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Outreach:Amish Buggy
Amish Buggy
Conferences/Upcoming Events | Lighting and Marking Diagrams | Lighting and Marking Recomendations | Links | Publications | Slow Moving Vehicle Emblem | Statistics
No events are scheduled at this time.
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Lighting and Marking Recomendations
The American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) has recently released a recommended practice for Animal-Drawn Vehicle Lighting and Marking. This recommended practice includes buggies, wagons, and carriages. OSU Extension recommendations follow this ASAE recommended practice.
Lighting:
Animal-drawn vehicles should be equipped with a battery operated lighting system or a generator powered lighting system. Batteries may be typical storage, deep cycle or gel cell and should conform to SAE J537.
At least two headlamps, conforming to SAE J975, should be mounted symmetrically about the vehicle centerline facing forward on the front of the vehicle in a position which provides the least blockage from the drawing animal(s).
At least two red tail lamps, conforming to SAE J585, should be mounted symmetrically about the vehicle centerline on the rear of the vehicle and as widely spaced laterally as practical and between .6 and 3 m (2 and 10 ft) high.
At least two flashing amber warning lamps conforming to SAE J974 should be mounted symmetrically about the centerline and as widely spaced laterally as practicable. They should be visible from front and rear, and mounted between 1 and 3.7 m (3.3 and 12 ft) high.
Optional turn signal system may be incorporated into the rear red tail lamps or the flashing amber lamps. If they are incorporated into the flashing amber lamps or read tail lamps, the lamp that is positioned on the side of the turn should flash and the lamp on the side away from the turn should go to steady burn.
Marking:
Marking for the rear of the vehicle should be 50mm by 230mm (2" by 9") strips alternating between red retroreflective material and red orange fluorescent material. The material should be used to outline the sides and top of the rear of the vehicle. (See diagrams for examples.)
Where local culture prohibits the use of red and or red orange materials, white retroreflective material with a minimum width of 25mm (1"), may be used. If white retroreflective material is used, two red reflex reflectors should be mounted symmetrically about the centerline as widely spaced laterally as practicable. (See diagrams for examples)
Marking for the front of the vehicle should be 50mm by 230mm (2" by 9") strips of yellow retroreflective material. At least 2 strips should be placed symmetrically about the centerline as widely spaced as practicable on the front of the machine. (See diagrams for examples.)
Where local culture prohibits the use of yellow material, white retroreflective material with a minimum width of 25mm (1"), may be used.
Marking for the side of the vehicle should be 50mm by 230mm (2" by 9") strips of yellow retroreflective material. A minimum of two strips should be symmetrically spaced and mounted along each side of the vehicle frame. If the vehicle is equipped with a tongue or shaft that is visible on the outside of the animal, an additional yellow strip should be placed on it. (See diagrams for examples.)
Where local culture prohibits the use of yellow material, white retroreflective material with a minimum width of 25mm (1"), may be used.
Optional yellow or white retroreflective material may be attached to the harness or to the animal's legs to enhance visibility.
A slow-moving vehicle identification emblem conforming to ASAE S276 should be placed on the rear of the vehicle. (See diagrams for examples)
None yet.
The following fact sheets are available from Ohio State University Extension:
Driving Safely in Amish Country, AEX 596
Buying the Right Battery for Your Buggy, AEX 596.1
Buggy Battery Safety, AEX 596.2
Buggy Highway Safety Tips for You and Your Family, AEX 596.3
Boosting Visibility of Ag Equipment,AEX 598
Additional Marking of Horse Drawn Vehicles = Additional Safety, AEX 598.1
Buggy Driving Safety Workbooks:
Buggy Driving Safety: Student Workbook, Bulletin 830
Buggy Driving Safety: Teacher's Guide, Bulletin 831
For ordering information about these workbooks:
In-state orders, please contact your County Extension Office
Out-of-state orders, please contact Media Distribution by phone at 614-292-1607, by fax at 614-292-1248 or e-mail at: pubs@ag.osu.edu
Other Information Available:
Buggy Lighting Recommendations Poster
Amish Buggy
The display promotes recommendations for safe lighting and marking of Amish Buggies from research conducted for the Ohio Department of Public Safety. The display is a full-scale Amish buggy with the recommended lights, reflective devices and an added strobe light. Display requires a trailer to haul. Handouts AEX 596 for English audiences and AEX 596.1 and AEX 596.3 for Amish audiences accompany the display.
An early warning
It sounds like a word problem straight out of a school math book: If a car is traveling 55 mph and a tractor is traveling 15 mph, how long does it take for the car to make up the 400-foot distance between them?
