During silage season, farmers and contractors who participate in the cutting of crops or transport of hay/silage must be extra vigilant and prepared for other road users to ensure everyone’s safety.
In this article, we’ll take you through some tips and ways to keep everyone safe during silage season.
Ways to keep everyone safe during silage season:
Display signage
Displaying signage around the farm and surrounding roads will let other road users know where you are operating from that day. This will help prepare other road users to exercise caution when driving in the area.
Ensure you’re roadworthy
Any vehicles that you use on your farm should be in good working condition and they should meet the RSA vehicle safety check guidelines in relation to lights, beacons and vehicle widths.
Identify areas of risk
All of your drivers should be made aware of built-up areas, schools, sportsgrounds and parks along your routes. Plan to avoid these areas if possible.
Train all staff on farm machinery
While farm machinery has come on in leaps and bounds recently, they’ve also become much bigger and faster. All drivers and operators should be fully trained to handle these machines.
Children’s safety
Prior to carrying out work on a farm, contractors should speak to the farmer to ensure that any children who are on the farm are supervised and kept away from areas of danger. Check out our article on ways to keep children safe on a farm.
What you should expect from other road users
Other road users should understand that farmers and contractors are under pressure and deadlines during silage season. Ideally, they should consider the following duty-of-care measures:
Ideally, they should consider the following duty-of-care measures:
- Try and avoid any roads that farm machinery are operating on.
- Respond to all warning signs like road signs, hazard lights and beacons.
- Slow down and try to pull in. The machines are large and often top heavy.
- Communicate with the farmer/contractor if there are any events taking place that will make the road busier.
- Always supervise young children and educate them on the dangers.
Like most parts of a farmer’s calendar year, the silage season doesn’t last long. And with good planning and luck, hopefully another one will pass with no issues or incidents.
At AXA, we’re proud to provide cover for over 25,000 farmers. Our dedicated farm insurance specialists have the right blend of industry knowledge and experience to help you get the most from your farm insurance cover. It means they can offer you tailor-made solutions that fit your needs to drive you and your farm forward.
