Safe2Drive Blog

It’s harvest season! That means more tractors, combines, and other farm equipment on rural roads. These vehicles play an important role in getting crops harvested, but they can also create challenging situations for drivers who aren’t used to sharing the road with large, slow-moving equipment.

Growing up in rural Ohio, farm equipment was super common. My high school even participated in Drive Your Tractor to School Day! So I know how frustrating it can be to get stuck behind slow-moving farm equipment on your commute. Farm equipment may take up more than one lane, have limited visibility, and need extra room to turn. When you come across farm equipment on the road, slowing down and giving the operator plenty of space can help everyone get where they’re going safely.

Watch for slow-moving vehicle emblems.

Many tractors, combines, and other types of farm equipment traveling on public roads display a slow-moving vehicle emblem. The emblem is a reflective orange triangle that warns approaching drivers that the vehicle is traveling at a slow speed.

When you see the emblem ahead, slow down and prepare to encounter a vehicle moving very slowly. Don’t wait until you’re close to the equipment to reduce your speed. Give yourself plenty of time to adjust and look for changes in the roadway.

Give farm equipment plenty of following distance.

It’s important to leave extra space when following a tractor, combine, or other large piece of farm equipment. These vehicles may stop suddenly, slow down for a turn, or move around obstacles in the roadway.

A larger following distance also gives you a better view of what’s happening ahead. If the equipment blocks your view of the road, you’ll need additional time and space to react to whatever is beyond it.

Remember that farm equipment has limited visibility.

A large tractor or combine usually has significant blind spots around the vehicle. The operator may not be able to see a passenger vehicle approaching from behind or alongside them. Don’t assume that the operator knows you’re there. Stay out of blind spots whenever possible, and give the equipment plenty of room when you’re approaching, following, or passing.

It’s also important to remember that the equipment operator may be focused on navigating a large vehicle through a narrow roadway, managing nearby traffic, or preparing for a turn, so they may not notice you.

Don’t assume a farm vehicle moving right is pulling over.

One of the most important things to remember around farm equipment is that a vehicle moving toward the right side of the road may be preparing to make a wide left turn. For example, imagine you’re following a combine on a two-lane rural road. The combine is moving slowly, and you see it gradually move toward the right side of the road. It might seem like the operator is giving you room to pass.

But the combine may actually be positioning itself to make a wide left turn into a field or farm entrance. If you immediately move into the opposite lane to pass, you could put yourself directly in the path of the turning equipment. Instead, slow down, stay behind the vehicle, and watch for a turn signal or other indication of the operator’s intentions.

Only pass farm equipment when the road ahead is completely clear.

If passing is permitted and you decide to pass farm equipment, make sure you have a clear view of the roadway ahead and enough time and space to complete the maneuver safely.

Don’t pass when you’re approaching a hill, curve, intersection, bridge, or other location where your view is limited. You also shouldn’t pass if oncoming traffic is close enough that you can’t safely complete the maneuver.

Remember that farm equipment can be much wider and longer than a passenger vehicle. You may need considerably more time to get around it than you expect. Before passing, check for traffic in the opposite direction, make sure you have enough room, and watch the farm equipment for signs that it may be turning.

Be patient when traffic slows down.

During harvest season, you may encounter several pieces of farm equipment traveling together or entering and leaving fields. This can slow traffic on roads that are normally quiet. Consider leaving the house a little earlier than usual during this season.

Give wide turns plenty of room.

Tractors, combines, and other large agricultural vehicles may need to use part of the opposite lane or move toward one side of the road before making a turn. Don’t try to squeeze between the equipment and the edge of the roadway while it’s turning. Stay back and give the operator enough room to complete the maneuver.

Be prepared for unexpected movements.

Farm equipment doesn’t always travel through rural roads in the same way passenger vehicles do. An operator may need to slow down for a field entrance, move around an obstacle, cross the road, or make a wide turn.

Stay alert and expect the equipment to move slowly or change position. Avoid distractions and keep both hands available to control your vehicle if the equipment’s movement requires you to react.

