RURAL ROADWAY SAFETY

Lighting and Marking

Best Practices

Multimedia Resources

Handouts

Posters

GPCAH Logo

With room to add your own logo

Teaching Tools & Interactive Activities

Where does the lighting and marking go game? (Game board and pieces)

Videos

https://youtu.be/XtrmNCqHOOw

Additional Resources: Roadway Safety

FarmSafe Podcast

S4E12 | What’s Happening with Automated Driving Systems on Rural Roadways

Omar Ahmad, Deputy Director of the Driving Safety Research Institute at the University of Iowa, discusses his recent project focused on automated driving systems (ADS) in rural America. This episode discusses the challenges of deploying automated vehicles (AVs), particularly in rural areas. Omar highlights issues like software bias towards urban environments, sensor malfunctions in poor weather (especially ice), and difficulty with irregular intersections and high-speed traffic in rural areas. While AVs show promise for safety and mobility in general, this conversation identifies that the technology is not yet ready for widespread autonomous deployment in rural settings.

Episode Page

S2E15 | Safely Sharing the Road with Farm Vehicles: SaferTrek Project

Dr. Michelle Reyes, Sr. Research Associate at the University of Iowa’s Driving Safety Research Institute, and Dr. Cara Hamann, Associate Professor at the University of Iowa, and core director of the Injury Prevention Research Center are on the podcast to talk about the SaferTrek project. This project observes the behavior of passing vehicles and how they interact with farm vehicles on the road.

Episode Page

S1E15 | Research Spotlight: Farm Vehicle Crashes on Public Roads

This episode is part of our “Research Spotlight” series, where we talk about recent research in the field of agricultural safety and health. Research can help identify hazards, understand outcomes, and determine if interventions are helpful in reducing injuries and illnesses. In this episode, we hear from Matt McFalls and Dr. Marizen Ramirez from the University of Minnesota, who recently published a paper titled “Farm vehicle crashes on public roads: Analysis of farm-level factors.” We discuss their study examining risk factors for rural roadway crashes and why research is important to gather information we can use to develop prevention programs. A link to the paper is included in the episode resources.

Episode Page

S1E9 | Lighting and Marking in Agricultural Vehicles

“One of the big challenges with farm equipment on the roadway is that they’re large vehicles and they tend to move slowly and that actually makes it more difficult for drivers of other vehicles to see and judge their speed.” In this episode, we are going to be talking about lighting and marking to increase visibility of farm vehicles and equipment on roadways. Reflective tape and slow-moving vehicle emblems draw other driver’s attention to the agricultural vehicle which may give them more time to adjust their speed and decrease the likelihood of a crash. We heard from Dr. Corinne Peek-Asa and the outreach coordinator for the Great Plains, Marsha Cheyney, MPH. GPCAH resources are available on this website.

Episode Page

S1E2 | ATVs on Roadways

ATVs are designed for off-road use. “They’re not really all-terrain…so when they’re on roadways, both paved and unpaved, they can have a very unpredictable relationship with the roadway surface- one tire can grab and all of a sudden- boom, the ATV is rolling over.” Dr. Charles Jennissen is a pediatrician and emergency medicine physician who has been around ATVs for most of his life.

We talk with Dr. Jennissen in this episode about the way ATVs are designed and the risk involved with driving them on roads. He also provides recommendations for staying safe if you have to be on the road with an ATV for farm work.

Episode Page

Media Stories

“More stringent state policies on lighting could reduce farm vehicle traffic accidents by more than half.” Iowa NOW magazine, Iowa City, IA. October 21^st, 2016

“Study suggests farm traffic vehicle accidents could be reduced by more than half.” Science Daily Webnews. October 21^st, 2016.

“UI study: More lighting on farm vehicles would reduce number of crashes.” Cedar Rapids Gazette, Cedar Rapids, IA. October 21^st, 2016.

“Study suggests better marking of farm vehicles could reduce accidents.” Missouri Net Online Webnews, October 21^st, 2016.

“Midwest study: more lighting would cut farm vehicle crashes by 60%.” Insurance Journal Magazine. October 21^st, 2016.

“Study: more lighting on farm vehicles would reduce number of crashes.” Sauk Valley Newspaper, Sauk Valley, IL. October 24^th, 2016

“Study suggests better marking of farm vehicles could cut accidents.” Southern Iowa Radio Iowa (Iowa Public Radio, IPR affiliate). October 24^th, 2016.

“Farm vehicle accidents could be reduced by more than half.” Feedstuffs Magazine, Bloomington, MN. October 24^th, 2016

“Share the road during harvest.” Times-Sentinel Newspaper, Indiana. October 25^th, 2016.

“Study: more lighting on farm equipment reduces crashes”. Brownfield Ag News Online Webnews, October 24^st, 2016.

“Study suggests better marking of farm vehicles could reduce accidents.” Ozarksfirst TV station, Springfield, MO. October 25^th, 2016

“Study suggests farm traffic vehicle accidents could be reduced by more than half.” KCRG TV Station, Cedar Rapids, IA. October 25^th, 2016

“More lights and reflectors would help keep farmers safe.” WNAX Radio 570 AM, Minnesota. October 26^th, 2016.

“Reducing accidents involving farm vehicles, new study suggests better marking of farm vehicles could reduce accidents.” FourStates Home Page Webnews, Joplin, MO. October 26^th, 2016.

“Study: better lighting, reflection on farm vehicles could reduce crashes, research shows Minnesota safety middle of the pack of Midwestern states.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN. October 26^th, 2016.

“Making farm equipment more visible could reduce accidents by 60%, says study.” Successful Farming Magazine. December 6^th, 2016.

“Study finds steps that could reduce highway farm equipment accidents by 60%.” Growing America Webnews. December 12^th, 2016.

Academic Publications

Ranapurwala SI, Mello ER, Ramirez MR. A GIS-based matched case-control study of road characteristics in farm vehicle crashes. Epidemiology.

Ramirez M, Bedford R, Wu H, Harland K, Cavanaugh JE, Peek-Asa C. Lighting and marking policies are associated with reduced farm equipment-related crash rates: a policy analysis of nine Midwestern US states. Occupational and Environmental Medicine..

Toussaint M, Smith K, Peek-Asa C, Ramirez MR. Characteristics of farm equipment-related crashes associated with injury in children and adolescents on farm equipment. Journal of Rural Health.

Harland KK, Greenan, M, Ramirez M. Not just a rural occurrence: Differences in agricultural equipment crash characteristics by rural–urban crash site and proximity to town. Accident Analysis & Prevention.