the rearmost wagon or implement needs to have an SMV emblem in place.
The Ohio Revised Code requires towed equipment to display the following lighting. The lighting is required sunset to sunrise or when there is insufficient light to render discernible persons, vehicles, and substantial objects at a distance of 1000 feet ahead.
- If towed implements or wagons obscure the red rear lamps of the tractor, the rearmost towed implement or wagon must have one red lamp mounted on it.
- Two red reflectors are also required by the Ohio Revised Code.
Tractor Lighting and Marking Recommendations
A Slow Moving Vehicle (SMV) emblem is required at all times.
Additionally, the Ohio Revised Code requires tractors (non multi-wheeled) and other self-propelled equipment to display the following lighting sunset to sunrise or when there is insufficient light to render discernible persons, vehicles, and substantial objects at a distance of 1000 feet ahead.
- One white headlight on the front of the vehicle, visible from at least 1,000 feet in front of the vehicle.
- Two red lamps as wide apart as possible on the rear of the vehicle, visible from at least 1,000 feet behind the vehicle or one light and two red reflectors.