Seeing farm equipment on the road is a normal part of harvest season in rural areas. The best response is to slow down, stay alert, and give large agricultural vehicles the space they need.

Interested in learning more about traffic safety?

Are you looking for defensive driving and traffic school courses? Do you want a discount on your auto insurance? Do you know a teen who’s ready to take an online driver education course?

Safe2Drive is here to help! We offer convenient online courses for drivers of any age! Visit our website today to learn about the online courses we offer in your state.

It’s harvest season! That means more tractors, combines, and other farm equipment on rural roads. These vehicles play an important role in getting crops harvested, but they can also create challenging situations for drivers who aren’t used to sharing the road with large, slow-moving equipment.

A defensive driving course may help you qualify for an auto insurance discount, but the course you need can depend on several factors. Your state, age, insurance company, and previous course completion may all affect which type of course qualifies.

This post will help you determine which course you should take. Before you enroll, check with your insurance company to make sure you’re choosing a course that meets its requirements.

1. Start with your state’s requirements.

Insurance discount programs vary by state, and insurers may have different requirements for qualifying courses. Some states have specific rules about approved defensive driving or driver improvement courses, while others give insurers more flexibility in determining which courses they accept.

Start by checking your state’s requirements, then confirm with your insurance company that the course you’re considering qualifies for your policy.

2. Choose the course that matches your situation.

A standard defensive driving course is generally intended for drivers who want to complete an approved course for an insurance discount. If your insurer simply tells you to complete a qualifying defensive driving course, this may be the type you need.

A mature driver course is designed for drivers who meet an insurer’s age requirements for a mature-driver discount. The minimum age and course requirements can vary, so check with your insurer before enrolling.

A refresher course may be required when you’ve already completed a qualifying course and need to renew your discount or meet another recurring training requirement. Don’t assume you’ll need to retake the same course. Ask your insurer whether a refresher course is accepted.

3. Check whether your age affects your eligibility.

If your insurer offers an age-based discount, ask when you’re eligible and what type of course you need to complete. If you’re already receiving a mature-driver discount, find out whether you need to complete a course again when the discount is up for renewal.

Your age is only one factor, though. Your insurer’s rules and your previous course history can also determine which course is appropriate.

4. Consider whether you’ve completed a course before.

If you’ve taken a defensive driving course for an insurance discount in the past, check when you completed it before signing up again. Your insurer may have rules about how often you can receive the discount or when you need to complete another course.

Ask whether your previous certificate is still valid, whether you need a refresher, and when your next course must be completed. Taking another course before you’re eligible may not provide an additional discount.

5. Find out how to submit your certificate.

Once you’ve confirmed which course you need, ask your insurance company how it wants to receive your completion certificate. Some insurers may accept a digital copy, while others may require a physical form of documentation.

Keep a copy of your certificate and any confirmation that you submitted it. You may need this information later to verify that you completed the course and qualified for the discount.

How do you know which course is right for you?

The right defensive driving course depends on your individual situation. Before enrolling, ask your insurance company:

1. Which course qualifies for my policy?
2. Do I qualify for a mature-driver discount?
3. Do I need a standard course or a refresher?
4. When do I need to complete the course?
5. How often do I need to renew my discount?
6. How should I submit my certificate?

Taking a few minutes to confirm these details can help you avoid completing a course that doesn’t meet your insurer’s requirements. Once you know what your insurance company accepts, you’ll know which course to take and what to do with your certificate afterward.

Interested in learning more about traffic safety?

Are you looking for defensive driving and traffic school courses? Do you want a discount on your auto insurance? Do you know a teen who’s ready to take an online driver education course?

Safe2Drive is here to help! We offer convenient online courses for drivers of any age! Visit our website today to learn about the online courses we offer in your state.

A defensive driving course may help you qualify for an auto insurance discount, but the course you need can depend on several factors. Your state, age, insurance company, and previous course completion may all affect which type of course qualifies.

Low-angle sunlight can make driving difficult, especially in the morning and early evening. When the sun is close to the horizon, sun glare can suddenly wash out your view of the road, making it super hard to see traffic signals, pedestrians, stopped vehicles, lane markings, and other roadway users.

