Editor’s note: Morrison High School Agricultural Education teacher and FFA advisor William “Buddy” Haas and Driver Education teacher Brian Bartoz contributed to this report.
Morrison High School’s FFA chapter teamed up with Rock River Lumber and Grain Company, to provide students with a first-hand perspective of the need to drive cautiously and courteously around slow-moving vehicles. In March 2018, MHS Agricultural Education teacher William “Buddy” Haas and the Morrison FFA officers reached out to Rock River Lumber and Grain. Their aim was to explore ways to give students an up-close look at significant blind spots that exist when seated in the cab of a typical slow-moving vehicle. The activity, carried out in conjunction with the Driver Education program, helped students understand why driving near slow-moving vehicles requires extra caution.
Rock River Lumber and Grain generously agreed to share one of its John Deere sprayers with Morrison High School throughout the day on Friday, April 6. Bobby Deter, a 2013 Morrison High School alumnus, drove the vehicle to the campus and positioned it in the high school’s practice field. Students in Brian Bartoz’s Driver Education classes and Haas’s Agricultural Education classes had the opportunity to sit in the cab and see firsthand how difficult is to see vehicles behind and alongside the sprayer. Many students, especially those who do not come from farming backgrounds, were surprised by how different the level of visibility is in a tractor or sprayer compared to a typical car or SUV.
Such lessons allow young drivers to see why it is important to slow down, provide the operator of the slow-moving vehicle with ample room, and exercise patience when encountering a slow-moving vehicle. With the spring planting season fast approaching, Haas noted that drivers across Illinois and Iowa will soon be sharing the roads with a number of slow-moving vehicles, including tractors towing various farm implements from field to field.
In the days prior to the visit, students in Bartoz’s Driver Education class watched a number of short, educational videos about slow-moving vehicles and completed a traffic crash analysis assignment specific to driving in rural areas. The analysis focused on a 2015 crash in Iroquois County, iwhere 24-year-old motorist, Stephen Montez, was killed when his Subaru SUV was struck by a Ford pickup truck, that failed to yield the right-of-way at an uncontrolled intersection.
Students learned that on average during the last ten years, Illinois has experienced over 200 motor vehicle crashes per year involving farm equipment. Video segments included an interview with Kent Blades, a Missouri farmer, whose tractor was struck by a semi-truck that passed too closely as Blades turned into his driveway. Although he suffered broken bones and significant head trauma, Blades survived the crash.
Students also viewed the short film “Killer Corners,” which was produced by Leroy[, IL,] High School in 2007. The educational film reminds drivers to slow down at rural intersections where tall vegetation—including corn stalks—blocks the view of cross traffic. Students in Bartoz’s class learned that some intersections in rural areas have no stop signs or yield signs. That makes it essential for drivers to stop to check for cross-traffic when tall crops block motorists’ view.
Slow-Moving Vehicle Awareness Photos
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Students in Agriculture Education and Driver Education classes had an opportunity to learn more about sharing the road with slow-moving vehicles, during a hands-on demonstration featuring a John Deere sprayer, on Friday, April 6. Morrison’s FFA chapter and advisor Haas arranged for Rock River Lumber and Grain Co. to bring a sprayer and company staff member Bobby Deter to the Morrison High School campus.
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Freshmen Paige Baker and Chloe Bielema were among the Driver Education and Agricultural Education students who learned more about sharing the road with slow-moving vehicles, many of which have significant blind spots.
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Haas (foreground) explains the finer points of operating a sprayer to his Agricultural Mechanics and Technology class. Deter is in the background.
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The Morrison High School FFA and Driver Education programs presented Rock River Lumber and Grain Co. with a thank-you card following the slow-moving vehicle safety awareness event.
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FFA and Driver Education programs presented Rock River Lumber and Grain Co. with a thank you card following the slow-moving vehicle safety awareness event.
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The Agricultural Education and Driver Education programs wish to thank Rock River Lumber and Grain Co.’s Bobby Deter, a 2013 Morrison High School alumnus, for spending the day at Morrison High School to help students.
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Morrison High Schools FFA Chapter organized the slow-moving vehicle safety event. Students made flyers to educate their peers about the special risks posed by large, slow-moving vehicles with significant blind spots. Pictured left-to-right are FFA officers Hannah Linder, Keegan Manard, and Kaylee Shetler, with Agricultural Education teacher and FFA advisor Buddy Haas.