Legislation To Improve Rural

Highway Safety Introduced

Congressman Phil Hare (D-Rock Island, IL) and Congressman Aaron Schock (R-Peoria, IL) recently introduced the Agricultural Machinery Illumination Safety Act, legislation that aims to improve safety on rural highways and provide consistency for manufacturers of agricultural machinery.

Due to the lack of consistency regarding lighting and marking requirements for agricultural machinery from state-to-state, rural highways are a serious safety concern. Fifty-five percent of all traffic fatalities occur on rural two-lane roads where agricultural equipment is moved from field to field during the dimly-lit periods of dawn and dusk. Currently there is no federal standard for such requirements, and state laws that apply vary widely, often representing outdated technology.

According to Hare, the Agricultural Machinery Illumination Safety Act will codify minimum lighting and marking standards for farm equipment. These standards will be set by the American Society of Agriculture and Biological Engineers (ASABE). Additionally, the legislation will grant the Secretary of Transportation the authority to improve these minimum standards as technology improves.

“By enacting this legislation, we can make our rural roads safer while providing predictability to the farm equipment industry, a key manufacturing base in west-central Illinois,” Hare said. “In addition, since this bill only applies to new equipment, farmers will not have to spend any additional money retrofitting their current fleet.”