Driving in sun glare requires more than simply squinting and hoping your eyes adjust. You may need to slow down, leave more space between your vehicle and the one in front of you, use your vehicle’s sun visor, or take other steps to improve your view. If you can’t see well enough to drive safely, the safest choice may be to pull over until visibility improves.

Why is driving in sun glare so difficult?

Sun glare is especially common around sunrise and sunset because the sun is lower in the sky. Instead of being blocked by the roof or reflected away from your normal field of vision, direct sunlight can shine toward your windshield and directly into your eyes.

Glare can also reflect off other vehicles, buildings, wet pavement, and other surfaces. A clean windshield helps, but even a small amount of dirt, dust, or film on the glass can scatter the sunlight and make the glare even worse.

The problem can be particularly dangerous because your visibility could change in seconds. A driver going toward the sun might have a clear view of the road one minute and struggle to see a traffic signal or pedestrian the next.

Slow down when glare affects your vision.

If sunlight is making it difficult to see, reduce your speed. You need enough time to recognize hazards and respond to them, and limited visibility can make it harder to spot something in your path, so extra time is needed.

Give yourself additional time to identify what’s ahead before proceeding through intersections, crosswalks, and other areas where pedestrians or stopped vehicles may be.

Increase your following distance.

Sun glare can make it harder to see a vehicle’s brake lights or recognize that traffic ahead has slowed or stopped. Increasing your following distance gives you more time to react if you suddenly identify a hazard.

Leave more space than you normally would between your vehicle and the one ahead of you. This is especially important when glare is strong enough that you can’t clearly see the road several seconds ahead of your vehicle.

Keep your windshield clean inside and out.

A dirty windshield can make sun glare much worse. Dust, fingerprints, and other buildup can scatter incoming sunlight across the glass and create additional glare. Clean both sides of the windshield regularly. The inside of the glass can develop a thin film that may not be obvious during normal driving but becomes much more noticeable when direct sunlight hits it.

Use your sun visor.

Your vehicle’s sun visor can block some direct sunlight and make it easier to see the road. Lower the visor when the sun is shining directly toward your eyes, and adjust it to block as much glare as possible without obstructing your view of the road.

Some visors can also be moved toward the side window and then extended outward. I showed this to someone recently and it blew their mind! The extra adjustment helps cover the gap between the front windshield and side window, blocking sunlight that might otherwise shine directly into your eyes from the side.

Choose sunglasses that help reduce glare.

Sunglasses can make bright conditions more comfortable and can reduce the amount of glare reaching your eyes. Choose sunglasses that provide good UV protection and allow you to see clearly. Polarized lenses can be particularly helpful for reducing reflected glare from surfaces such as pavement and vehicle windows. However, sunglasses shouldn’t be so dark that they make it difficult to see when lighting conditions change.

Watch carefully for pedestrians and cyclists.

Sun glare can make vulnerable road users particularly difficult to see. A pedestrian crossing the road or a cyclist traveling along the edge of the roadway may blend into the background when bright sunlight is directly in your field of vision.

Take extra time to scan for movement at crosswalks and check areas where a pedestrian or cyclist might be hanging out.

Be especially careful at intersections.

A traffic signal can be difficult to see when the sun is directly behind it or shining into your windshield. If glare prevents you from clearly identifying the signal, slow down and wait to proceed through the intersection until you’re sure what the signal is.

The same principle applies when approaching a stopped vehicle, turning across traffic, or entering a roadway. If your view is blocked by glare, don’t rely on assumptions about what should be there. Reduce your speed and make sure the path is clear.

Know when it’s safer to just pull over.

Sometimes the safest response to severe glare is to stop driving temporarily. If you can’t see traffic signals, lane markings, vehicles, pedestrians, or other important features of the roadway clearly enough to drive safely, find a safe place to pull over.

Once visibility improves enough for you to see the roadway clearly, you can continue your trip.

You can’t control where the sun is or when it will shine directly into your windshield, but you can prepare for the conditions. Keep your windshield clean, maintain your wipers and washer fluid, keep your sunglasses accessible, and know how to position your sun visor.

