Extension News Releases

Motorists on highways and municipal roads are often challenged in estimating how fast a piece of farm machinery is moving and how much of the roadway it occupies. When those estimates are wrong, collisions occur and serious injuries and deaths can result.

"A properly marked and illuminated combine, swather or grain wagon will reduce the risk of collision to the operator or passing motorist," said Glen Blahey, provincial farm safety co-ordinator. "Since the introduction of standards in Manitoba for lighting and marking of agricultural equipment on highways, both motorists and farmers have a standard warning system for oversize farm machinery."

For daytime use of self-propelled and towed implements, the basic rules are:

• A slow-moving vehicle emblem must be clearly visible to all traffic at the rear of farm machinery.
• Red reflectors must be visible to traffic approaching the rear of the equipment, with one reflector positioned as close as practicable to both left and right extremities of the machine.
• Amber reflectors on towed equipment must be visible to oncoming traffic. At least one reflector is required as close as practicable to the extremity of the machine which is closest to the centre of the road. Equipment that extends more than 10 metres behind the hitch point of the propelling machine requires amber reflectors (visible from the left and right sides) spaced no more than five metres apart along the sides of the machine.
• Coloured fluorescent flags (not less than 320 square inches) may be used for daytime travel only in lieu of flashing amber extremity warning lamps on equipment more than four metres (13 feet) wide.

For night-time use of self-propelled and towed implements, owners and operators must meet the daytime marking requirements in addition to the following:

• A minimum of two headlamps on self-propelled equipment. Flood lamps or service lamps should not project toward the rear.
• Red tail lamps must be visible from the rear. At least one must be mounted less then 1.5 metres (five feet) to the left of centre on self-propelled equipment.
• Flashing amber warning lamps must be visible from both the front and rear. One must be within 400 mm (16 in.) of the left extremity of the machine and one must be within 400 mm (16 in.) of the right extremity.

"These are only the highlights of the safe marking and lighting requirements for farm machinery which is moved on public roads," said Blahey. "For detailed information, contact Manitoba Transportation and Government Services Vehicle Standards and Inspections in Brandon, Dauphin or Winnipeg.

Contact: Glen Blahey

This is the third in a series of news releases on agricultural safety and health produced by the provincial farm safety co-ordinator who administers a program that assists Manitoba's agricultural community in the development of safer practices to achieve greater sustainability.