Distributing best practices for lighting and marking: Translating research regarding farm equipment signage into practice

While transportation related incidents account for 42% of all occupational fatalities in the US, this burden especially affects agriculture, where it accounts for over 49% of all work-related deaths. ASABE provides recommended standards for best practices regarding the lighting and marking of farm equipment. Using these standards, we created an educational display and interviewed 313 farmers at farm shows across the Midwest. Survey questions included demographics, farm vehicle use, use of lighting/marking on farm vehicles, and personal accounts of near misses that occurred while operating farm equipment on roadways. Overall, 55% of farmers reported that they already used current retroreflective materials on their equipment, and 45% reported that they were missing/did not have the current materials. The differences among farm implement types and use of current materials was significant (p = 0.02). Compared to other implements, tractors, trailers, and sprayers were less likely to have current materials. Most farmers reported needing retroreflective materials for their tractors. Interestingly, more than half (57%) of established/experienced farmers reported having retroreflective materials, as compared to only 40% of new/beginning farmers (p = 0.02). Overall, approximately a quarter of surveyed farmers (26%) shared a personal account of an incident or near-miss that occurred while operating equipment on roadways. The most common cases involved being rear-ended (37%), passed in a 'no-pass' zone (20%), and hit from the side or front (13%). All farmers received a slow moving vehicle kit (including emblem and reflective strips) for participating in the short interview.