Interested in learning more about traffic safety?

Are you looking for defensive driving and traffic school courses? Do you want a discount on your auto insurance? Do you know a teen who’s ready to take an online driver education course?

Safe2Drive is here to help! We offer convenient online courses for drivers of any age! Visit our website today to learn about the online courses we offer in your state.

Low-angle sunlight can make driving difficult, especially in the morning and early evening. When the sun is close to the horizon, sun glare can suddenly wash out your view of the road, making it super hard to see traffic signals, pedestrians, stopped vehicles, lane markings, and other roadway users.

As students head back to school, many choose to ride a bicycle instead of taking the bus or getting a ride from an adult or older sibling. Biking is a great way to stay active and gain independence, but it also means more cyclists are sharing the road with cars during the busiest times of the day.

Back-to-school bicycle safety is a shared responsibility. Drivers need to stay alert for cyclists, and student riders need to follow the rules of the road and make themselves visible. When everyone does their part, the trip to and from school becomes much safer.

Expect to see more bicycles.

The start of the school year brings an increase in bicycle traffic, especially during the morning commute and afternoon dismissal. Students may be riding on neighborhood streets, crossing busy intersections, or riding through school parking lots.

Drivers who expect to encounter cyclists are more likely to notice them early. As you approach a school, residential neighborhood, or park, slow down and scan the road ahead for children on bikes.

Give cyclists plenty of space.

A bicycle may take up less room than a car, but cyclists still need space to ride safely. They may need to move around potholes, storm drains, parked cars, or other hazards without warning.

When passing a cyclist, move over when it is safe to do so and leave as much space as possible. The law varies by state, but three feet is often the requirement. Avoid squeezing by in the same lane or passing if oncoming traffic or road conditions make it unsafe.

Pay close attention at intersections.

Intersections require extra caution because drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians are often moving in different directions at the same time.

A cyclist may be traveling straight through an intersection while a driver prepares to turn. Before making a left or right turn, slow down and make sure the cyclist's path is clear. Never assume a bicycle will stop or change direction unless the rider clearly signals that intention.

Look before opening your door.

Cyclists can also be seriously injured when someone opens a vehicle door directly into their path. Before getting out of your car, take a moment to check your mirrors and look over your shoulder for approaching bicycles. Making this a habit can help prevent a "dooring" collision and gives cyclists the space they need to continue riding safely.

Tips for Student Cyclists

Young riders also play an important role in staying safe. Riding predictably makes it much easier for drivers to understand where you're going and respond appropriately.

Good riding habits include:

• Wearing a properly fitted helmet every time you ride.
• Obeying traffic signs and signals.
• Riding in the same direction as traffic.
• Using hand signals before turning when possible.
• Staying visible by wearing bright or reflective clothing, especially in low-light conditions.

Following these basic practices helps reduce confusion and makes cyclists easier for drivers to see.

Stay focused and avoid distractions.

Distractions affect everyone on the road, whether they're behind the wheel, on foot, or on a bicycle.

Avoid texting, holding a phone, adjusting navigation, or engaging in other activities that take your attention away from the road while driving or riding. Cyclists should also avoid wearing headphones that block surrounding sounds or looking at a phone while riding.

Staying aware of your surroundings gives you more time to react to changing traffic conditions and other road users.

Back-to-school season brings more bicycles onto the road, which means everyone needs to be a little more attentive. Drivers who leave extra space and watch carefully at intersections can help prevent serious collisions. Student cyclists can do their part by wearing a helmet, riding predictably, staying visible, and avoiding distractions.

Interested in learning more about traffic safety?

Are you looking for defensive driving and traffic school courses? Do you want a discount on your auto insurance? Do you know a teen who’s ready to take an online driver education course?

Safe2Drive is here to help! We offer convenient online courses for drivers of any age! Visit our website today to learn about the online courses we offer in your state.

As students head back to school, many choose to ride a bicycle instead of taking the bus or getting a ride from an adult or older sibling. Biking is a great way to stay active and gain independence, but it also means more cyclists are sharing the road with cars during the busiest times of the day.