Tractor on road / crazy divers / What can be done?

[markT]

The area where I live has seen a lot of people moving in from all over due to jobs.. It seems lately that some drivers seem embolden and drive very recklessly when passing.. The also follow very closely, I mean less than 5 yards.. This evening about 6:45 pm I was driving my tractor back from rotary cutting a field for dove. All of a sudden I see an on coming car driving off the road and thought what the heck? Then out of the corner of my eye I see some fool passing me with on coming traffic. Well just behind him comes another car.. They both had a look on their faces as though screw this tractor he is in the way and I'm passing..
Now my tractor weights about +9000 lbs so I got some mass under me.. But I'm not strapped in and would probably be thrown off if we hit..
My question is: What can be done about this? It seems this happens just about every time I drive back and forth to the fields.. This is dangerous...And illegal...

 

[snert]

turn on the manure spreader as they pass

 

[BP1]

Usually when I’m roading a piece of equipment from one place to another I have a trailer vehicle behind me.. I would call your local sheriff and let him set up and catch a few of these dumb ass people..I understand completely how you feel..good luck

 

[TAJ45]

Orrrr, a handful of gravel. Give'm something to ponder while being idjits. Musta come off the tires of the guy in front. Some hit me too.....yup.

 

[Ringostar]

I see this everyday. They’re all in a hurry, and more important than everyone else on the road. All the locals 40 and younger, plus all the seasonal tourist from South and east.

 

[jimcasey01]

Back in the 70's a police man pulled me over while I was on a motorcycle. After searching me he found I had a jacket pocket full of gravel. Up on being questioned about the gravel, I explained that I dropped a few pieces while I was being tail gated. That generally slowed the following traffic down. I was informed that doing such was illegal, but if I had a pocket full of pennies and a few fell out and bounced off of the highway, I would have no problems, as any judge would find it unbelievable that I would be so stupid as to throw money at folks. He also stated that he was a motorcyclist. End of problems, until I was pulled over with several rolls of pennies in my jacket. It was then suggested that I break open the rolls before they were placed in my pocket.

 

[markT]

Im always pulling a 10’ harrow or 8’ Bushhog on 3 pt hitch. So dropping gravel would work. Tailgating is one thing but passing when there is on coming traffic Is another.
I was thinking maybe a couple of video cameras ) GoPro) or something like that. I may contact highway patrol and see what they say.

 

[Knotwild]

I've run all types of equipment up and down all kinds of roads throughout my life. You nailed it when you said you aren't strapped in and it's dangerous. It's one of those bad situations which could result in terrible injuries or even death. Once one or the other of those things happens, anger, haste, impatience, and who's fault it is falls to the wayside and sadness sets in, much less lawsuits and such. I tried to have plenty of lights on, move when traffic was least active (which sounds like what you were doing), and I simply pulled over to let them pass and get out of my hair. There's just no answer. Although I like the idea of having local law enforcement follow and bust some people.

I used to have a fertilizer company and I had a really crazy guy working for me who was afraid of nothing. He was traveling down the interstate and a car came flying by, pulled in front of him and slowed down. My guy passed, and the same thing happened. So finally they both pulled over and the driver of the car said "you've got stuff flying off your truck and it's ruined the paint on my car". My guy said "show me", but there was no evidence at all of damage. So my guy said "nothing's wrong with your car, I'm leaving, and if you stop me again, I'm going to beat your #$^@ until you don't know who you are". Problem solved.

 

[Aeon]

only one thing to do... put your seat belt on

 

[1shot]

Back in the 70's a police man pulled me over while I was on a motorcycle. After searching me he found I had a jacket pocket full of gravel. Up on being questioned about the gravel, I explained that I dropped a few pieces while I was being tail gated. That generally slowed the following traffic down. I was informed that doing such was illegal, but if I had a pocket full of pennies and a few fell out and bounced off of the highway, I would have no problems, as any judge would find it unbelievable that I would be so stupid as to throw money at folks. He also stated that he was a motorcyclist. End of problems, until I was pulled over with several rolls of pennies in my jacket. It was then suggested that I break open the rolls before they were placed in my pocket.

Back in my younger days, marbles or steel ball bearings always did the trick.

Lloyd

 

[carlsbad]

Are they driving a Mercedes, or a BMW?

 

[msinc]

Definitely have a "chaser" vehicle follow you...I had a friend killed in Virginia by an idiot, someone behind him in another vehicle with 4 ways on would have saved his life.

 

[JMayo]

Don't make it worse than it has to be.
I also pull over my tractor and let them by when several form up.
I do what I do.
Others do what they do.

 

[olddav]

You can’t fix stupid, if you could it wouldn’t exist today. You can how ever choose how you react to it. Protect your self as best as you can and I would suggest that damaging other people’s property to protect your own is not the best option.

 

[MGYSGT]

It's no different in the City. Everyone is in a hurry and they are all more important than you.

 

[DickE]

Left Minneapolis at about 5:30 pm, after a meeting to go to a small town about forty miles away on a secondary road once. Talk about white knuckles all the way. Crazy stuff.

 

[ebb]

Use batwing mower drive on the road with all three mowers on the pavement.

 

[hpshooter]

"Definitely have a "chaser" vehicle follow you...I had a friend killed in Virginia by an idiot, someone behind him in another vehicle with 4 ways on would have saved his life."

Was this in Bedford County?

I often come up behind tractors and occasionally logging equipment being moved between work sites. If it is safe for both myself and the equipment operator I will pass, if it is not safe to pass I will stay 5-6 vehicle lengths behind them and put the flashers on and stay behind them until a safe area to pass is reached. Have had impatient people pass me and cut back in front of me to avoid an oncoming vehicle.

 

[dolek]

I have lived in cow country all my life,at least twenty tractors go down my road every day . We have learned unless the guy on the tractor gives a quick look in the mirror at you or a quick turn of the head and waves his arm to go around we stay in line . If you see that guy stairing straight ahead he is concentrating on something ,either oncoming traffic or keeping those big wheels out of the swampy ditches . Common sense seems to be dwindling these days , a person should realize when it is OK to pass.

 

[justpassinthru]

Sometimes it just isn't practical to remove the head from a combine when there's only a short distance between fields and most cars will pull to the shoulder of the road to give the combine room to pass. That's a great thing except when they stop directly across from a mailbox. Then, the operator is forced to squeeze between the car and the mailbox. Most people in cars have no idea.