Delays in planting mean you still need to watch out for farm equipment on Tri-State roads

ADAMS COUNTY, Ill. (WGEM) - By this time in the season, you probably don’t expect to see much farm equipment on the roads. However, you will still want to watch out right now this year, especially after a crash involving farm equipment just this week.

That’s because farmers had to delay planting due to wet and cold weather in April.

Now that it’s finally warm and dry enough, you will see them out in their fields and on the roads.

Adams County Sheriff Rich Wagner and farmer Raegan Neisen both said Wednesday you will want to watch for slow-moving vehicles that have flashing lights and reflective signs on them.

“Give them some room. A lot of our incidents are from tractors either turning on to the road or turning from one lane off the road onto their field,” Wagner said.

“It is very important to give farmers space not only on highways but on side roads. Just with the fact with equipment nowadays, you just never know where the farmer is gonna turn into,” Neisen said.

Two people were injured in a Tuesday crash involving a farm tractor and a passenger car.

According to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, it happened around 5:30 a.m. on Illinois 96, one-half mile south of N. 400th Avenue.

A car driven by Courtney L. Logsdon, 18, of Plainville, struck a tractor driven by Travis W. Peters, 33, of Payson.

Logsdon, and a juvenile passenger, who were wearing seatbelts and had minor injuries, were taken by ambulance to the hospital.

Logsdon was cited for failure to reduce speed in the crash.

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