The answer is 7 seconds-not a lot of time for the driver of the car to slow down, unless there is sufficient warning. The slow-moving vehicle (SMV) emblem, a fluorescent orange triangle with "retroreflective" borders, does just that. It warns approaching vehicles to slow down.
The SMV emblem is required by the Ohio Revised Code when moving "implements of husbandry" and farm machinery on public roadways. Implements of husbandry are vehicles designed and adapted exclusively for agricultural, horticultural, or livestock-raising operations. Additionally, SMV emblems are required on other specific vehicles, including horse-drawn vehicles. (AEX 598-99)
SMV Characteristics
Must meet ASAE standards
Visible 500' to the rear
Readily identifiable both day and night
Condition of the emblem: clean, undamaged, not faded
SMV Emblem Mounting
Visible to the rear
Point up
± 10 degrees from vertical
2 to 6 feet above the ground
In center of vehicle or as near left-center as practicable
Securely or rigidly attached (need not be permanently mounted)
Restrictions on SMV Use
Vehicle speed = 25 mph
Emblem not to be used when transporting equipment with motor vehicles,
(i.e. on a truck or trailer or at speeds > 25 mph)
Emblem not to be used on stationary objects such as fence posts, gates, etc.
History
In the late 1950s a 10-year retrospective study of fatal tractor accidents was conducted by Walter McClure and Ben Lamp, both of the Department of Agricultural Engineering at The Ohio State University (AEOSU), to understand their nature and causes. The research indicated a significant number of fatalities related to highway travel of slow-moving vehicles (SMVs). A research proposal written by Ken Harkness (AEOSU) and funded through the Automotive Safety Foundation (1961-62) further focused understanding of SMV accidents and resulted in the development of a unique SMV emblem. Early data estimated that 65 percent of the motor vehicle accidents involving SMVs were rear-end collisions. The Ohio State Highway Patrol, county sheriffs, and municipal police cooperated in the research by gathering detailed data on 708 SMV accidents.
In 1962, under the supervision of Ken Harkness, the design and testing of the SMV emblem was completed. A 1/16 scale highway simulator had been constructed to test human recognition rates of different shapes and colors mounted on simulated SMVs. After testing various designs, a triangular-shaped emblem with a 12-inch-high fluorescent orange center and three 1 3/4 inch wide reflective borders was determined to be the most effective design for day and night visual identification.
The Goodyear Rubber and Tire Company sponsored initial public exposure to the SMV emblem in 1962. An emblem mounted on the back of a farm wagon and towed by a Ford Tractor made a 3,689 mile trip from Portland, Maine to San Diego, California.
The first formal introduction of the SMV emblem was at a University of Iowa Invitational Safety Seminar in 1962. Carlton Zink of Deere and Company then became an avid promoter of the SMV emblem and played a major role in the adoption of the emblem by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE).
In 1963 Novice G. Fawcett, President of The Ohio State University, dedicated the SMV emblem to the public. Also in 1963 the Agricultural Engineering Journal printed its first article with color illustrations about the SMV emblem. The National Safety Council promoted the adoption of the emblem and awarded a Certificate of Commendation to Ken Harkness.
In less than two years from the emblemõs first date of availability, Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio, and Vermont adopted legislation requiring the emblem to be used on SMVs. Safety Leader Bill Stuckey, an Ohio Farm and Home Safety Committee member, spearheaded the adoption of the SMV emblem in Ohio. In 1967 the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) adopted the SMV emblem as a CSA Standard. In 1971 the SMV emblem became the first ASAE Standard to be adopted as a national standard by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
In recognition for the research and development of the SMV emblem, Ken Harkness was selected as a Charter Member of the Ohio Safety Hall of Fame in 1992.
In 1992 the American Society of Agricultural Engineers designated the development of the SMV emblem as an ASAE Historic Landmark.
In an informal analysis of the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) reports, buggy-related crashes were found to occur both during daylight and night hours. Indicating that the lighting and marking on the buggy must be effectively visible and recognizable during day and nighttime conditions. This analysis looked at a selected sample of 500 incidents, occurring from 1990 to the middle of 1993, for the following variables: time of incident, characteristic of impact and fatality occurrence.
The time of day when buggy crashes occured ranged from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. with three peak periods: 5:00 to 7:00 a.m. (21% of the buggy accidents); 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. (18% of the accidents); and 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. (29% of the accidents). Therefore, any marking and lighting recommendation must be effective in low light, full daylight and night conditions. The majority of the incidents involving motor vehicles and horse-drawn buggies were a result of rear impact (42%) or side impact (37%). Of all buggy crashes reported 8% (40), during the three and a half year period in question, resulted in fatalities.